On January 30, 2024, USA Boxing released an open letter in response to the widespread criticism surrounding its revised 2024 rulebook, which now incorporates a controversial “Transgender Policy.” The federation asserted that “safety [is] our primary consideration.” In an effort to balance the “health and safety of our diverse Olympic-style boxing community” with the obligation of “non-discrimination,” the federation introduced a stringent approach to trans participation that generated backlash from both supporters of trans inclusion and anti-trans woman boxers. The Transgender Policy, formulated in August 2022, mandates that trans boxers aged 18 and above must have “completed full surgical reassignment and gone through multiple years of hormone therapy” to qualify for participation in the gender category they identify with. Criticism has been directed at the mandatory medical interventions, including hormones and surgery, as they are perceived as “jeopardizing athletes’ dignity and autonomy.” Additionally, trans women boxers are required to maintain serum testosterone levels below 5nmol/L for a minimum of 4 years before their first competition, a more stringent requirement than the 2015 International Olympic Committee’s guidelines, which stipulated that trans women need to sustain their testosterone level below 10nmol/L for at least 1 year. Even more shocking is the equally extreme regulation applied to trans men boxers. It not only mandates gender-affirming surgeries and regular testosterone replacement therapy but also forces trans men to achieve a testosterone level above 10nmol/L to qualify for competition. The rationale behind this policy is argued to “provide fairness and safety for all boxers”. While terms like “safety” and “fairness” are prevalent in sports regulations, they beg the question: what do we mean by safety or fairness? Whose safety are we talking about? In the ongoing controversy regarding whether trans women boxers should be allowed to compete against cisgender women combatants, the concept of “safety” is often invoked to justify safeguarding cisgender women from perceived risks posed by “biological men.” This rationale is problematic as it casts assigned-female-at-birth boxers as inherently vulnerable victims of male-dominant physiology. It presupposes that cisgender women are invariably weaker and biologically inferior, overlooking considerations of their combat skills and years of training. But is biology the single decisive factor in winning a boxing match? Tatyana Dvazhdova, a cisgender woman boxer who conceals her female identity to compete under the pseudonym Vladimir Ermolaev, has achieved success by winning over half of her matches against men, challenging the assumption that cisgender women are inherently weaker. However, upon disclosing her true identity, she faced a ban from fighting male boxers. Her story prompts a critical examination of whether binary sexed categories are designed to uphold “fairness” in light of biological differences or whether they serve to protect presumed male superiority in sports. USA Boxing’s policy takes the reductive notion of safety a step further by compelling trans men boxers to maintain their testosterone levels within a “normal” range typical of cisgender men. The move to regulate trans men is surprising because– in contrast to the controversy surrounding trans women in sports– trans men are generally not viewed as a threat. Patricio Manuel, a professional trans man boxer, has had a hard time finding cisgender male opponents since coming out in 2018. While a typical new professional boxer fights 4-6 times a year, Manuel has received only three match invitations from cisgender male boxers in four years. The scarcity of opportunities for trans men in boxing highlights the cultural shame and anxiety associated with potentially losing to someone assigned female at birth. By regulating trans men’s hormone levels, USA Boxing emphasizes a perceived need for trans men to be “biologically” similar to cisgender men. The underlying assumption appears to be rooted in societal stereotypes associating higher testosterone levels with qualities like aggressiveness and violence, traits often linked to the perception of a “good” fighter. In other words, the exceptionally strict policy for trans men is an effort to preserve the integrity of “men” by maintaining a strict gender binary. Safety from whom? In boxing, there is a commonly held belief that younger, heavier, “biologically male” athletes have an advantage in the ring. To ensure a fairer competition, athletes are categorized based on sex, weight, and age. But combat sports, by their nature, are violent. Both men and women boxers have to display a degree of violence and aggression to excel in the sport. In 2021, a tragedy occurred when 18-year-old Montreal boxer Jeanette Zacarias Zapata passed away after a bout with another cisgender woman boxer, Marie-Pier Houle. Zapata sustained brain trauma from “repeated blows to the head” after being knocked unconscious in the ring. Although Zapata’s death was deemed “violent but accidental,” a different scenario unfolded for trans woman MMA fighter Fallen Fox. She was forced to retire after causing a cisgender woman opponent to suffer a broken orbital bone, which is commonly considered a mild injury. The narrative surrounding Fox’s actions has been exaggerated by anti-trans voices, claiming she broke her opponent’s “skull.” This exaggeration has been used to justify the exclusion of trans women athletes from the women’s category, purportedly in the interest of “protecting” cisgender women from the perceived aggression of “men.” Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines went as far as claiming that “it will take a woman getting killed [by transgender women] before these misogynistic fools wake up.” When examining these two incidents together, the double standard becomes obvious. The emphasis on safety has positioned cisgender women as hapless victims while protecting cisgender men from the supposed shame of losing to someone assigned female at birth. Meanwhile, trans people are only ever viewed as a threat, never deserving of care or protection. What counts as safety? Sports federations frequently echo the language of safety that narrowly focuses on avoiding physical harm or injury. While physical safety is undoubtedly crucial, especially in combat sports that have high risk of brain and head injuries, actual safety requires more than just physical considerations. Psychological safety in sports plays a significant role in athletes’ performance satisfaction, mental well-being, and positive development. Given the many attacks on trans existence, it is no surprise that trans, queer, and gender-diverse athletes often struggle to find safety in sports. They often endure rejection, bullying, anxiety, and stress related to their sexuality and gender identity. The enormous pressure faced by Laurel Hubbard, the first trans woman weightlifter in Olympic history, likely contributed to her failure to complete a single lift and subsequent retirement. Our limited narratives of safety serve to maintain hetero- and cis-normative sports environments, enforcing reductive and binaristic views of biology and sex. In doing so, they not only subject trans people to exclusion and persecution, they also prevent more comprehensive considerations of what it means to create genuinely safe and just conditions for all athletes. Siufung Law (they/them) comes from Hong Kong, is a TEDx speaker, a nonbinary professional bodybuilder, and Ph.D. student at Emory University. They are a trans activist actively promoting the transgender-only bodybuilding competition in Atlanta, GA, organized by the International Association of Trans Bodybuilders and Powerlifters (IATBP). Website: www.sfunglaw.com. IG@siufung_law
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Unghosted! Supporting Asian Diasporic Trans, Nonbinary and Gender-expansive Voices
Guest Post by Ching-In Chen In 2019, Jennifer Chang invited me to give a Secret History talk for the 2nd Asian American Literature Festival in Washington, DC. The idea was to showcase little-known writers and artists. In all the classes I had taken–from K-12, to graduate school, to even community workshops–I had never been asked to read the work of a trans, nonbinary, intersex, or gender-expansive writer, and I wanted to change that. Addressing an audience full of educators, curators, and others who care about Asian American literature, I used the talk as a provocation. How many Asian trans diasporic writers had they included in their syllabi, or among the artists they’ve curated? Based on their incredible response, I realized that my experience is still the norm today. That provocation led to an opportunity to create a program for the 2023 Asian American Literature Festival, which sparked the idea for the Trans and Nonbinary Reading Room. I was invited to research and gather a list of books by Asian diasporic trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive writers. The Asian American independent bookstore Loyalty Bookstores planned to purchase copies of the books to showcase and highlight throughout the Festival via a pop-up Trans and Nonbinary Reading Room. In addition, I had planned readings, conversations, and performances to showcase Asian diasporic trans authors on the list. The Trans and Nonbinary Reading Room never happened because the Asian American Literature Festival was canceled when the Smithsonian pulled its funding just a few weeks before the event without any community input. Right before the cancellation, the staff was asked to prepare a document about possible controversial programs during the Festival – and the Trans & Nonbinary Reading Room was on the list. We were never given a clear answer about the reasons for the cancellation, but we were determined to not let a big institution cancel us without community input. I sent a message to the authors who were on the Trans and Nonbinary Reading List as well as those trans and nonbinary authors who were scheduled to participate in the Festival, pulling folks together to organize community support in pressuring the Smithsonian and in deciding next moves to amplify Asian diasporic trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive voices. From the list of authors, we slowly formed an organizing committee, including Chrysanthemum, Yanyi and Noah Arhm Choi, and River 瑩瑩 Dandelion later joined the team. We created a website, Reorienting Reads, which could serve as a public archive of writers and cultural workers. To support the work, we organized a Unghosted reading with the aim of showcasing some of the writers from the Reading Room list and fundraise for the website and resources. Our ultimate goal is to develop resources for educators, librarians, and readers. Here are the pledges we are asking for: Educators: to pledge to teach at least one book or chapbook by an Asian diasporic trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive writer Curators: to pledge to curate and pay at least one Asian diasporic, trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive cultural artist in your programming this year Readers (community members): to pledge to request that your local library purchase at least one book or chapbook by an Asian diasporic trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive writer As we build ReorientingReads.com, we invite you to join us! Photo Credit: Cassie Mira Ching-In Chen is author of “The Heart’s Traffic: a novel in poems and recombinant” (2018 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry) as well as chapbooks to make black paper sing and “Kundiman for Kin :: Information Retrieval for Monsters” (Leslie Scalapino Finalist). Chen is co-editor of “The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist,” a Massage Parlor Outreach Project core member, a Kelsey Street Press collective member and an Airlie Press editor. www.chinginchen.com
