The story of Renee Richards was surprising (to say the least). I was captivated in her interview as she explained her lifestyle and why she made the biggest decision of her life in her late 30's. Discussing this controversial topic is a first for me. Personally, I find it difficult to judge her because I have never been in her position before. When considering her tennis career, I think it was unfair that she was able to play with other females because I believe she had a competitive advantage over them.
SM 4250 has taught me that when we are born, there is not a distinct difference between males and females that clearly separates the two. In most cases, males and females are obviously different and can be identified without much deliberation. However, there are individuals (like the countless ones we have discussed in class) who are born with multiple genitalia and a mixture of different chromosomes and hormones. Because of this, gender terminology has shifted along with the public perception of the phrase "male" and "female."
In the article "Double Fault: Renee Richards and the Construction and Naturalization of Difference," Birrell and Cole describe transsexual as being "a passionate, lifelong, ineradicable conviction." Renee Richards' decision to have a sex change was not without much therapy and years of personal battles. She faced many hardships on the road to becoming a woman. Despite being married and having a son, her belief about her sex remained constant. I was shocked that at her age, she was so competitive in the world of tennis. Could this be a direct reflection of her genetic code? Possibly. Because she made a choice to change her lifestyle permanently does not make her new phase of life acceptable in the sports world. I give her an extreme amount of credit for facing the media and staying true to herself and who she wanted to be. I do not disrespect her as a person for what she has done, nor do I think she made a mistake by doing so. I believe that some worlds were never meant to coexist. One of those would be transsexuals and sports.
Renee Richards is a smart, talented and accomplished human being. Playing professional tennis and being a doctor are two very notable achievements. Birrell and Cole often refer to her as a his/her when writing about her past and present life. Richards paved the way for other transsexuals to face the world and discuss this lifestyle while being watched through a very large microscope called: the media. Her talent is obvious and her lifestyle is confusing. Although we may never fulling understand her beliefs and actions, Renee Richards has overcome more in her lifetime than most people have to face in three lifetimes.
I agree that she had an advantage over the other women she played against, and she should not have been allowed to compete in women's tennis. I feel that even though a person can change their sex, they still have traits that originated from their intial sex. And when putting that, of a male, into a women sport, that biologically gives them the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteI want to point out two things about the Renee Richards scenario. While Dana indicated that she may have had genetic advantages, having been born as a male, I think it is equally important to consider the socialization advantage that she had as well. Not only was she educated at an elite Ivy League school (Yale), but she was also afforded the opportunity to play competitive sports at a time when most females were not.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing to consider about her playing women's tennis is that if she had to meet the standards of the Stockholm Consensus when she entered the U.S. Open in 1976, she would not have been able to play for another year. That is because she would have had to be two years removed from having had sex reassignment surgery that matched her sex with her gender. I agree that this was a complicated case in relationship to sport and gender!