Who’s Protecting Whom? Red Herrings and Dog Whistles About Trans Athletes
Abstract:
It seems we are living during a cultural moment awash with enthusiastic, even joyful, embracement of women’s sport. We’ve been here before. A backlash will surely follow. Despite the appearance of support, a veiled attack on women’s sport is being levied through a movement claiming to “protect” girls and women athletes. Advocates of this movement claim that transgender girls and women are threats to fair play and safety despite the lack of substantive evidence to back these claims. The fear mongering undergirding this perspective tragically overshadows the genuinely significant threats to women’s and girls’ sport from sexual predators, emotionally abusive coaches, underfinancing, and unequal opportunities. Further, as trans athletes are deemed illegal on women’s and girls’ teams, what follows is a concomitant escalation of scrutiny of all athletes’ musculature, appearance, and ability. This legitimization of bodily surveillance will extend to those that look too queer, too immigrant, and too Black. In this presentation, I ask, who is protecting whom?
Bio:
Vikki Krane is a professor in Sport Management and Kinesiology at Bowling Green State University. They also are affiliated with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and American Culture Studies programs and are the Faculty Advocate for Belonging and Inclusion in the College of Education and Human Development. Krane teaches classes in social justice and sport, sport psychology, sport and sexuality, and research. Their research focuses on sex, gender, and sexuality in sport and their current scholarship focuses on transgender and intersex athletes. Krane’s edited book Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Sport: Queer Inquiries was published in 2019 and Reimagining the Gendering of Sport will be published fall, 2025. Krane has been the editor of The Sport Psychologist and the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal. Additionally, Krane has been a voice for queer inclusion in sport throughout their career and have had a lead role in establishing the Social Justice through Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium. Krane earned their doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, master’s degree at the University of Arizona, and bachelor’s degree at Denison University.
Location: Life Sciences Building, Room 1001
This seminar will be in hybrid format. Please reach out to kin.communications@ubc.ca for the Zoom details.