The Pennsylvania State University

The Graduate School

THE POWER AND IMPACT OF FRAMING TRANSGENDER ATHLETES IN

SPORTS

A Thesis in

Communications

Danielle Adams

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements the Degree of

Master of Arts

December 2020

The thesis of Danielle Adams was reviewed and approved by the following:

Nakho Kim Assistant Professor of Communications Thesis Advisor

Stephanie L. Morrow Associate Teaching Professor of Speech Communications

Robin Redmon Wright Associate Professor of Lifelong learning and adult education

Craig Welsh Associate Professor of Communications and Humanities Professor-in-Charge, Master of Arts in Communications

Abstract

In today’s world, equal and fair representation in the media is needed to ensure equal and fair treatment throughout our society. As transgender athletes make up a small subsection of our population, many individuals learn about male-to-female (MTF) and female-to-male (FTM) transgender people through the media. This paper, using the standards set by GLAAD, an organization working to rewrite the script for LGBT acceptance, highlights how gender power relations are continued in the representation of transgender athletes. These standards provided through GLAAD’s Media Reference

Guide are intended to be used by those who want to tell the stories of LGBTQ individuals fairly and accurately. Through the research findings it was discovered that MTF athletes are represented more negatively through the media headlines, text and images provided.

The MTF athletes were frequently referred to by their birth name with incorrect pronoun usage, and used before and after transition comparison images, all of which do not align with the standards set by GLAAD. Additionally, the research highlighted that the sports industry recreates a vicious cycle that continues to amplify and expand the gender roles and pay gap that are evident throughout our society, no matter if an individual is assigned a gender at birth or not.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ...... v List of Tables ...... vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...... 5 2.1. History of Social Response to the Transgender Community ...... 8 2.2. Positioning Transgender People ...... 10 2.3. Media Representation of Transgender ...... 13 2.4. Exclusion Studies ...... 18 2.5. Gender Roles in Sports ...... 21 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY ...... 24 Chapter 4: ANALYSIS ...... 28 4.1. Female-to-male athletes ...... 29 4.2. Male-to-female athletes ...... 35 Chapter 5: COMPARISONS ...... 42 Chapter 6: DISCUSSION ...... 49 Chapter 7: CONCLUSION ...... 58 References ...... 62 Appendix: List of Additional Articles ...... 79

List of Figures

Figure 1: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words ………………………………46

List of Tables

Table 1: Outline of Analyzed Athletes……………………………….……………26

Table 2: Positive and Negative Framing.. ………………………………………...29

Table 3: Statistic Comparisons……….…………………………………………....42

Table 4: Comparisons Without Allums……………………..……………………58

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Many people growing up in the 1970’s knew Bruce Jenner as an Olympic hero, setting records in the 1976 Olympics decathlon event. Jenner graced the cover of magazines and Wheaties boxes and was described as “Boyishly good-looking – a handsome Pete Rose – with tender brown eyes, a glorious smile… beautifully built, good-humored, well-spoken, Jenner could have been Bicentennial government issue…

He came equipped with a pretty blonde wife…” (DeFord, 1976, para. 4). Today, Jenner is known as Caitlyn and could be described as influential, as she graces magazines with a completely new appearance, including long hair, bright red painted fingernails, and sequined jumpsuits. Many believe that Jenner is paving the way for transgender acceptance and advocacy. As Jenner now graces magazine covers with her new look, she’s accompanied by headlines such as that vary from “Call me Caitlyn,” in Vanity Fair

(Bissinger, 2015).

Jenner raced his way to fame through his Olympic success and later as a reality television star on E! However, while many view American sports as a pasttime, a Pew

Research survey of LGBT adults found “that just 4% saw pro sports leagues as friendly toward LGBT people, while a majority (59%) saw the leagues as unfriendly and 36% saw them as neutral” (Lipka, 2016, para. 2). Therefore, while the LGBT community views the sports leagues as such, many transgender athletes are restricted and ridiculed for their participation. For example, CeCe Telfer, former NCAA Division II track star at Franklin

Pierce University, who won the 400-meter hurdle title in 2019, was born and raised as

Craig. Telfer, who was assigned male at birth, “competed for three years with Franklin

Pierce’s men’s team but stepped away when she started transitioning with hormone 1 replacement theory” (NewsOne Staff, 2019, para. 4). When an interested individual searches for Telfer using Google News, 363 results are provided. Headlines include the

May 29, 2019, article of “Transgender woman (who competed as a man last year) wins

NCAA track championship,” on thecollegefix.com and “Transgender hurdler easily wins

NCAA women’s national championship” in The Washington Times on June 3, 2019. In addition to the articles, individuals have strong opinions surrounding her victory that they also share on social media. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his thoughts when he called her achievements as “Yet another grave injustice to so many young women who trained their entire lives to achieve excellence. Identify however you want, to each his own, but this is too far and unfair to so many” (Trump, 2019).

However, according to his website, Chris Mosier is a “trailblazing Hall of Fame triathlete, All-American duathlete, transgender advocate, and a highly regarded speaker”

(Mosier, n.d.). Mosier’s list of accomplishments continue when in 2015 he was the first transgender man to represent the United States in an international competition and the first transgender athlete to qualify for the Olympic trials in a category different than his sex assigned at birth. In the June 28, 2016, EPSN article, “Chris Mosier: “I finally feel very comfortable with my body,” written by Ain, he’s described as a “history maker,” as the first transgender athlete to appear in Sports Illustrated Body Issue (2016, para. 1). In the 2016 issue, Mosier is pictured naked alongside athletes such as Antonio Brown, Jake

Arrieta and Conor McGregor. All of the men he accompanies are highly regarded, respected and paid famous athletes.

In comparison to Telfer, 8,640 results are provided when completing a Google

News search for Mosier.

When comparing the statements and images surrounding the victories of Telfer and Mosier, individuals can see that the two are framed vastly differently. As presented from these brief statements, when Telfer is presented in the media, she is attached to her assigned birth identity and is pictured ahead of her competition in track races.

