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Even though now people from all over the world The world unites exist equality Peace, the Olympics remain uncertain territory for transgender athletes. Banning transgender athletes Athletes competing in this year’s Olympics are of a gender that does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender women People who transition after puberty are not allowed to participate in major sports at the college level.
athlete Nikki Hartza runner, and Heji Bayadanis a boxer, and both identify as transgender (Hertz also identifies as non-binary), but both have and continue to compete in the women’s division, the gender they were assigned at birth.
Non-transgender athletes such as Algerian boxer Iman Khelif have also faced scrutiny over their gender. Khelif and China’s Lin Yuting are Two female boxers Who did not pass theSex Test“Last year they were awarded the prize from the International Boxing Association. Since then they have been working with the Sports and Differences in Sex Development (DSD)It is a rare genetic and hormonal disorder that is permitted under IOC guidelines. Less than a minute In their competition, many people participated, including Elon Musk and JK Rowling.
Outside of the Olympics, transgender people face many challenges Reboundusually just because they exist. Sporty What is particularly worrying is that Children’s Track and Field until advantageDespite the IOC’s vow More inclusivethe future of transgender athletes is unclear.
It all begs the question: How did we get here? Have we always been like this?
Historian and journalist Michael Waters The Other Olympians: Fascism, Homosexuality, and the Making of Modern Sports Might be surprising. Waters’ book traces the rise of Zdenek Kubek, a track star in the former Czechoslovakia who, at age 21, won two medals at the 1934 Women’s World Games — gold in the 800 meters and bronze in the long jump. (The Women’s World Games were the precursor to women’s participation in the Olympics.) In 1935, Kubek announced that he would live as a man and quickly became an international celebrity.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Kobek’s story is the public response. Kobek was welcomed and praised more than we might have imagined. In the 1930s, people were open and sympathetic to Kobek and his gender identity and expression.
Waters also points to a time and place where this change occurred, specifically the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. A small group of Nazi officials, with their penchant for eugenics, gender dysphoria, and a startling lack of scientific evidence, influenced the IOC to engage in gender policing and transphobia—things that are strikingly similar to the transphobic attacks on athletes. Cis and Trans Likewise, facing today.
Reading Waters’ account of the lives of Koubek and other transgender athletes, it felt like those Olympics were a turning point. The Nazi era has greatly influenced today’s discussion about transgender athletes.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Other Olympianswe use different, more specific language today to denote transgender and intersex identities, which makes it difficult to fully translate stories from the past into contemporary language. We refer to Koubek using masculine pronouns because that is how he publicly expressed his gender identity after his transition.
I wanted to ask you, how did you find out about Koubek? I had never heard of him. I was surprised—but that’s a good thing! All the details about his life—how he loved running, how he became famous—how did you find his story?
That was my reaction when I first met him. History, especially before World War II, is full of stories of queer people who existed and became prominent in ways you wouldn’t expect.
I’ve found that the way we describe queer people, whether it’s in terms of sexual orientation or gender transition—these phrases have changed a lot over time, but when you know what (a term or phrase) might be used in a particular era, you can actually uncover some really interesting stories.
In the 1930s, a lot of transitions were described as “sexual perversions,” which is a weird technical term because we didn’t have the concept of gender back then, so it kind of came from this idea that something spontaneous was happening in these people’s bodies and they became men or women.
Obviously the language has changed now, and I think there’s a general effort to raise awareness of the terms that we use. Back then, people didn’t have the vocabulary or the language to express gender identity and gender expression.
I had a preconceived notion that gay history was generally bleak and terrible. Like some kind of Mad Max. And in reading your book, I was surprised to find that this is not the case.
Yeah, I mean, I think it’s easy to look at the period before World War II, and especially before Stonewall, as a dark period when homosexuality was not accepted by the public.
The truth is much more complicated than that.
You point out that in Kobe’s case, he became a celebrity, even popular. It’s all relative, but a lot of the coverage of Kobe seems to be open and positive.
