When Rachel McKinnon hopped on her bike to compete in the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championship earlier this month in California, she knew she had followed the competition rules to a tee B次元官网网址� ironic for a kid who grew up golfing in Saanichton and who is now at the centre of a firestorm of backlash for being a transgender athlete.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not naive, I work on this topic professionally,B次元官网网址� says the College of Charleston professor, on the line from South Carolina. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 currently teaching a course on transgender people in sport and yet, IB次元官网网址檓 pretty shocked at how heavy the backlash is.B次元官网网址�
First transgender woman world champion...ever.*
B次元官网网址� Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon)
UCI Masters Track Cycling Women 35-44 Sprint
On Oct. 13, the StellyB次元官网网址檚 Secondary School alum and UVic graduate made history as the first transgender woman to win a world title. But, itB次元官网网址檚 the idea that McKinnon had an unfair advantage B次元官网网址� due to being assigned male at birth B次元官网网址� that caused an international uproar.
B次元官网网址淎ll the work that went into that victory, people are attributing to me being trans,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 just get up off the couch and win. I worked my butt off.B次元官网网址�
| Rachel McKinnon after her gold medal win at the Masters Track Cycling World Championships at the Velo Sports Center in Carson, California, Oct. 13, 2018. (Contributed/Craig Huffman) |
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Standing on the podium with the bronze medal was Jen Wagner Assali, a hand surgeon from Houston, who tweeted immediately following the race that the result was unfair.
She later apologized, saying she made the comments out of frustration and that they werenB次元官网网址檛 productive or positive, adding: B次元官网网址淲hile I may not agree with the rules, when I pin on a number I agree to race by them.B次元官网网址�
The rules, McKinnon says, are clear, and she has always competed in accordance with them, regularly testing her testosterone levels B次元官网网址� which require staying below 10 nanomoles for every litre of blood.
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The idea that she could have had a physical advantage over her competitors solely based on gender frustrates McKinnon who says in other events, Wagner Assali B次元官网网址渂eat me 10 out of 12 times.B次元官网网址�
And of her competitorB次元官网网址檚 response on social media, McKinnon says: B次元官网网址淪he made it clear that she stood by what she said, but just regretted doing it publicly.B次元官网网址�
My results last year. ...where's this advantage you speak of? Why was I nearly LAST PLACE in most of the pro races (and I only one the one pro race all season)?
B次元官网网址� Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon)
Transgender athletes first competed in Olympic level sport in 2004 B次元官网网址� to date, none of them have reached the podium B次元官网网址� and it is the International Olympic CommitteeB次元官网网址檚 guidelines for male-to-female trans athletes that most elite level sport organizations also use.
In 2017, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine surveyed 2,127 cisgender track and field athletes (those whose gender identity aligns with the gender they were assigned at birth) testing their levels of testosterone in comparison with their performance.
While the data has yet to be released, the study found men with higher levels of testosterone didnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily fare any better in any particular event and women with high levels of testosterone sometimes had an advantage over those with lower levels, but overall it was small and unpredictable.
| Silver medalist Carolien van Herrikhuyzen (in red) takes McKinnon's hand on a victory lap at the UCI Masters Track Cycling World Championships at the Velo Sports Center in Carson, California, Oct. 13, 2018. (Contributed/Craig Huffman) |
McKinnon is the first to admit that research on transgender athletes B次元官网网址渋s not greatB次元官网网址� but the study (commissioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations and the World Anti-Doping Agency) has heavily influenced rules for athletes in elite sport.
The IOC is in the process of developing a new set of guidelines for male-to-female transgender athletes and does have some transgender consultants, but the study was conducted by two cisgender men.
B次元官网网址淭he people who typically do the consulting are too concerned with cisgender worries, rather than transgender rights,B次元官网网址� says McKinnon.
Meanwhile, she has had to hire a team to help field the onslaught of harassment and transphobia directed at her via email and social media.
Standing six feet tall seems to serve a narrative people want to push with this backlash, she says, despite the fact that many people who have watched her race or competed against her (including the circuitB次元官网网址檚 photographer) had no idea she was a transgender woman: B次元官网网址淲hen you learn someone is trans, people like to look for signs.B次元官网网址�
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The controversy is predictable, McKinnon says, because the rights of transgender people have made significant gains in recent years.
B次元官网网址淓very time this has happened in history with marginalized groups and the advancement of civil rights, thereB次元官网网址檚 been a backlash,B次元官网网址� she points out. B次元官网网址淎nd, I think weB次元官网网址檙e in that moment.B次元官网网址�
Truth be told, McKinnon doesnB次元官网网址檛 think people really even care about womenB次元官网网址檚 track cycling, a relatively new sport that first appeared at the 1988 Olympics, and that the criticisms are just a way of B次元官网网址渆xposing whatever transphobia they already had.B次元官网网址�
Participation in sport is a human right, she says, pointing to the fourth principle of the Olympic Charter.
B次元官网网址淚 do look forward to the day, if it ever comes, that I or people like me can just focus on competing,B次元官网网址� McKinnon says. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 hard enough.B次元官网网址�
@kristyn_anthony
kristyn.anthony@blackpress.ca
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