Alternatively, when Mosier is portrayed, he is presented as manly and strong and according to ESPN, he is the definition of an athlete.

As visible through the above examples, female-to-male and male-to-female transgender athletes are presented differently in our media. However, a more extensive and thorough examination was needed to ensure this pattern of representation is evident throughout and across the transgender athlete community. Through the quantitative and qualitative research provided in this paper, found partial evidence was found that suggests that the media presents FTM and MTF athletes differently, thus, impacting and further transmitting the day-to-day stigmas surrounding transgender athletes. This research analyzed the text, headlines and images of FTM and MTF representation of over

300 Internet articles. Many media consumers seek out content that makes them feel comfortable and further aligns with their beliefs. If transgender individuals are not represented accurately and fairly throughout media, many consumers may continue to believe the stigmas that surround transgender individuals as a whole.

The purpose of this study is to better understand how transgender athletes are represented in the media through a critical textual analysis based on the idea that FTM and MTF athletes may be labeled and represented differently in media depiction, reflecting certain power dynamics within our society. According to Fairclough, “Most immediately, texts can bring about changes in our knowledge (we can learn things from

3 them), our beliefs, our attitudes, values and so forth. They also have longer-term causal effects” (2003, p. 8). In addition, Fairclough stated, “texts have causal effects upon, and contribute to changes in, people (beliefs, attitudes, etc.), actions, social relations, and the material world” (2003, p. 8). Therefore, this research will work to explain how individual beliefs and attitudes are influenced by the analyzed texts, the Internet articles. Through a critical textual analysis, the presented data shows that while all transgender athletes are subject to exclusion, thus, leading to a power imbalance, MTF athletes are represented in more negative terms than FTM athletes. This differing representation continues to reflect the gender power relationships in which sexism privileges men, and this ideology is then transferred to transgender athletes.

Typically, sporting events are led by announcers who also bring their own biases and opinions to the playing field. As stated in 2001, “The words of sportscasters – repeated hundreds, even thousands, of times by different announcers in similar ways - provide a conceptual frame for the sports experience” (Eastman and Billings, 2001, p.

183). The differences in this representation is proven through women’s basketball in which “gender was constantly marked, both verbally and through the use of graphics” and “During the women’s games, when commentators were discussing the next day’s men’s games… But, during the men’s basketball games, we observed no instances of gender marking…” (Messner et. al, 1993, p. 125). Therefore, how transgender athletes are depicted throughout our media and the biases presented by the announcers have the capacity to influence thoughts and beliefs. As such, this research could contribute to changing media and equality tactics in transgender media representation.

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Throughout history, dominant racial, gender and religious groups have continued to express and implement their power through the exclusion of minority populations.

While many of these minority populations have begun to gain equality through civil rights movements, the transgender community continues to be discriminated against in many facets of life. With the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, his administration has “waged a nonstop onslaught against the rights of LGBTQ people”

(National Center for Transgender Equality, n.d.). The National Center for Transgender

Equality website provides a lengthy list of discriminatory practices that begins on Jan. 27,

2017, when “President Trump signed executive orders seeking to ban entry by refugees and travelers” to July 23, 2020, when “The Department of Housing and Urban

Development formally announced the rollback of a previous rule that protected transgender people from discrimination by homeless shelters and other housing services receiving federal funds” (National Center for Transgender Equality, n.d.). Because of these continued attacks and lack of equal opportunities for the transgender community, it is important to look back at the history to learn how we got from Boulton and Park, who are highlighted later in this text, to electing the “Discrimination Administration.”

While the media representation of marginalized groups has changed and evolved throughout history, many media outlets continue to depict the transgender community in a negative way.

According to the Pew Research Center,

Nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults (87%) say then know someone who is gay or

lesbian. Far fewer (30%) say they know someone who is transgender. Americans

ages 65 and older are much less likely than younger adults to say they know

someone who is transgender…. (Pew Research Center, 2016, para. 1 and 4).

Therefore, if these individuals are continuously portrayed as victims and villains then the average media consumer may begin to believe these stigmas about the transgender population as a whole. The theory of framing, which is outlined in more detail throughout the research, and switching the narrative that surrounds the transgender community is crucial to their overall acceptance.

As previously stated, the dominant groups in society continue to utilize their power to ensure marginalized groups remain inferior. In the case of gender roles, we have continuously seen males being portrayed as the dominant gender, whereas females are depicted as inferior. While some, but not all, women gained the right to vote in 1920 they declared “for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship,” (History.com Editors, 2009, para. 1). Today this battle continues as

“Women in the U.S. workforce are making roughly $0.80 for every dollar earned by their male colleagues” (Stevens, 2020, para. 4). Because of gender roles and stereotypes, we continue to see women not obtaining the same opportunities for advancement as their male counterparts. This is again highlighted through the data in this study as MTF athletes, despite being assigned at birth to the dominant gender, are depicted negatively in our media.

While the dangerous mix of the United States current political climate and the overall history of excluding the transgender community from equal and fair representation alone are enough to justify this study, the need for the study is proven

6 through the National Center on Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

This survey found

People who are transgender are twice as likely to be living in poverty as the

general U.S. population…Nearly one in five respondents reported that they had

received negative treatment, including being denied equal treatment or service,

verbally harassed, or physically attacked, when they went to a public assistance or

government benefits office…. (Edmonds, 2016, para. 2 and 5).

While many members of the LGBTQ community have experienced unnecessary hate and bias, this data illustrated that the transgender community continues to be marginalized by the general population using the ideologies that are further expressed and communicated through the media by the dominant group. The Human Rights Campaign indicated that

2020 has seen “at least 34 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means… Since HRC began tracking this data in 2013, advocates have never seen such a high number at this point in the year” (Human Rights Campaign,

2020, para. 1). Because of this information and the current political climate, known as the

Discrimination Administration, the transgender community was selected for analysis.

Therefore, the research will quantitatively and qualitatively analyze media representation of MTF and FTM transgender athletes using the standards set by GLAAD.

