Mixed sport at grassroots level could help tackle health inequalities facing trans community

The study suggests a move away from trying to fit gender-diverse people into a 'binary' system will help address the health inequalities that gender-diverse people face. It has been published in the latest Sport and Exercise Psychology Review periodical.

Lead author Dr Emily Pattinson, chair of the BPS's Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, said mixed sport was the way forward to help tackle the barriers preventing the trans community from exercising:

"At the grassroots, if we are doing sport for fun, if we are doing it recreationally, there is no need for sport to be gendered.

Mixed teams are great, not only do they increase access to exercise for some groups who might otherwise be excluded, they also enhance sport in general.

Many sports could utilise mixed teams to increase numbers, access to funding and increase inclusivity at grassroots and recreational level, benefitting not only the trans community but the cisgender community too.

That said, there may be occasions when for some sports, like swimming, there is a need to create trans-only spaces in order for the trans community to feel safe to participate.

These would not take away from women-only spaces and in fact such spaces are used for other groups such as women who wish to maintain modesty."

For the study, researchers conducted a systematic review of 'sporadic' literature relating to trans, non-binary and intersex people's experience of physical activity.

They found that individuals from the trans community faced pressures to switch teams and provide 'proof' of gender conformity – including one case where a trans woman competing in ice hockey was asked 'to drop her pants to show her genitalia'.

This sets 'a dangerous precedent of the physical activity space as an unwelcoming and unsafe place for those who do not conform to the gender binary,' the study states.

It states that gender-diverse people face widespread social stigma, discrimination and hostility 'under the guise of public safety, with gender-non conforming bodies framed as a threat to the safety of children and female-only spaces'.

Gendered changing rooms and toilets were consistently mentioned as problematic, causing individuals to feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and gendered/revealing exercise clothing too is highlighted as a barrier to exercise.

Trans people's own feelings about what they had experienced also influenced their engagement with physical activity, the paper states, saying that some participants practised gender concealing behaviour in an effort to fit in, or to feel they were closer to what they perceived as societal norms.

Dr Pattinson said sporting governing bodies, providers and practitioners needed to take responsibility for building awareness and action to make exercise/physical activity spaces inclusive for trans people and ensure everyone can experience from the benefits of sport and exercise. She added:

 "At the moment exercise is not accessible for the trans community, and this presents a public health concern because part of the population is unable to be active and maintain good health. It is well documented that trans people have higher levels of mental ill health, and problems with loneliness and isolation.

I recognise the ongoing conversations around trans inclusion in elite sport is difficult and this paper does not offer an answer, rather it highlights the importance and urgency of making physical activity and sport a safer space for the trans community so everyone has the opportunity to maintain good health."

Read the full study here

Both of the special issues of the Sport and Exercise Psychology review periodical focusing on equality, diversity and inclusion are available free to DSEP members and or can be downloaded for a small fee from the BPS online shop:

Sport & Exercise Psychology Review Vol 17 Issue 2 1 September 2022