Written by: Kayla Bell
The Olympic Games have always been the main reason I got into sports. Well, it was my motivation for getting into sports, along with my sister and cousin. We have always told each other that the three of us would be in the Olympics one day. And whether it was all of us or only one of us, victory could be declared with the winning of just one medal – so either way...
“REGIS” TO “ROSE”
Prior to the Paris Olympics, my sister and I were informed that our cousin “Rose” had been offered an opportunity to compete as a wrestler, and of course, we became ecstatic! Immediate preparations commenced for the big day, such as posting about it everywhere on social media and announcing the news all around town. We even had her name mounted on the front porch – only for it all to be over before it even started.
I had never seen my cousin so enraged and discouraged in my life. “Rose” is female, but not a cisgender female. She used to be “Regis” but felt ‘off’ with that name as she was fully transforming into “Rose;” all of this occurring during a 10 – year period, and as she sought funding to become who she is now. “Rose” always loved sports, especially wrestling, which she has been doing since she was eight, and she is good. But when I say good, I mean, she is unstoppable, easily dominating both my sister and I, if we ever tried grappling with her.
Reginald Berry, or “Regis Siki” began competing sometime after 1910 and eventually became the first “World Colored Heavyweight Champion” in 1924, (during the years of segregated wrestling).
So at 26, she’d continued to train and practice and eventually became qualified to compete in the Olympics, which alone was a major achievement; and since there was a women’s league, nothing should’ve stopped “Rose” from chasing her medal. But when her time came to be ready, she finds out about the rules dictating that she must be tested, violated, and questioned about her gender identity – which causes her to be kicked off the lineup.
This feels like it’s yet another issue hindering women in sports, just that now it’s transgendered women being unable to even compete because it’s “unfair” to cisgender women. As a cisgender woman myself, I honestly don’t care. The Olympics is a competition against other countries where one simply participates in the sport they’ve been practicing for years on end. It’s about falling in love with what you do, getting selected to showcase yourself, and representing one’s country. What happened to “Rose” is another denial of recognition for women’s sports in general.
Trans swimmer Lia Thomas’ Olympic hopes are dashed after a losing legal battle – NBC
Thomas made history in 2022, becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship.
The WNBA website recommends a book called A Century of Women’s Basketball: From Frailty to Final Four (Hult, 1991). It’s a book describing the way women’s basketball used to be a lot like a beauty pageant. Female players had to wear makeup (or dye their hair red), perform elegantly, etc., before professional leagues like the WBL (1978-81), WBA (1993-95), ABL (American Basketball League) (1996-98), and finally the NBA’s – WNBA (1996-), which formed during the same time as the ABL. As a result, today in the 21st, the league is recognized more often as a prominent sport, and most noticeably since the acquisition of Indiana Fever player, Caitlyn Clark, who is putting the WNBA on the map with her endorsements and air time that rival the average NBA player.
Yet the standards and rules set for female athletes by cisgender males make competitive sports an uphill battle as far as doing what we want as women, and while striving to find ourselves, or tackling the work required to make our dreams a reality. And unfortunately, it’s almost as though no one is fighting to resolve this serious issue, but simply masking it with scientific research to explain why this is so.
*Cover picture of American boxer Patricio Manuel – first professional male transgender boxer. Four fights one loss.
