Gender Identity In Sports

Transgender Athletes Exist, But Is The World of Sports Ready For Them? Sports, though a vast category and constantly changing in rules, is an ancient concept that has always been a part of human civilization. From the Ancient Olympic games, designed to show the strengths of men and please the gods, to the Modern Olympic Games, where countries from all over the world unite to compete in various sports, sports have been a constant part of the human culture. And with recent pushes for diversity in sports to make things more of an equal playing field, there has been a rise in female athletes, athletes of color, and athletes of varying sexualities entering the field, rather than just the straight white male dominated sports world it had been. But

Being trans is can be defined as to be a person who does not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, which is usually connected with genitals, whereas a person who is cis does identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person born with a penis and thus having been assigned male at birth may actually identify as a woman and could be called a trans woman. For trans people, there is the option to “transition,” which is to change their bodies in order to fit in more and “pass” with societal norms of the gender in which they identify with. This can be seen through hormones such as testosterone or estrogen, bottom surgery, top surgery, or even simple steps such as a change in haircut to be more masculine/feminine. It is important to note that a trans person should not be required to transition in order to be considered trans. Transitioning can be costly and also very dangerous. It is also important to note that a person who is trans and a person who is intersex are not the same. An intersex person is someone who has a deviance in sex characteristics such as possessing both a vagina and a penis. A person who is intersex may also identify as trans but the terms are not interchangeable. As highlighted by Lance Wahlert and Autumn Fiester, some people even believe that intersex people are in fact more natural than trans people, which can lead to tension between the