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Troubling Sport or Troubled by Sport: Experiences of Transgender Athletes

Lucas, Cathryn B.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1248967932

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies /Kinesiology.
Sport has long been considered a space in which traditional gender norms are reinforced. The gender binary in sport (the belief in only 2 categories of sex and gender: male/masculine and female/feminine) is strictly policed in today's sporting climate by sexist, homophobic and transphobic language and behavior (Messner, 2002; Semerjian and Cohen, 2006). While a few openly transgender athletes have gained attention and challenged the traditional notions of gender in sport, little literature has examined the personal and cultural impact of their participation. A queer-feminist framework, forwarded by Sykes (1998), guided this critical examination of the experiences of transgender athletes. Three self-identified transgender athletes participated in 2 interviews: the first, unstructured, covered their sport experiences; the second, semi-structured, clarified and expanded upon issues raised in the first interview. All three participants competed in high school sports, two continued at the collegiate club level, and one continued in martial arts. The participants' experiences were presented in two narrative forms composed across the participants' interviews, but comprised entirely of their own words: (a) background profiles and (b) multiple, short narratives addressing various themes. A layered narrative approach (Caulley, 2008) was used to present and analyze the participants' experiences. The athletes' narratives, juxtaposed with theoretical discussion, challenged common definitions of “transgender athlete” and exposed a gender continuum in sport. Because their gender identities varied across the gender continuum, the participants' presence in sporting spaces challenged the common practice of segregation by gender. All three participants found safe spaces in which to participate, however seemingly supportive actions, such as a separate locker room designation, became problematic. Two participants experienced prejudiced behavior even within queer sport settings. The participants' diverse gender-identities troubled the sport physiology research rooted in the trans narrative promoted by the medical industry. The common discourse in sport, which tends to conflate transsexual with transgender and ignore non-transsexual people, was troubled by the participants' diverse gender identities. Transgender participation policies based in the sport physiology research, such as the IOC's Stockholm Consensus, were also challenged. Implications for both critical research and inclusive practice were forwarded.
Vikki Krane (Advisor)
Nancy Orel (Committee Member)
Nancy Spencer (Committee Member)
145 p.
Gender; Psychology
transgender; sport; gender continuum; narrative analysis

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lucas, C. B. (2009). Troubling Sport or Troubled by Sport: Experiences of Transgender Athletes [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1248967932

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lucas, Cathryn. Troubling Sport or Troubled by Sport: Experiences of Transgender Athletes. 2009. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1248967932.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lucas, Cathryn. "Troubling Sport or Troubled by Sport: Experiences of Transgender Athletes." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1248967932

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1248967932
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.