These set standards are justified and explained with additional detail in the upcoming methodology section. This research will provide further evidence that transgender athletes continue to be marginalized throughout the mainstream media, but also that the ideology that males are the dominant gender is also proven throughout this representation.

2.1. History of Social Response to the Transgender Community

In 1870, Ernest Boulton and Fred Park were arrested for indecent behavior based on their soliciting of men as women. Due to the laws and fears of that time, transgender individuals began to seek out doctors who could “cure” them. From this, sexology was developed and in the 1920’s the first sex change operation was performed. As a result of

Boulton and Park’s efforts, The Boulton and Park Society later became one of the largest organizations for transgender men in the United States (Whittle, 2010, para. 5). It wasn’t until the early 1990’s that the word transgender was used as an umbrella term for

“describing a range of gender-variant identities and communities within the United

States” (Williams, 2014, para. 1). Around the same time in 1996, Congress and President

Bill Clinton passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) allowing states the right to not recognize same-sex marriage, even if celebrated in another state (Strasser, 1998, p. 457).

Years later in 2019, the United States passed the 50-year mark of the Stonewall

Riots of 1969. In these riots the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club, which sparked riots among bar patrons and neighborhood residents that led to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement. It has been said that this event served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and beyond

(History.com editors, 2017, para. 1). The years that followed included additional advocacy and acceptance efforts, including:

• On June 28, 1970, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots,

when individuals marched through local streets (History.com editors, 2017, para.

25).

• In 1974, the first out American was elected to public office (History.com editors,

2017, para. 27).

• In 1977, the New York Supreme Court ruled that Renee Richards could complete

in the United States Open tennis tournament as a female (History.com editors,

2017, para. 26).

As advocates have worked to better the lives of transgender individuals, we can see that work still needs to be done regarding media representation as Miller (2019) found that “the number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable interacting with

LGBTQ people sloped from 53% in 2017 to 45% in 2018…” (para. 2). As previously mentioned, the Trump administration, otherwise described as the “Discrimination

Administration” by the National Center for Transgender Equality because of its implementation of additional setbacks in equality for transgender individuals, including in 2017, when the administration “withdrew landmark 2016 guidance explaining how schools must protect transgender students under the federal Title IX law” and when it

“announced it would withdraw two important agency-proposed policies designed to protect LGBT people experiencing homelessness” (National Center for Transgender

Equality, n.d.).

While great strides have been made for equality for the transgender community,

The National Transgender Discrimination Survey “showed that 26% of trans people lost a job due to bias, 50% were harassed on the job, 20% were evicted or denied housing, and

78% of trans students were harassed or assaulted” (National Center for Transgender

Equality, n.d.). The study further outlines how this discrimination and exclusion impacts the day-to-day lives of the transgender community, including that “a majority (57%) of

9 transgender people are afraid to go to the police when they need it” because of the frequent harassment and pre-assumptions made about this community, and that

“transgender people are ten times as likely to be assaulted by their fellow inmates”

(National Center for Transgender Equality, n.d.). Beyond the prison system, the study found that “nearly one in five transgender travelers reported having been harassed or disrespected by airport security screeners or other airport workers” and with increasingly strict voter ID laws “trans people face many barriers – both because of difficulties in obtaining an ID that’s accepted, or because they might run into bias or misunderstanding of the law when it comes to their gender” (National Center for Transgender Equality, n.d.).

While the battle for transgender equality began with Boulton and Park in the

1870’s, the “Discrimination Administration” continues to implement strategies that are restrictive to the transgender community earning the acceptance and equality that is deserved.

2.2. Positioning Transgender People

GLAAD, founded “in response to the New York Post’s grossly defamatory and sensationalized HIV and AIDS coverage,” provides the basics of writing a transgender story on its website (GLAAD, n.d.). The organization and its set standards were chosen for this analysis based on their successes in advocacy for the transgender community.

These successes include, educating journalists and Hollywood, including changing the

AP Style Guide, producing documentary series and online videos, creating media tip sheets and even working with Facebook to announce a custom gender field for users to

“more accurately reflect who they are” (GLAAD, n.d.). Additionally, GLAAD provides resources and tips for allies. While the Media Reference Guide included a transgender section in 1998, the organization is continuing to rewrite the script for LGBTQ acceptance. This guide emphasizes that language is important, including the fact that using accurate terminology is the first step in presenting a respectful story about transgender individuals. Simply put, the media should abide by guidelines on proper pronoun and name usage. In addition, the media should move beyond the coming out narrative while avoiding focus on medical issues. This means, they should go beyond asking questions about surgeries that limit the viewers to not see beyond the individual.

When describing the fact that someone is transgender, the word ‘transgender’ should always be used as an adjective. GLAAD also provides the comparison that “Susan was born a man,” is not acceptable, whereas, “Susan is a transgender woman” is acceptable and preferred. Additionally, when writing about a transgender person, their chosen name should be used. The media should not use phrases such as, “she wants to be called” or

“she calls herself.” In stories and headlines, phrases such as “sex change” or “born a man” should be avoided. When appropriate, expert opinion should be used, meaning that the media should be cautious when choosing to highlight non-transgender guests to discuss transgender issues. Finally, transgender individuals can discuss topics beyond those that relate to transgender issues. (GLAAD, n.d.). As GLAAD continues to pave the way for this equal representation of the transgender community, the acceptance of their guidelines by the media could allow for equal and fair representation of these individuals around the world.

According to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association stylebook, transgender refers to “individuals whose gender identity and/or expression may not match their physical, sexual characteristics assigned at birth” (NLGJA: The Association of

LGBTQ Journalists, n.d.). A male-to-female (MTF) transgender, or transgender woman, is someone who was assigned male at birth but identifies and/or lives as a woman. A female-to-male (FTM) transgender, or transgender man, is one who was assigned female at birth but identifies and/or lives as a man. In order to achieve consonance with their gender identity, some transgender individuals elect to transform their bodies through hormone treatments and/or surgical procedures.

According to Buzuvis (2011), sports are “reflective of society’s different expectations for men and women, women’s sporting practices were limited in scope, were segregated from men’s, emphasized fitness and socializing rather than competition, required modest and restrictive attire, and possessed a private and insular nature” (p. 4).

