Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will make history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete at the Games, but what does it mean for sport? AUT senior lecturer Lexie Matheson explains. Video / NZ Herald
The topic of transgender athletes in sport is getting the discussion it has needed all along.
The subject, due to itsuncomfortable nature, was destined to dwell in the shadows of society. It has now been pushed into the light by parties on both sides of the debate.
The discussion can be had on many planes, each requiring nuanced understanding. Not too long ago, the very subject of transitioning was a scary and confusing subject for people who were unaware or unwilling to understand the very real and very emotive topic of people born into the wrong body.
We are now discussing how this transformation should be accepted in the very binary world of high-performance sport. Man or woman. Black or white. But as we all know, life is extraordinarily grey and doesn't fit into clearly defined categories, particularly when we are dealing with such an unusual situation.
This is now front and centre as the Hubbard selection carries the weight of New Zealand's human rights record, from being the first country to allow women the vote, through homosexual law reform, the prevalence of women in the political system et al. We now lead the conversation on transgender athletes taking the world stage.
This is not the start of an avalanche of transgender athletes dominating sport. The numbers themselves show this is unlikely. 0.3 per cent of the population identifies as transgender. Roughly half of which are trans women. A smaller percentage still are playing sport, an even tinier percentage to an elite level.
Laurel Hubbard in action at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Photo / AP
'Biological' women are not being driven away from the Olympic dais. This is a small concern, being blown out of proportion. The bigger, and most important picture here is the treatment of an already marginalised group. To use Hubbard's Olympic selection to cast a shadow over them is manifestly unfair. Trans people already have a complex struggle on their hands, one that doesn't need be exacerbated through ignorance and exclusion.
'Fair' of course is the crux of many arguments in this space. But in sport, fair is a fraught concept. Essentially, sport isn't fair. The superior athletes have advantages over others. Bigger feet for swimming, more fast twitch fibre for sprinting, physically bigger hearts, shorter tendons, more lung capacity etc. Absolutely the waters are clouded with trans athletes, in the past it's been a simple way to delineate, boys here, girls there. The recognition that the human race isn't so easily grouped has made that definition difficult.
Sport should be inclusive. Shunning a tiny segment because of their differences is what's not fair, and the fear of the unknown.
Hubbard deserves to be at the Olympics. It's heartening to see Australian lifter, and Olympic competitor Charisma Amoe-Tarrant come out in support of her. We should be proud of Hubbard, and cognisant of the difficult path she has travelled to achieve her goal.
The refusal of many to accept that Laurel is a woman is a huge part of this discussion. We still need among other things, a better understanding of gender identity, the effects of hormone therapy and to challenge the idea that men are always superior to women in sport. We also must recognise that what is a current debate to many of us, is in fact a part of everyday life for the trans community.
While people debate and question another group's place in society, some just want to play sport and hope that with hard work and dedication they could represent New Zealand.
