LET US PLAY

Teaming up to make sports more inclusive.

Frustrated by the “the worsening tide of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation” that has characterized our political system, Harrison Browne, the first-ever transgender professional hockey player, teams up with his sister, investigative journalist Rachel Browne, to analyze the causes, effects, and rhetoric behind anti-trans policies in high school, college, and professional sports that exclude transgender athletes from competing with teams that align with their identity rather than with their sex assigned at birth. Drawing on the stories of transgender athletes like boxer Patricio Manuel, runner CeCé Telfer, and swimmer Schuyler Bailar, the book exposes the inherent flaw underlying trans-exclusion laws: the idea that women are weaker than men. The authors write, “The fairness conversation, when viewed through the lens of women’s sports and women athletes, misleads people into thinking that physicality is the only thing that makes it fair, that women aren’t capable, and their bodies need to be protected and policed at all costs.” They argue that the advent of trans athletes provides an opportunity to shift the conversation away from toxically masculine ideas about feminine fragility and toward the lens of access for all, a discussion that is particularly important given that engaging in sports saves transgender people’s lives. This well-researched, trenchantly argued, and compassionately written book is a must-read for those invested in the fight against transphobia. Deftly combining memoir-style profiles of trans athletes with political analysis, the authors clearly and adeptly dismantle both the patriarchal, transphobic basis of anti-trans policies and our preconceived notions about gender, ability, and sport.

A strong argument for dismantling gender segregation in sports.