Additionally, “concerns about safety, fairness, and stigma are all rooted in the presumption of male athletic superiority... widespread segregation in athletics… the sex- segregated framework allows sport to sustain a hierarchy that privileges boys as constructing their activities as categorically superior” (Buzuvis, 2011, p. 10). Since the beginning of sports competitions there has been a division between males and females, including how athletes compete and how they are presented. This believed clear-cut division is not applicable to transgender athletes. The civil rights and women’s movement changed “cultural attitudes about women’s participation in sports, and produced legal reform to ensure equal access to sporting opportunities” (Buzuvis, 2011, p. 5). Title IX regulations allow “students of one sex to try out for sports that are only offered to

12 members of the other sex, this provision is limited in scope to noncontact sports and to the sex whose opportunities have previously been limited” (Buzuvis, 2011, p. 6).

As diversity, inclusion and gender equality are among the core values of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the organization advocates for programming in which it does not discriminate based on age, race, sex, disability and gender expression (NCAA, 2011). To further encourage inclusion for all, the NCAA implemented a policy to ensure transgender representation that states that a transgender male, who received a medical exception for treatment with testosterone, may compete on a men’s team but is no longer eligible to compete on a women’s team. Alternatively, a transgender female being treated with testosterone suppression may continue to compete on a men’s team but may not compete on a women’s team until completion of one calendar year of treatment (NCAA, 2011, p. 13). While the media are consumed with presenting transgender athletes in a particular way, Helen Carroll, LBGTQ advocate, said, “There are as many as 200 transgender athletes competing in NCAA sports – and most of them haven’t caused any controversy” (as cited in Reimer, 2020, para. 6).

2.3. Media Representation of Transgender

In the early stages of black and white television, heterosexual, white, happy families filled our screens. While diversity started to fill our screens, LGBT characters remained sparse until the 1990’s when LA Law, My So Called Life, Will and Grace and

Friends all featured a gay character. Many may remember that around the same time, iconic television show host, Ellen DeGeneres, went on the Oprah Winfrey Show and announced she was as a lesbian (Rice, 2015, para. 8). Today, transgender actors like

Laverne Cox, Kate Dillon, Alex Blue Davis and Dominique Jackson star in award- winning series such as Orange is the New Black, Billions, Grey’s Anatomy and Pose.

While we have recently seen an increased representation of transgender individuals in our media, how transgender individuals are presented plays a large part in how we, the media consumers, shape our thoughts, opinions and beliefs through framing.

The media uses framing to select and highlight particular aspects of reality through selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration. According to Entman, to frame is to

“select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem, definition, casual interpretation, more evaluation and/or treatment recommendation for the described item”

(as cited in Weaver, et al., 2004, p. 263). Through framing, the media is “constantly presenting objects suggesting what individuals in the mass should think about, know about, have feelings about” (McCombs and Shaw, 1972, p. 177). Therefore, how transgender individuals are presented, if at all, throughout our media ultimately impacts the beliefs at the individual level.

Gillig, Murphy, Rosenthal and Folb (2018) demonstrated the power of entertainment narratives to influence attitudes towards transgender individuals and policy issues to find the “role of emotion in viewers responses has interesting implications” and that “hope and disgust each played an influential role in mediating viewers’ attitudes towards transgender people” (p. 523). The study further concluded that hope was associated with positive attitudes and disgust engendered more negative attitudes.

In the 2016 study, Writing in the Margins: Mainstream News Media

Representations of Transgenderism, United States newspapers were examined to analyze

14 the representation and identities of transgender individuals to determine how the group is legitimized or delegitimized by the news media. The study found that the mainstream newspaper coverage of transgender individuals overall is extremely limited. When represented, “the coverage that does exist contains a significant amount of delegitimizing language…” (Billard, 2016, p. 4,193). According to Billard, after reviewing findings the following four clear patterns leading to delegitimization emerge: misnaming and misgendering, misrepresentations of transgender identity, uses of the transgender

‘trickster’ trope, and sexualization of the transgender body.

Capuzza and Spencer (2017) further prove this point by using qualitative content analysis techniques to explore the representation of lead and supporting transgender characteristics in United States television series. Linda Murkland, the first regular transgender character on United States primetime, appeared in the 1977 show All That

Glitter and since then the media landscape has evolved and now provides more visibility for transgender characters on television as award-winning shows such as Orange Is the

New Black, Transparent, I Am Cait and I Am Jazz have witnessed booming success that propels “transgender identity and expression into the forefront of U.S. popular culture”

(Capuzza and Spencer, 2017, p. 215). However, it has been argued that the appearance of transgender characters has resulted in the dominant narrative continuing to be one that equates ‘trans’ with ‘transitioning,’ raising concern that transgender individuals are presented to exist only to support a liberal and often individualistic message (Capuzza and Spencer, 2017, p. 215). The study adds that transgender women, rather than transgender men, were more likely to be scripted as the lead or supporting role, limiting the opportunity for transgender men to see and relate to similar characters on television.

Adults were also depicted more often than children, limiting children’s potential exposure to transgender individuals that they may relate to. The study concluded that misgendering of transgender individuals is still prevalent in United States culture. As transgender women are more likely to be cast in lead or supporting roles, Reitz (2017) adds that the women who are cast in film and television are often cast as villains. According to the study, “Since 2012, they [GLAAD] have catalogued 102 episodes of television featuring transgender characters. Out of those episodes, 21% of them featured a trans woman as a villain” (p. 1). Thus, not only are transgender individuals lacking media representation, but also more than one in five represented are cast as a villain. Additionally, in 40% of the catalogued episodes, transgender females were the victims of extreme violence, especially in police procedural shows (Reitz, 2017, p. 3). Thus, transgender women are being depicted as either villains or victims of violence and not relatable productive members of our everyday society. The set agenda and media representation of such identity is then passed throughout the mainstream media channels to everyday consumers. In comparison, Flores et al. (2017) found that only “0.6% of U.S. adults identify as transgender. This figure is double the estimate that utilized data from roughly a decade ago and implies that an estimated 1.4 million adults in the U.S. identify as transgender” (p. 2). Therefore, as the transgender population makes up such a small percentage of the world population, many media consumers may not be interacting with transgender individuals on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. As such for many, the only exposure to the transgender community is through our media, further proving the need for accurate and realistic representations.

