Abstract

SANTOS, Ana Lúcia. Trans people in sport: eligibility rules, challenges and resistance. La ventana [online]. 2024, vol.7, n.59, pp.388-425.  Epub Apr 12, 2024. ISSN 1405-9436.  https://doi.org/10.32870/lv.v7i59.7684.

In 2003, the International Olympic Committee issued eligibility rules for transgender people, and since then, various sporting bodies have developed their own rules. Some federations apply rules based on self-definition of sex, while others apply rules based on the sex assigned at birth or when the sex claim was made. This article deepens the debate on the inclusion of trans people in sport through the presentation of the rugby’s case study, whose international federation presented, in 2020, exclusivist rules under the argument of fair competition and protection of the physical integrity of cisgender women. A critical analysis of the foundations of these rules will be presented and the consequences of similar approaches in the sports career of trans people will be discussed. Regarding methodology, a critical document analysis on the World Rugby’s rules was carried out and semi-structured interviews were conducted with people related to the sports universe in Portugal. It was observed that the elaborate rules create a hierarchy between the binary sexes and between trans people themselves, focus on limited measures of comparison such as single repetition strength, and rule out factors such as increased fat mass after transition. In the absence of the possibility of pursuing a sporting career, there was a capacity for agency and engagement in other areas that allows trans people to reach other important functions within the sports universe.

Keywords : sports; rugby; trans; testosterone; sex.