Bruce Jenner

The world of athletics has been built around a binary view of gender. The distinction between genders is obvious: there is women’s sport and there is men’s sport. However, in reality, gender biology is not black and white – there is a multitude of ways to be human. The separation of men’s and women’s sport leads to a large population of athletes getting stuck in the middle. There is a growing social acceptance of transgender and intersex individuals in society, however, when it comes to sport these individuals are often left isolated on an island of controversy. The majority of this controversy surrounds the debate of whether or not transgender and intersex females should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Society does not have a

I believe that transgender athletes pose major issues regarding keeping sports accomplishments untainted.  For example a world class male sprinter would destroy the female records, but he'd be considered an average male sprinter. The same holds true for the military based on the fitness requirement for females.  The only people that are going to be pushed beyond their physical limitations are the females transitioning to

Dr. Money argued it was possible for a person to change gender successfully through surgery, socialisation and hormone replacement. Unaware Dr. Money had never attempted this before, Bruce’s parents, Ron and Janet Reimer consented. On 3rd July 1967 Bruce was surgically castrated and renamed Brenda.

After finalizing the divorce of him and Kris Jenner in early 2015, a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer came out in April of 2015, releasing the news that Bruce came out as a transgender woman. Caitlyn said that she had dealt with gender dysphoria since her youth and that, she cross dressed for many years and also took hormone replacement therapy, but stopped after her relationship with Kris Jenner in the early 1990s became more serious. Caitlyn recounts having permission to explore her gender identity on her own from Kris, but because of not knowing the best way to talk about the issues they faced about this situation of wanting to become a woman, it lead to the deterioration of the 23-year-long

Programs should be established on sound medical advice that shows male-to-female transgender athletes do not have any automatic advantage over other women and must be recognized on the educational values of the sport (NCAA Inclusion, p.10).

Let us go back to Renée Richards, why was Richards able to play in a woman’s sport after going through surgery and becoming a woman? The answer lies in the process, Richards went through surgery which included hormone treatment. Zack Ford, a writer for Thinkprogress.org published a piece on August 8, 2016, entitled, No, Allowing Transgender Athletes to Compete Won’t Destroy Women’s Sports. Ford makes some very compelling arguments and points out that many different organizations already allow transgender athletes to compete and they have not had any problems. Ford points out that women sports already have women with a physiques that seem to be a huge advantage, like 6’ 8” Brittany Griner in the WNBA. Ford’s major flaw is that sites the Olympics as one of the

Throughout the years, she tried to hide the fact that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body, but eventually, that subsided. Gladwell stated: “But if you're taking on a powerful and organized establishment you have to be a hierarchy” (Gladwell 237). In other words, Gladwell is saying that in order to initiate a trend, it should be an individual who stands up for what he or she believes in, regardless of the cost. Caitlyn was a prime example of one who stands with bravery and took a risk, confessing to everyone the transition that was happening in her life. This courageous action influenced and touched the hearts of many people, allowing other transgender individuals to act freely and not hide his or her identity.

In Buzz Bissinger's article, Caitlyn Jenner: The Full Story, Bissinger interviews an iconic American Olympian who shocked many people when she came out as a transgender woman. This article is a prime example of the issues we face around gender today, both from people who identify as cisgender and those who are outside the gender binary.

Similarly, many of you are aware that Caitlyn Jenner was not always the woman she is today. There is no set age to when we find out who we truly are and sometimes, people leave the world without ever really knowing who they were. But in reality, we are unlikely to stop to think of our identity. However, Caitlyn Jenner did and she went through so many transitions to find the place where she belonged, not with other people, but the place within herself. She went from being a heroic track and field athlete, who won a gold medal in 1976 to a reality television star with the Kardashian family, to being divorced three times, to being a father to several children and finally becoming a transgender woman.

A weakness to Skyes’ article would be the fact that our society is very judgemental. Sports organizations fear the classification process of transsexual and transgender athletes into mainstream sporting events. Although most people will say they are for the equality of others, in reality many people in our society do not approve of transsexual and transgender people. These non-binary athletes may never be fully accepted into mainstream sports if sporting organizations continue to fret about anxieties these

In the column, “From Caitlyn Jenner to Brooklyn High School” (June 11, 2015), Nicholas Kristof argues that as a society it’s easy to make the transgender controversy about which restrooms they would enter or what sport team they would play on; however, the real problem here is acceptance. Kristof supports his claim by first stating how few people view Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender woman, as an inspiring role model with the exception of Spencer and Joshua, then he explains how Spencer, a transgender man, faced many challenges (bullying, attempted suicide) until he entered the Academy for Young Writers, a school that accepted Spencer for who he really is, next Kristof introduces Joshua, who doesn’t identify as a boy or a girl yet, and also has

Why should they feel trapped their whole life? No one should feel that they are in the wrong body, and go through depression from hiding who they really are. By Jenna becoming who she really was and not backing down when she was denied from the competition, she became a role model for the transgender community. Steinmetz said, “The awareness is creating new possibilities” (44), and I couldn't agree more. Education is key. The more people know about the transgender community, hopefully the sooner more people will be more accepting. Jenna said, “The creator put me in this position as an advocate” (3:38 - 3:41) and “I will take that position if it is helping anyone else, my story and actions then I feel great about it” (3:43 - 3:55). Ultimately, “Transgender people want to live - and be identified - according to how they feel: to be able to dress and be treated like a woman or a man regardless of what their parents or delivering nurses may be assumed at birth” (Steinmetz 42), and why shouldn’t they

So when I see a man like Bruce Jenner who is now professing to be transgendered, I call baloney on

In an ever-changing society, Humans will always find new ways to change and advance, they will also always find ways to express who they are and how they perceive themselves. One way humans have been recently expressing this is by identifying themselves as new and different genders. Though with this form of expression brings up issues that need to be resolved in order to advance as a society. One area in which this topic is becoming a dilemma is in scholastic sports. Teen athletes who are undergoing a transgender operation, or consider themselves a different gender than the one they were born with have been feeling discriminated or out of place as many state athletic governing commissions will not allow them to compete in their perceived genders

“It’s hard to decide what’s more frustrating about Bruce Jenner’s decision play-act a woman named Caitlyn: that we’re all supposed to ohh and aww over his new feminine face or curvy breasts, or that we’re supposed to act like this is at once fantastic and normal, brave and routine,” says Russell. Individuals all over the world question if Bruce’s transition is really brave, or just for attention, after sixty-five years of living. Since he is doing it publicly, with an interview with Diane Sawyer, and on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, it is easy for people to think that way. Adding onto that, since he is a celebrity, he is able to afford all of the surgeries, and the top doctors and plastic surgeons, but for other people, they are not so lucky. He cannot symbolize the transgender community when the population is not as fortunate as him.