Capuzza (2014) concluded that the “media’s ability to construct and reconstruct gender categories, including the ‘otherness’ of marginalized groups such as transgender people demands attention by trans studies scholars” (p. 115).

While attention is deserved by such marginalized groups, Reimer’s (2020) article

Study finds Caitlyn Jenner coming out made more older people less transphobic, found that after Jenner revealed she was transgender in 2015, the conservative older population was more likely to support transgender rights. However, for the younger generation, one that may have viewed Jenner on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the announcement did not have the same impact (para. 2). To further prove the powerful role that the media play in our daily lives, individuals in the United States who viewed storylines of Royal

Pains that highlighted transgender individuals led the viewers to have more positive attitudes towards the population than those who did not view this particular plot (Gillig, et. al, 2018).

Overall, these studies prove the importance of the media and depiction of various audiences. Through these studies, it’s evident that the transgender community as a whole continues to lack representation, but also proves unfair representation when they are visible. As the media provides many individuals with their impressions of the transgender community, they play a powerful role in ensuring honest depiction in this representation moving forward. However, there continues to be a lack of studies that surround the transgender community and their participation in athletics. According to the National

Center for Transgender Equality, some transgenders “are denied opportunities to go on field trips or participate in sports. Together with bullying and victimblaming, these conflicts can lead to disproportionate discipline, school pushout, and involvement in the

17 juvenile justice system” (National Center for Transgender Equality, n.d.). While the participation in school activities, including athletics, is key to student success, this study analyzed the representation of the transgender community in sports to further determine the impact of the media.

As previously mentioned, a majority of the United States population does not interact with a transgender individual on a daily basis. Therefore, through the accurate and fair media representation of the transgender community, these individuals can begin to see the transgender community with equality and respect.

2.4. Exclusion Studies

According to Michael Foucault, “persons began to be judged according to such norms, and norms became useful within relationships of power because they in turn constructed fields of knowledge, in which ‘knowing things’ was based on ‘knowing norms’” (as cited in Hewett, 2004, p. 7). “Knowledge is always power. Historically, the production of knowledge has been dominated by men, which has implications for the ways women and women’s issues have been defined and the ways that women define their own experiences” (Letherby, 2003, p. 391). Therefore, the ideology that men are the dominant gender is one that is created and further reinforced and reproduced by men.

This ideology that males are the superior gender is one that is continued and viscously reinforced throughout the sports arena and evident in the pay gap between male and female athletes. As the work of transgender advocates around the globe continues, there remains a stigma surrounding transgender individuals and their participation in sports because of the knowledge and norms that are shared through and by the media. The

18 question typically surrounds if they should continue to compete in sports that align with their gender assigned at birth or if they should also be allowed to compete in sports that align with their chosen gender.

In recent months, the United States has witnessed a lawsuit filed by three female high school runners in Connecticut. According to a New York Post article, a daily tabloid newspaper in New York City, the lawsuit claims that “the Connecticut Interscholastic

Athletic Conference policy allows ‘biological boys’ to beat them at track events and deprives them of possible scholarships” (Miller, 2020, para. 2). As a result of this policy,

“two athletes born ‘biologically male’ have ‘taken 12 women’s state championship titles’ previously held by nine different girls…” (Miller, 2020, para. 5). This story, and others, provides additional evidence that not everyone is in agreement with Jenner’s acceptance and advocacy work. The battle for equality or separation continues on the political level.

As previously mentioned, Donald Trump Jr. expressed his opinions on Telfer.

Alternatively, Ilhan Omar, United States Representative, stated, “The myth that trans women have a ‘direct competitive advantage’ is not supported by medical science, and it continues to stroke fear and violence against one of the most at-risk communities in the world” (O’Reilly, 2019, para. 3). When we, as everyday news consumers, complete a search on Google News for topics surrounding the hot-button debate, we receive headlines including, “Trans runner competes in the women’s Olympic marathon trials, loses to 229 women,” (Zanotti, 2020) on the Daily Wire, a conservative media company, in 2020. These beliefs then trickle down to the local level where we witness lawmakers introduce bills that ban transgender athletes, as well as athletes suing to keep transgender athletes from competing, and a 2020 letter issued by the Department of Education

“declaring that the federal Title IX rule requires school to ban transgender students from participating in school [sic] sports, and threatening to withhold funding from Connecticut schools if they do not comply” (National Center for Transgender Equality, 2020).

As previously mentioned, the work of the “Discrimination Administration” has been detrimental to LGBTQ individuals around the United States in areas including healthcare, human rights and housing security. By assigning a certain identity, we are controlled through the acquisition of new knowledge but “the dissemination of this knowledge causes the development of norms…” (Hewett, 2004, p. 7). The juridical systems of power thus produce the subjects they subsequently come to represent.

Edward Said argued the following:

When thinking about power, ‘it is sensible to begin by asking the beginning

questions, why imagine power in the first place, and what is the relationship

between one’s motive for imagining power and the image one ends up with… The

observation that one’s understanding of power is a function of the interests one

brings to the study of power seems particularly true for feminist theorizing about

power. After all, feminist theory is closely – although not uncritically – tied to the

aims and interests of feminism as a social and political movement…. (Allen,

2018, p. 1)

As previously stated by Foucault, knowledge is always power. In regards to the previous quote and power, a connection should be made to how the news media uses their power to present the transgender community to the world. Additionally, in recent years, we have also seen the rise of feminist activism that can occur at the individual level or as

20 a collective resistance in which “women and their allies sometimes create massive feminist movements that collectively challenge the structural sources of male privilege”

(Swank and Fahs, 2017, p. 1). While the intensity, scope and tactics change over time,

“Scholars have used the wave metaphor for the different peaks of feminist mobilizations; recently, the election of Donald Trump instigated a new round of widespread and highly visible feminist protests…” (Swank and Fahs, 2017, p. 1). Also in 2017, we witnessed the

#MeToo movement, in which “the hashtag was used 12 million times in the first 24 hours alone” (Mendes et al., 2018, p. 1). However, according to Butler (2011), “for the most part, feminist theory has assumed that there is some existing identity, understood through the category of women, who not only initiates feminist interests and goals within discourse, but constitutes the subject for whom political representation is pursued” (p. 3).

