Transgender In Sports Essay

Transgender issues have long been an area of controversy in sports. “A transgender is someone whose sense of personal identify and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.” In today’s society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try to understand, this is why participation of transgender in sport is a controversial issue and raises concerns such as hormone levels particularly higher testosterone levels. However can beta-blockers (any of a class of drugs which prevent the stimulation of the adrenergic receptors) prevent the onset of puberty in children long enough to ensure an even playing field at younger levels. Elite levels of physical activities now have new restrictions in place

Children who prefer to identify as males may begin to develop breasts, or those who identify as female may begin to grow facial hair. Prepubescent children may not be as heavily effected by this however after the onset of puberty confusion and depression often follow. “Almost half of transgender youth have attempted suicide at least once before their 20th birthday.” Although each transgender child’s development is unique, there are medical interventions that can help with the transition to adulthood. This involves taking beta-blockers leading to hormone therapy that postpones puberty. The ‘pause’ button on puberty can be hit said Dr. Johanna Olson, director of the centre for trans youth health and development. This pause, which is reversible, can offer many advantages from the child perspective including the ability for them to compete and participate in the sporting activities and gender teams of their choice. This is important for gender variant people as they must be included in physical activity along with social activity to help build their confidence. Everyone should feel comfortable in their decided gender so why should it be any different for young boys wanting to compete in the female competition. Over 62% of participants in the survey said that they would feel comfortable playing alongside a transgender in team sport. (see appendix 1)This supports the idea that making the decision to identify as a different gender is a personal decision and is supported by the majority around them when it comes to the participation in physical