A Wellington transgender woman, called Penelopy, visited a women’s gym and asked about joining. She chose this gym because it was the closest to her home.
The receptionist asked her if she was transgendered. Then the receptionist said that only transgendered women who had had surgery could join the gym.
Penelopy replied that there was a 30 to 40 year waiting list for this surgery in New Zealand. Most transgendered people here, like Penelopy, have received medical or hormonal treatment. She now has a birth certificate which says she is female.
Whether a trans woman or a trans man can be accepted on the same terms as those who were born female or male, is an issue which has not yet been discussed in New Zealand. However, there is a bill in Parliament which would allow trans people to self identify their gender without the need for surgery. They could simply say, “I identify as female” or “I identify as male”.
The trans gender issue is already an international one in sport. Some sports organisations use testosterone levels to decide on the gender of participants. Earlier this year, Lauren Hubbard aged 39, who was male for 35 years, competed in the female weightlifting during the Commonwealth Games. She had to withdraw as a result of an elbow injury. However, before that there was some controversy about allowing her to compete as a woman because she had previously competed as a man and had lifted heavier weights.
Vocabulary
• transgender – change from male to female or female to male
• hormones – chemicals in the body which determine the sex of the person
• testosterone – male hormone
• controversy – argument, discussion where people have different views