Therefore, “feminists challenge sexism through many means, particularly as they confront exploitation, harassment, and objectification in numerous spheres of their lives: work, home, family and public settings” (Swank and Fahs, 2017, p. 1).

If the transgender community continues to be excluded from participation in activities that align with their chosen gender, they will continue to be excluded from acceptance in all facets of their lives. Therefore, the importance of acceptance and eliminating exclusion will serve as the theoretical basis for this analysis.

2.5. Gender Roles in Sports

While women have made great strides in obtaining equality, gender inequality is still ever prevalent in the daily lives of females from the lower wages earned to gender role expectations that are generationally passed down. Gender roles are the roles that men and women are expected to take on based on their sex, including the ideas that women

21 are to be more nurturing whereas men are presumed to be more masculine (Blackstone,

2013, p. 337). These differences in expectations are only amplified and continued throughout the sports world, as “Men are taught to play sports or watch sports by many different agents… while, predominantly women are taught that sporting activities are only for men” (Trolan, 2013, p. 216). These patriarchal values are then communicated and reinforced throughout the media, through underrepresentation, trivialization, and sexualization, as female athletes “live in two distinctly separate cultures, the sporting culture and their larger culture where they must deal with the continual clash between being an athlete and a woman” (Trolan, 2013, p. 216). This underrepresentation further communicates that women’s sports and athletes are not as worthy as men’s sports and athletes, which then leads the general public to have a lack of awareness of women athletes and their accomplishments (Trolan, 2013, p. 217).

As this sports arena is one that is dominated by men, studies find that more space and emphasis is devoted to male athletes, regardless of “type of sport, level or age of competitors, form of medium, or host country of the media outlet” (Bernstein and Kian,

2013, p. 319). However, radical feminists have generally seen heterosexuality “as problematic in marginalizing the experiences and opportunities for gay and transgender individuals and contributing to a culture that allows men’s dominance of women to continue” (Whiteside, 2015, p. 32). Sports have also served as a way to exclude those who don’t fit such standards. “Hegemonic inequality discourses are not only constructed and reproduced within social practices like (competitive) sports, but also continuously negotiated and challenged in social interaction, through language, appearance and behaviour” (Elling and Janssens, 2009, p. 73).

While men continue to dominate the sports arena, transgender athletes are working to gain acceptance in participation in the sport that aligns with their chosen gender. However, many individuals continue to view sports as a clear division of male and female, and therefore, they question where transgender athletes fall in lines of participation. According to GLAAD, queer is “an adjective used by some people, particularly young people, whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual…

Some people may use queer, or more commonly genderqueer, to describe their gender identify and/or gender expression” (GLAAD, n.d.). Therefore, queer theory “attempts to disrupt a power structure that has portrayed the hetero as the norm… It critiques societal actions and discourses that create sexual categories and identities… that force individuals into overly confined labels while further allowing for heteronormative power dynamics to develop and remain in place” (Cabosky, 2014, p. 71).

In 2020, we saw the sports world join together in protest of the police shooting of

Jacob Blake. While the strikes of the National Basketball Association (NBA), consumed headlines, “for years, WNBA players have been at the forefront of those protests, speaking out against police brutality and gun violence” (Jeong Perry, 2020, para. 2).

However, in relation to the power and gender relations that have been laid out in our sports world, the interview included, “It’s not just in the realm of sports in which Black women’s labor and organizing goes overlooked for the man standing next to her” (Jeong

Perry, 2020, para. 5). Therefore, gender inequalities are continuous and only heightened throughout the sports arena. This arena that remains dominated by men continues to exclude individuals based on their gender, whether it was assigned at birth or obtained through a transition.

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY

In this study I analyzed how male-to-female transgender athletes and female-to- male transgender athletes are presented in the media and then determined the differences in their representations. When differing representations were found, I analyzed the different representations of the athletes related to gender power relations. Through a critical textual analysis I analyzed Internet articles, including headlines, texts and images, featuring transgender athletes within a three-month time period using the standards provided by GLAAD. According to its website, GLAAD “tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change… and creates a world where everyone can live the life that they love” (GLAAD, n.d.). The GLAAD Media

Reference Guide, now in its tenth edition, is “intended to be used by journalists reporting for mainstream media outlets and by creators in entertainment media who want to tell

LGBTQ people’s stories fairly and accurately” (GLAAD, n.d.). The guide included a glossary of terms for the transgender community, a list of offensive and preferred terms, and in-depth information on covering the transgender community in the media. Through the provided data, I implemented a comparative study to determine how the standards are implemented by journalists.

After background information on transgender athletes was collected, I decided to analyze MTF and FTM athletes at all levels of competition. When selecting athletes, I wanted to ensure that in addition to the diverse level of competition, that diversity was reflected across the competitor age and race. To find the athletes to analyze, I used

Internet searches to find the ten athletes that were ultimately chosen for analysis. After selection of the athletes was complete, additional research was completed to determine an

24 instrumental or monumental event that occurred in the athlete’s life, including participation in Olympic Trials, being named in a lawsuit or winning a cycling gold medal. It was also important that Internet articles were readily available that focused on this event. To ensure a full timeline of analysis could be completed, the researcher selected a three-month timeframe for media publication. Using the provided GLAAD standards, I analyzed articles mentioning the following female-to-male athletes: Kye

Allums, Schuyler Bailar, Mack Beggs, Pat Manuel and Chris Mosier. The timeframe for this data set is November 2010 to April 2020, which includes when Allums announced his transition to when Mosier participated in the Olympic Trials. I also analyzed articles mentioning male-to-female athletes: Rachel McKinnon, CeCe Telfer, June Eastwood,

Lindsay Hecox and Andraya Yearwood. The timeframe for this data set is October 2018 to February 2020 to include when McKinnon won her gold medal to when Yearwood was included in the Connecticut lawsuit.

