Law, policy, and the participation of transgender athletes in the United States

Buzuvis, Erin

doi:10.1080/14413523.2021.1880757

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…16 Thus, the policy and legal landscape across the states constitute what scholars refer to as "fragmented federalism" where the rights of transgender athletes (and LGBTQ+ students more generally) are contingent on the state where they live or the school where they are enrolled (Taylor et al 2021). By consequence, the inclusion of trans and gender non-conforming athletes remains contingent and uneven (Buzuvis 2021) even notwithstanding the 2020 and 2021 legislative activity aimed to enshrine their exclusion into law.…”

Section: Existing Policies In States and Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sports, Transgender Rights and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy

Sharrow

2021

Laws

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Between 2020 and 2021, one hundred and ten bills in state legislatures across the United States suggested banning the participation of transgender athletes on sports teams for girls and women. As of July 2021, ten such bills have become state law. This paper tracks the political shift towards targeting transgender athletes. Conservative political interests now seek laws that suture biological determinist arguments to civil rights of bodies. Although narrow binary definitions of sex have long operated in the background as a means for policy implementation under Title IX, Republican lawmakers now aim to reframe sex non-discrimination policies as means of gendered exclusion. The content of proposals reveal the centrality of ideas about bodily immutability, and body politics more generally, in shaping the future of American gender politics. My analysis of bills from 2021 argues that legislative proposals advance a logic of “cisgender supremacy” inhering in political claims about normatively gendered bodies. Political institutions are another site for advancing, enshrining, and normalizing cis-supremacist gender orders, explicitly joining cause with medical authorities as arbiters of gender normativity. Characteristics of bodies and their alleged role in evidencing sex itself have fueled the tactics of anti-transgender activists on the political Right. However, the target of their aims is not mere policy change but a state-sanctioned return to a narrowly cis- and heteropatriarchal gender order.

show abstract

Section: Existing Policies In States and Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sports, Transgender Rights and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy

Sharrow

2021

Laws

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, the cultural meanings of masculinity have been historically established through contrasts to those that have defined femininity and the related nexus of ever-changing ideals, values, and practices through which this binary contrast has been culturally articulated and transformed over time (Holt and Thompson 2004). These structural relations give rise to ambiguous categories whose associated cultural meanings can become points of contestation and debate, such as in the cases of “metrosexuals” (Rinallo 2007), stay-at-home dads (Coskuner-Balli and Thompson 2013), or the ongoing controversies sparked by the category of transgender athletes (Buzuvis 2021).…”

Section: The Semiotics Of Authenticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing the Cultural Contradictions of Authenticity: Theoretical and Managerial Insights from the Market Logic of Conscious Capitalism

Thompson¹,

Kumar²

2022

Journal of Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research analyzes the cultural contradictions of authenticity as they pertain to the actions of consumers and marketers. Our conceptualization diverges from the conventional assumption that the ambiguity manifest in the concept of authenticity can be resolved by identifying an essential set of defining attributes or by conceptualizing it as a continuum. Using a semiotic approach, we identify a general system of structural relationships and ambiguous classifications that organize the meanings through which authenticity is understood and contested in a given market context. We demonstrate the contextually adaptable nature of this framework by analyzing the authenticity contradictions generated by the cultural tensions between conscious capitalism—a market logic that encompasses both global brands and small independent businesses, such as a farm-to-table restaurant or an organic food co-op—and the elitist critique. The Slow Food movement provides our case study for analyzing how consumers, producers, and entrepreneurs who identify with conscious capitalist ideals understand these disauthenticating, elitist associations and the strategies they use to counter them. We conclude by discussing implications of our analysis for theories of authenticity and for managing the authenticity challenges facing conscious capitalist brands.

show abstract

“…Some have examined media framings of celebrity ex-athletes such as Caitlyn Jenner (Li, 2018), high school transgender athletes (Buzzelli & Towery, 2021), and transgender persons working in sports media (Magrath, 2017; Pieper, 2015). Feminist and queer scholars have made important contributions to understanding the lived experiences of transgender participants in a range of sporting contexts, from everyday physical activity (Caudwell, 2021; Tagg, 2012), to school sport and the ‘exceptional’ (Anderson & Travers, 2017), and a growing body of scholarship is examining policies on transgender participation in sport (Buzuvis, 2021; Jones et al, 2020; Love, 2014; McClearen, 2022), including transgender athletes’ perceptions of such policies (Teetzel, 2017). Scholars are also beginning to focus on social media (i.e., Twitter) representations of and engagement with transgender athletes (Minogue & Thompson, 2021; Xu, 2022).…”

Section: Literature and Conceptual Framing: Transgender Participation...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Media Framings of the Transgender Athlete as “Legitimate Controversy”: The Case of Laurel Hubbard at the Tokyo Olympics

Scovel

Nelson

Thorpe

2022

Communication & Sport

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, we draw upon Hallin’s typology of journalistic writing to examine the role of the media in framing transgender participation in sport as a ‘legitimate controversy’, and thus up for public debate. Focusing on the media coverage before, during and after New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we reveal three key strategies used by journalists to frame the topic in polarizing terms: i) sourcing practices, ii) use of science, and iii) questioning of policy. Findings show that Hubbard’s voice and personal experiences were often left out of stories, replaced instead by the ‘authoritative’ voices of scientists and others (i.e., politicians, athletes, anti-trans groups) questioning her Olympic qualification and the International Olympic Committee policy for transgender athletes. Such framings prompt readers to ‘take a side’ in a polarizing debate, rather than encouraging more nuanced, ethical and empathetic responses to a complex issue. This study ultimately highlights the critical role that journalists play in controlling, shaping and/or shifting public opinion regarding the future of sport as an exclusionary or truly inclusive space.

show abstract

Law, policy, and the participation of transgender athletes in the United States

Abstract: This article provides an overview of U.S. law and public policy governing the rights of transgender athletes to participate in sports programs and how sports organizers should take the law, or its absence, into account when creating internal policies in this area.

Cited by 26 publications

References 17 publications

Sports, Transgender Rights and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy

Sports, Transgender Rights and the Bodily Politics of Cisgender Supremacy

Analyzing the Cultural Contradictions of Authenticity: Theoretical and Managerial Insights from the Market Logic of Conscious Capitalism

Media Framings of the Transgender Athlete as “Legitimate Controversy”: The Case of Laurel Hubbard at the Tokyo Olympics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About