Launched in January 2016, Trans Can Sport (TCS) provides safer and friendly opportunities for people to access physical activities who otherwise feel that their transgender identity prevents them from doing so.
To date they have provided 14 sports sessions for 32 people, many of whom return each week and try out different activities.Activities offered so far by TCS include:
♦ Fight; boxing skills
♦ Yoga; gentle holistic yoga practice
♦ Lift; teaching safe weight lifting and Sweat; high intensity workouts that can be done anywhere
They also support the Trans swimming sessions at St. Luke’s Swimming Pool in Brighton
The rationale behind Trans Can Sport is that trans people often feel unable to access regular sporting and leisure facilities. There are many reasons for this, most notably because sport is heavily gendered. Changing facilities are a minefield for trans people to navigate to the extent that it stops people exercising, full stop. Even the activities themselves can stop people from participating, with gender segregation being endemic.
Like everyone else, trans people want to engage in activities where they can be social and it is important to provide a space where people can socialise outside of the bar scene. Physical exercise is proven to be greatly beneficial to a person’s well-being. The majority of participants at TCS events recognise this as it was the most frequently given reason when asked why they got involved.
Providing a safer space has to acknowledge this. TCS ensure that the trainer who leads the session has a thoughtful understanding of how gender can affect their discipline. Aside from the standard practise of ensuring everyone uses the correct names and pronouns for members, TCS also consider how gender creeps in elsewhere.
For example, if yoga poses are best avoided during menstruation, how to communicate that in a non-gendered way. But also the bigger issues of how we relate to our bodies and how trans people can feel disassociated from them. How we can help someone love their body that has caused them so much anguish? Trans Can Sport can’t fix these issues, but they can create a space for trans people to explore safely and work it out for themselves.
A TCS participant said: “I like being treated as a normal person for once”.
Trans Can Sport is open to anyone who feels their transgender identity prevents them from accessing sport. Friends, family and allies are also welcomes along to join in.
To view video of first Trans Can Fight Session class made by Fox Fisher, click here:
For more information about TCS, click here: facebook.com/transcansport
Or email: transcansport@gmail.com
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