Table 1: Outline of Analyzed Athletes Table one includes the names, analysis date and monumental events that occurred in the lives of the analyzed FTM and MTF athletes.

Athlete Name: Analysis Date: Monumental Event:

Female-to-male (FTM) athletes:

Kye Allums Nov. 2, 2010 – Feb. 2, George Washington University, Allums 2011 college, announces transition Schuyler Bailar June 28, 2015 – Sept. 28, Harvard University announces Bailar will 2015 join the men’s team Mack Beggs Feb. 25, 2017 – May 25, Beggs wins Texas state wrestling 2017 championship Pat Manuel Dec. 8, 2018 – March 8, Manuel becomes first transgender man to 2019 fight professionally in United States Chris Mosier Jan. 25, 2020 – April 25, Mosier becomes first transgender man to 2020 compete in the Olympic trials Male-to-female (MTF) athletes: Rachel McKinnon Oct. 14, 2018 – Jan. 14, McKinnon tweets announcing cycling 2019 championship CeCe Telfer May 26, 2019 – Aug. 26, Franklin Pierce announces Telfer wins 400- 2019 meter hurdles June Eastwood Aug. 31, 2019 – Nov. 30, Eastwood becomes the first transgender 2019 athlete to compete in division I cross country Andraya Yearwood Feb. 12, 2020 – May 12, Connecticut track athletes speak at a news 2020 conference Lindsay Hecox April 15, 2020 – July 15, Hecox files lawsuit 2020

Mosier, a female-to-male athlete, became the transgender first man to compete in the Olympic trials in his chosen gender on Jan. 25, 2020. Therefore, the timeline for article analysis will be Jan. 25 – April 25, 2020. In comparison, Eastwood, a male-to- female athlete, became the first transgender athlete to compete in division I cross country on Aug. 31, 2019. Her analysis will occur from Aug. 31-Nov. 31, 2019. Using Google, the researcher will input “transgender athlete Chris Mosier” or “transgender athlete June

Eastwood” and analyze the provided results from the specific timeframe. Using an

Internet plugin, I was able to download the provided URL links to an Excel spreadsheet.

After this data was exported to the spreadsheet, I began analyzing all article titles, images 26 and text to determine how the athletes were ultimately presented in the media. As previously stated, the data was analyzed based on the standards that are provided throughout GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide. Each article, regardless of the publication type or author, was read, and the positive and negative framing that was presented, if applicable, was noted in a spreadsheet. The positive and negative framing specifications are provided in the upcoming analysis section. Additionally, specific markers, such as the mention of a transition, comparison images and the use of ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ in the headline, were tallied. Throughout the analysis process and after analysis completion, I was able to determine the applicable themes that were prevalent across all transgender representation and based on the MTF and FTM athlete representation. These themes are relevant examples are provided throughout the analysis and discussion sections.

After this analysis was complete, I was able to determine the applicable themes that applied to the MTF and FTM athletes that were reflective of gender roles that are commonly seen throughout our society.

Chapter 4: ANALYSIS

In total, 246 articles were returned in the athlete timeframe for female-to-male athletes, and 370 articles were returned for male-to-female athletes. However, after cleaning the data, including eliminating articles and removing non-relevant articles, 108 articles were remaining analyzed for female-to-male athletes and 204 articles were analyzed for male-to-female athletes. While five FTM and five MTF athletes were analyzed, the data set provided more articles for the MTF athletes. However, I decided to stick with the initial selected athletes to ensure that an appropriate analysis timeframe was complete.

Using critical textual analysis, the articles were analyzed for positive and negative framing, and images used in representation. As GLAAD is working to rewrite the script for LGBTQ acceptance, its GLAAD Media Reference Guide - In Focus: Covering the

Transgender Community and its recommendations for writing a transgender story were used in outlining the positive and negative framing measurements that were used in analysis. The following analysis section includes two subsections, the female-to-male analysis, followed by the male-to-female analysis. Within each subsection, an analysis of each provided athlete is included.

Table 2: Positive and Negative Framing

Table two outlines the positive and negative framing standards that were set by GLAAD and further implemented in analysis.

Positive framing: Negative framing:

• Using correct pronouns • Using incorrect pronouns

• Go beyond the coming out • Focusing on the coming out narrative

narrative • Focusing on genitals or surgeries

• Focus on the entire person • Describing that someone is

• Using transgender as an transgender

adjective • Disclosing birth names

• Using their real chosen name • Using “wants to be called”

• Allowing transgender • Using before/after images individuals to talk about transgender people • Using cliché images

• Using non-transgender guests to talk about transgender people

4.1. Female-to-male athletes

According to GLAAD, a transgender man is an individual who was assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man. (GLAAD Media Reference Guide, 2016, p. 10). A total of five female-to-male athletes, Kye Allums, Schuyler Bailar, Mack

Beggs, Pat Manuel and Chris Mosier, were analyzed from November 2010 to April

2020.

Kye Allums: Leader in Transgender Acceptance

On Nov. 2, 2010, as a student at George Washington University in Washington

D.C., Kye Allums became the “first publically transgender person to play NCAA 29

Division I college basketball” and while he now identified as male, he would continue playing on the women’s basketball team (GLSEN, n.d., para. 2). In the George

Washington University statement, Allums said, “I didn’t choose to be born in this body and feel the way I do. I decided to transition, that is change my name and pronouns…”

(George Washington University, 2010, para. 4). A total of three articles were analyzed from Nov. 2, 2010, to Feb. 2, 2011, using “transgender athlete Kye Allums.” Article headlines include “On the basketball court, Minnesotan Kye Allums is a she; in life 'call me a he'” in the TwinCities Pioneer Press on Nov. 2, 2010 (TwinCities Pioneer Press,

2010), and “First transgender athlete to play in NCAA basketball” in CNN on Nov. 4,

2010 (CNN, 2010). All three articles were published within two days after Allums and

George Washington University made their announcement.

