Rethinking Human Rights for Transgender Athletes. A Policy Analysis of Transgender Eligibility Regulations in Competitive Sport
(2024) MRSM15 20241Human Rights Studies
- Abstract
- The number of openly outed trans individuals in society and in sport is increasing and can be expected to keep growing. The sporting domain is singled out as special in terms of trans rights, as it is solely based on physical characteristics. Trans people in sport have become a subject of heated debates. However, the field of human rights has so far neglected the topic.
Analysing 16 transgender eligibility policies of different international sports federations, this project makes the case for a human rights-based approach towards participation in competitive sports in accordance with a person’s gender identity. It does so by focussing on specific human rights and utilising feminist theories. The analysis identifies that the policies frame... (More) - The number of openly outed trans individuals in society and in sport is increasing and can be expected to keep growing. The sporting domain is singled out as special in terms of trans rights, as it is solely based on physical characteristics. Trans people in sport have become a subject of heated debates. However, the field of human rights has so far neglected the topic.
Analysing 16 transgender eligibility policies of different international sports federations, this project makes the case for a human rights-based approach towards participation in competitive sports in accordance with a person’s gender identity. It does so by focussing on specific human rights and utilising feminist theories. The analysis identifies that the policies frame transgender athletes as a “problem”. The use of language and, in particular concepts, play a crucial role in the policies and in this project. Therefore, the argument is made for redefining the concepts of sex and gender in sport. Overall, the project finds the right to non-discrimination, the right to work and the right to sport to be relevant in this area. It argues for a rethinking of human rights to change the strict binary categorisation in sport based on sex. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9165430
- author
- von Petersdorff, Lina LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MRSM15 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Transgender athletes, sports policies, policy analysis, human rights, trans rights, feminist theory, international federations, eligibility regulations
- language
- English
- id
- 9165430
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-17 13:59:09
- date last changed
- 2024-09-17 13:59:09
@misc{9165430, abstract = {{The number of openly outed trans individuals in society and in sport is increasing and can be expected to keep growing. The sporting domain is singled out as special in terms of trans rights, as it is solely based on physical characteristics. Trans people in sport have become a subject of heated debates. However, the field of human rights has so far neglected the topic. Analysing 16 transgender eligibility policies of different international sports federations, this project makes the case for a human rights-based approach towards participation in competitive sports in accordance with a person’s gender identity. It does so by focussing on specific human rights and utilising feminist theories. The analysis identifies that the policies frame transgender athletes as a “problem”. The use of language and, in particular concepts, play a crucial role in the policies and in this project. Therefore, the argument is made for redefining the concepts of sex and gender in sport. Overall, the project finds the right to non-discrimination, the right to work and the right to sport to be relevant in this area. It argues for a rethinking of human rights to change the strict binary categorisation in sport based on sex.}}, author = {{von Petersdorff, Lina}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Rethinking Human Rights for Transgender Athletes. A Policy Analysis of Transgender Eligibility Regulations in Competitive Sport}}, year = {{2024}}, }