In Tuesday's class we talked about transsexuality in sports. The main athlete we discussed was Renee Richards, formerly known as Richard Raskind. Richards was an optometrist who also became very active in Women's tennis after her sex reassignment surgery. There was controversy over whether or not Richards should be allowed to compete against other women, as she was genetically born a male. Even though Richards was born a male, after the surgery, she was physically a female, having gone through all the surgical procedures and even undergoing hormonal therapy. The question, Should she have been allowed to play in Women's Tennis was brought up in class. I think that she should be allowed. She underwent the hard process of becoming a female and she was physically female. Many critics believed having previous been a male gave her a strength advantage, as her muscle build was primarily male. I think what made the difference was the hormone treatment. Richards even stated that she had experienced a loss of strength from her hormone treatment in her defense. I believe that the authorities made the right decision in allowing her to play. She was a physically a woman and this was the body she was comfortable in. Granted, there might have been a slight advantage strength wise, but I do not think this should have prevented her from being able to play in the women's league.
In class we also watched a Youtube clip of Renee being interviewed by ESPN right before the airing of her 30 for 30 television special. In the interview she stated how she loved tennis, but it is not what she wanted to be remembered for. She did so many other things in her life successfully like optometry and golf that almost no one bothered to pay attention to. She also talked about how she wishes she hadn't even entered the tennis world, as the scrutiny and fight to play were not worth it to her. I feel bad that this is how Renee looks back on her tennis career. She was a good tennis player, but some people just could not get passed the fact that she was transsexual. Renee put up a good fight for herself, and she was successful. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where they ruled her biologically a female, allowing her to play in the women's league. It is just sad that Renee Richards has this outlook on her career, and that not many people know the extent of her abilities past tennis since this got the most publicity.
Jennifer Zoellick
This is a really good entry. I agree with you that Renee Richards should have been allowed to play, and she was. I don't think there should have even been any dispute over it. I could understand why there would be dispute if she had just gotten the sex change but she also received the hormonal treatment. Like you said this hormonal treatment made the difference. This treatment makes ones testosterone levels drop to that of a female. This in reality makes them female. Yes, she might have had a little strength advantage from previously being a male but I don't think it was that significant.
ReplyDelete-Tim Love
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a good blog entry too. I understand the controversy over whether Renee Richards should have been able to play in the Women's U.S. Open. I think the reason why there was so much controversy surrounding Renee Richards case is that she was the first transgender to compete in the U.S. Open. I can understand why the tennis organization would take it to such measures for her to be able to play because tennis at that time had never dealt with anything like that before. I'm sure they didn't know what the pros and cons were going to be with someone going from a male to female trying to play women's tennis. I can see that the strength could have been an issue, and even know Renee said she had lost some strength from the hormone treatment, nobody besides her will ever know how much strength she actually lost. I don't necessarily disagree with what she had to go through to be able to play in the Women's U.S. Open. That was the first time the U.S. Open had to deal with a transgender and they wanted to make sure that Renee wouldn't have any advantages playing as a female. She was able to play in the Women's league so her hard work paid off and now leagues all around know what steps could be made for other transgenders. I think because she was the first transgender to enter the U.S. Open that she will be remembered for that, but she knows that she has a successful career and I know her friends and family will remember her as the optometrist.
-Kody Burlingame
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI thought you hit all the right points when right your entry. I agree that Renee should of be allowed to compete in the U.S. Open and she was with controversy surrounding her. Renee was born a man but while growing up in a male body never truly felt like a male. I think she had the right to have the surgery and become a female her mind and body felt she was already. It was Renee's decision and her right as a human being to do what she think is in her best interest. I believe Renee should of been able to compete like she was because she did go through the surgery and lost hormones and strength she once had as a male. Renee now lives a life as a female she is very proud of and she labels herself as, not a tennis player or a transgender but a doctor.
--Jenny Kelley
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this blog, and I think Renne should have been allowed to play against females and compete all around the world. Although this is a unique situation, I still believe in equality and everyone should be given their fair chance. However, when talking about "fair" chances, Richard was allowed to take Tennis lessons at the time that were only offered to males, so wouldn't that make it unfair to females after Richard's got a sex change because then she had a unfair advantage and was able to use it against other female competitors? I know this is a tough situation, but I feel the right thing was done by allowing Richards to compete against females.
-Brett Creamer
I agree with you and everyone else on this blog, I think Renne should of been allowed to compete everywhere. No one can help the fact that someone has the chance to be born like that, and if Renne did everything she could to be a female then I think that is fine. Organizations are always going to face out of the ordinary situations, they just have to deal with it properly. All of the factors have to be taken into consideration and when doing so I think there shouldn't of been a dispute about Renne playing.
ReplyDelete-Joey D'Agostino
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, like everyone else, I agree with Renee being allowed to play tennis because she went through all the necessary steps to become eligible to play women's tennis. Even though she might've retained "some" of her male strength, she did go through hormonal treatment to counteract that. I think that saddest thing is the that she's never going to be remembered for anything else that she did. I think that this is a true reason why people need to stop judging other people and creating havoc around their lives because like Renee said, she wished she never played tennis. It's disappointing that people had such a problem with this that they made someone regret something they loved doing.
Nate Dudzik
I agree with you, I feel like Richards should have been able to compete with females as well. I say that only because she received treatment and got the surgery for it. Yes, there was a SLIGHT chance that her strength might be a little different due to her being born a male. Just like you said in the article, Richards said that she experienced strength lost when she did the hormone treatment, so because of that I don't see it as a problem of her competing with other females.
ReplyDelete-Turea Moore
Jenn
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post and the posts of everyone else. Although her playing against females will naturally cause a discussion and will have its supporters on both sides, I feel like she should have the right to determine how she lives her life. Renee decided to go through the painstaking, and most certainly emotional process of a sex change and has worked hard ever since to become a physical female. I believe the hormone therapy is the best thing to support her case because it makes her body go through more drastic changes than the typical female is used to.
-Ryan Hetrick
I agree with everyone else also. Even though she may have a slight advantage, she went through the entire process of a sex change operation. The hormone therapy is the defining factor however because it builds her the strongest case. She said it herself, she lost strength as a result of the therapy. I also agree that it is a shame that her attitude is the way it is. The story would generate a more positive reaction if her attitude were "look what I accomplished," instead of "was it really all worth it?"
ReplyDelete-Derek Brewer