Socio-ecological analysis of trans people’s participation in physical activity and sport

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore and provide understanding of trans people’s participation in physical activity and sport through the socio-ecological perspective. A total of 43 Spanish trans people (21 trans women, 17 trans men and 5 with ‘other self-identifications’), between 15 and 62 years old, participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis identified six main themes, which highlight the multidimensional relations between individual, social and environmental factors in trans people’s participation in physical activity and sport. Results reveal that the importance of body appearance for ‘passing’ and the fear of being unmasked affect their participation. Trans people also rely on physical activity and sport to accelerate or avoid the side effects of hormone treatment. Social support from family and close friends and health professionals are essential for engaging in physical activity and sport. Experiences in physical education also influence trans people’s attitudes towards physical activity and sport. Finally, spaces (e.g. swimming pools and changing rooms), legal requirements and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual teams and leagues are also identified as key socio-ecologic themes. These findings are relevant for health and physical activity professionals, educators, sports organizations and policymakers in facilitating trans people’s participation in physical activity and sport and improving promotion strategies.

Exploring Trans People’s Narratives of Transition: Negotiation of Gendered Bodies in Physical Activity and Sport

“…At this early moment of their transition, most participants recognized that avoiding being detected as a trans person became their foremost concern. The main reason was to prevent harassment and other negative situations that usually occurred in PAS cisnormative environments [ 14 , 42 ]. Therefore, participants adopted hyper surveillance attitudes over their bodies and ’passing’ strategies to present gender normative bodies to others [ 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

“…Several studies refer to the wide variety of barriers and transphobic discriminations that trans people experience in PAS [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. López-Cañada et al [ 14 ] found that gender disclosure negatively influences trans persons’ engagement in social PAS, probably to avoid discriminatory situations and rejection in these environments.…”

Transgender and Non-binary Swimming in the UK: Indoor Public Pool Spaces and Un/Safety

“…Recent studies (since 2015) demonstrate a number of items that cause exclusion of transgender participants from physical activity and sport. For example, changing/locker rooms, school sport, and public spaces (Hargie et al, 2017 ); how transgender people are imagined—by Spanish University sport science students—through tropes of abjection and alterity (Pérez-Samaniego et al, 2016 ); the binary arrangement of sport within UK University environment and policy (Phipps, 2019 ); both internal and external barriers and facilitators for young transgender adults (Jones et al, 2017b ); embodiment, fear, transitioning, social support, physical education, and how space is regulated (López-Cañada et al, 2019 ); the body, pre- and post-transition, stigma and pride (Elling-Machartzki, 2017 ); and identity, participation, competition, physical embodied change, and coming out (Klein et al, 2018 , 2019 ). Implicit to most existing studies is the element of safety and feeling safe.…”

“…Despite these circumstances swimming remains popular in England; it was ranked sixth in the recent Active Lives Adult Survey (Sport England, 2019 ), with open water/outdoor swimming on the increase (Sport England, 2018 ). Research with women (Throsby, 2013 ) and older adults (Phoenix and Orr, 2014 ) demonstrates that people derive pleasure from swimming, and yet, swimming, and indoor public pools are often unwelcoming to transgender and non-binary people and communities (LEAP Sport Scotland, 2015 ; Elling-Machartzki, 2017 ; Jones et al, 2017b ; López-Cañada et al, 2019 ). Related to recreational open water swimming, the publicly aired debate over whether transgender women can access London's Hampstead Heath women-only pond, signals how transphobia impacts opportunities to participate (Topping, 2018 ; Marsh, 2019 ).…”

Development and validation of the Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Questionnaire for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning persons

“…Socio-ecological models thus provide a proper framework to understand LGBTQþ people's PAS behaviours because they go beyond individual-level theories by considering all the factors involved at other levels (e.g., social, environmental), as well as their interactions. 27 Nevertheless, although socio-ecological models have been widely used in the field of health promotion in many different populations, few studies focusing on LGBTQþ people's health have adopted this approach. One of them, focused on the lesbian population, has identified specific barriers to PAS in each level of influence, such as public disclosure, lack of others' acceptance and lack of fitness facilities, among others.…”