The coverage was a little sensational. The coverage was also a little fascinating because he was one of the few high-profile people going through a gender transition. Reporters kept using the wrong pronouns for him. In some articles, you’d see every conceivable pronoun used to describe him.
But I think through all of this you’re seeing a real empathy and curiosity about transgenderism and what’s medically and logistically possible. People are interested in the categories of male and female, and how the identity you’re assigned at birth isn’t as set in stone as they think it is.
I don’t want to give them too much credit, but the media coverage of Koubek wasn’t as painful or as horrific as I thought it would be, especially when you consider how trans people are covered and portrayed today.
From today’s perspective, I think one of the things that stands out in your book is that you see when and where the narrative around Koubek and other athletes shifted. And that was the Olympics in Nazi Germany.
What’s interesting to me is that the historical roots of these (current) Olympic gender testing or eligibility policies go back to 1936. I think the historical roots are actually in fears about female athletes. In the 1930s, there was a general fear of masculine women participating in sports, and that sports, especially track and field, were not only harmful to health, but also endangered very strict concepts of femininity.
I think that Koubek somewhat validates the fears of most male sports officials, who worry that sports will change certain aspects of female athletes and masculinize them in ways they cannot tolerate.
Yes, absolutely. They use fear and suspicion as weapons, and anyone who doesn’t conform to their idea of the “norm” is punished – you noticed that Jewish athletes faced similar discrimination.
In fact, the concept of medical examinations was born in the 1930s, this dipstick test. If a competitor had a question about another competitor, they would do a dipstick test. You could force your competitor to undergo a physical examination by a doctor.
I think you can see some of this nastiness seeping into sports today. Serena Williams and Simone Biles They have been surrounded by controversy throughout their careers. They are often accused of being too masculine or too muscular, suggested they are doping, mocked for not being feminine enough. It’s a despicable accusation.
Well, it all starts with the origins of the Olympics. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Olympics, didn’t want women to participate in sports, period. There were a lot of things said that he didn’t like to see female athletes. Female athletes were viewed with suspicion.
current Paris Olympic Games website There’s a whole (but not entirely convincing) page devoted to Coubertin’s views and how his sexist ideas were a product of the times.
It really solidified the idea that there must be something or could be something unfeminine about successful athletes. It’s also about race and class. The first women’s Olympic sports were sports like tennis and golf, which at the time were very much associated with the white upper class.
I think tennis is still considered a more feminine sport today.
Yes. So that’s an important starting point, you have this fear of female athletes. Maybe some women if they play a certain sport and it fits into the idea of femininity, then that’s fine, but there’s a real fear of what sports are going to do to gender perceptions in some way.
I think what you’re saying is that in order for people to be more comfortable, female athletes have to perform and present themselves in a non-threatening, traditionally feminine way. I think that still exists in sports today when you look at who gets the sponsorships and contracts and who becomes the face of women’s sports.
While reading your book, I found myself a little curious about how the discussion and policies surrounding transgender athletes would have changed if things had taken a different turn in the 1930s.
It’s easy to think that’s just how sports should be. But in reality, it’s just because this particular league of officials doesn’t have the best morals in other areas of their lives and political beliefs.
A true union of Nazi Olympics officials!
It’s a little counter-factual, but I do think that, at the very least, we also need to recognize that these restrictive policies are not inevitable and how they are made and by whom.
To the IOC’s credit, it issued this policy statement in 2021, at least raising the idea of greater inclusion of transgender and intersex athletes and female athletes with higher hormone levels, groups that are typically barred from competing.
I do believe we are capable of having that conversation. I do think the IOC’s statement shows that there is an interest in discussing how to make sport more inclusive. But obviously, I don’t think the policies for this year’s Paris Olympics really reflect that.
Update: August 1, 2:20 p.m. ET: This story was originally published on August 1 and has been updated with information about boxer Imane Khelif.
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