Trans People Are Not Laughing
Once again, the worlds of entertainment and politics have collided to ask whether it is funny–or acceptable– to make jokes about transgender people. Comedian Dave Chappelle’s recent Netflix special, The Dreamer, is the latest in his now extensive body of work making fun of trans folks. The Dreamer was released the same month as Lady Ballers, a right-wing film inaccurately portraying the experience of trans women in athletics. Any criticism of these transphobic jokes is usually met with comments about trans people and leftists being “overly sensitive” or “not being able to take a joke.” These rejoinders often come from folks like Chappelle, whose work frequently investigates political tensions in America, and yet they never seem to consider how their work negatively impacts the political realities of transgender people. A Black Trans Woman Responds… Kat Blaque, a Black transgender YouTuber, has made two video essays about Dave Chappelle’s comedy specials. Her most recent video, “When You’re Starting To Run Out of Jokes…” offers one central argument: Dave Chappelle’s jokes about transgender people aren’t funny because they’re not grounded in any actual experiences, and they play to the ignorance of his audience. What she means by this is that Chappelle’s jokes only reflect misinformed assumptions about trans life, losing the sharp edge and insight of his other work. She argues that many of his jokes about being Black in American land well because Chappelle is speaking from his own experience as a Black man in America and the racism endured from that experience. Kat Blaque also explains that, as a Black transgender woman, “his jokes about transgender women in The Dreamer only land with his audience because he is speaking to and capitalizing on the ignorance that his audience has about transgender people’s experiences. Because so many people are ignorant about transgender people’s experiences, I completely understand why plenty of people who follow Dave Chappelle and love what he’s doing, laugh at these jokes.” For example, Kat Blaque analyzes one of his jokes about going to jail where Chappelle says: “God forbid I ever go to jail. But if I do, I hope it’s in California. Soon as the judge sentences me, I’ll be like, ‘Before you sentence me, I want the court to know I identify as a woman. Send me to a woman’s jail.’” Kat Blaque responds by explaining how in order to be sent to a women’s prison in America, one would likely have to undergo hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgeries and the costs associated with them. She even explains the complexity of how gender-affirming care is inaccessible at various levels depending on the state and its policies. There’s no world where Chappelle could just “say he’s a woman” and go to a women’s prison. His comedy here isn’t cultural criticism or witty observation; it’s rightwing fantasy. She notes that Dave Chappelle describes trans people as immensely privileged, but obviously, that is not the case when right-wing policymakers are limiting access to gender-affirming care. Thick Skin or Just Trans? Something in Kat Blaque’s video that resonated with me is her discussion of having “thick skin.” Whenever people critique Dave Chappelle’s comedy, especially his jokes about trans people—or whenever any comedian is critiqued for making bad jokes about communities to which they do not belong—the critiques are called sensitive. We are told that we should get over it because it is just a joke. Like Kat Blaque, I have been told by cisgender people that I need to just “develop thick skin.” She explains how annoying it is to be told, “just get over it; get thick skin” because for her, being a trans woman is having thick skin. Many trans people of color have to survive transitioning alone, being disowned by their families, being discriminated against in the workplace, being harassed, and being targeted by violence. She could not survive in this world without thick skin. With a rise in white supremacist and transphobic rhetoric, trans people of color are often met with hateful arguments, attitudes, and actions. Nevertheless, trans people of color continue to organize on behalf of our communities and to fight for a better future—one that is anti-capitalist, anti-racist, and queer-affirming. So no, it doesn’t really make sense to tell trans people to “develop thick skin” because many of us have had to do that to stay alive. Words Influence Policy While it’s certainly not fair to blame Dave Chappelle’s comedy specials for the onslaught of anti-trans policies, I do think it’s fair to argue that his work plays a role in shaping how cisgender people view transgender people. In her video, Kat Blaque states that cis people often regard trans people as unreliable narrators of their lives and will look to people like Chappelle to explain transgender experiences and take his words as fact. It may not be Chappelle’s intention for audiences to take his jokes literally, but he is spreading dangerous misinformation about trans lives. His made-up jokes go on to guide real legislation, policies, and actions aimed at eradicating trans people.