However, when the articles were reviewed, I discovered that many of GLAAD’s media suggestions were not implemented appropriately. In two out of the three articles,

Allums birth name was revealed. The Bleacher Report article, “Kye Allums: latest news and updates on transgender NCAA hoops player” stated, “Born Kyler Kelcian Allums,

Kay-Kay changed his name to Kye” (Brautigan, 2010, para. 3) and the TwinCities

Pioneer Press article added “player formerly known as Kay-Kay Allums and Kiara

Allums…” (TwinCities Pioneer Press, 2010, para. 3) The articles add that Allums encourages people to call him a ‘he’ and that he wants to be identified as a man. Chosen images of Allums include him playing basketball against females and Allums with the

George Washington University coach.

Schuyler Bailar: Swimming His Way to Acceptance

In June 2015, Harvard University announced that Schuyler Bailar, an incoming freshman, “will become the first openly transgender swimmer in NCAA Division I history when he joins the Harvard men’s swimming team for the upcoming season”

(Freed and Meagher, 2015, para. 1). A total of five articles were analyzed from June 28 to

Sept. 28, 2020, using “transgender athlete Schuyler Bailar,” and one article was eliminated because it included a link to a Harvard Crimson article that was previously included in the search results. An additional article was eliminated because there was no mention of Bailar. Analyzed article headlines included “Meet the first openly transgender swimmer, joins Harvard’s men’s team,” in TIME on July 1, 2015, (Feeney, 2015) and

“Harvard athlete Schuyler Bailar among first openly transgender NCAA swimmers” in

The New York Daily News on June 30, 2015 (The New York Daily News, 2015). All five articles included the word ‘transgender’ in the headline, and three articles used the word

‘transgender’ and ‘Harvard.’

Four articles highlight the fact that Bailar was a star recruit for the women’s swimming team at Harvard University, but indicate that his chances of achieving such goals would now be thrown out. The New York Daily News article “Harvard athlete

Schuyler Bailar among first openly transgender NCAA swimmers,” states, “Schuyler

Bailar was a star recruit for the women’s swimming team at Harvard University, a tough competitor with a shot at winning titles. But Bailar is opting to forgo such honors to join the men’s team instead…” (The New York Daily News, 2015, para. 1). Additionally, a

WJLA, Washington D.C. local ABC affiliate, article, “Openly transgender swimmer from

Va. at Harvard believed to be a 1st,” added that “On the women’s team, Bailar would have been a top athlete. He had hopes of breaking records and winning titles. In the world

31 of men’s swimming, though, his times were far behind the best. It took two wrenching months to decide, but he finally dropped his competitive goals and joined the men’s team” (WJLA, 2015, para. 6).

Throughout the analyzed articles, Bailar’s transition to male was mentioned frequently. Articles mentioned that he “had his breasts surgically removed and has started hormone treatments” (The New York Daily News, 2015, para. 19), as well as, the fact that he underwent a “double mastectomy” that “removed his mammary glands and breasts” and started testosterone therapy (Freed and Meagher, 2015, para. 8). Images used to portray Bailar include him smiling at the camera and competing wearing a men’s bathing suit.

Mack Beggs: Tackling the Texas Courts

In February 2017, “Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender boy forced to wrestle in the girls division, won the Texas state high school title at 110 pounds in the girls division on Saturday” (Buzinski, 2017, para. 1). According to the article, “Transgender athlete Mack Beggs wins Texas state girls wrestling title,” Beggs, who is making the transition from female to male, is required to compete in the gender class listed on his birth certificate per Texas athletic rules. (Buzinski, 2017, para. 3). A total of 48 articles were provided using the search, “Mack Beggs transgender athlete,” in the timeframe of

Feb. 25 to May 25, 2017. However, eight articles were eliminated because the article was written in a different language or the researcher could not access the article. Therefore, 40 articles were analyzed.

Article headlines include, “Joe Rogan lashes out at transgender Texas wrestling champ Mack Beggs, foes offer support,” in USA Today High School Sports (Smith,

2017), to “Chris Mosier talks Mack Beggs and trans youth participation policies in sports,” in ESPN (Barnes, 2017). Overall, 30 articles included the word “trans” or

“transgender” in the headline. While 24 articles focused on his transition to male, zero articles highlighted that he was making history. Beggs’ birth name is Mackenzie, however, this name was not used throughout any of the analyzed articles (Smith, 2018, para. 14).

Pat Manuel: Knocking Out Transgender Stereotypes

On Dec. 8, 2018, “Patricio Manuel finally made it back in the ring” and “not only made his professional fighting debut and beat Hugo Aguilar by unanimous decision… but he made history, becoming the first transgender male to fight professionally in the United

States” (Young, 2018, para. 1 and 2). A total of 31 articles were provided from Dec. 8,

2018 to March 8, 2019, using the search “transgender athlete Pat Manuel.” However, 19 articles were removed from the completed analysis because there was no mention of

Manuel, the article was written in a different language and/or the researcher could not access the article. Therefore, 12 articles were included in analysis.

In analyzing the article headlines, ten articles included the word “transgender” or

“trans.” However, six articles, half of the analyzed articles, focused on the fact that history was made. Article examples include, “Trans man makes history as a pro boxer” in

Rolling Stone (Bohn, 2018) and “Transgender boxer Pat Manuel wins by unanimous decision in historic professional debut” on Yahoo!Sports (Young, 2018). Additionally, eight articles focused on Manuel’s transition and included descriptions of his journey including, “The transition started with hormone treatment 18 months later, and by early

2014 Manuel had put on 15 pounds, grown facial hair and heard his voice drop a couple

33 of octaves… removal of breasts and the shaping of a male-contoured chest” on the previously mentioned Yahoo!Sports article (Young, 2018, para. 7), and “It began with a hormone treatment and eventually a mastectomy… underwent a $6,000 surgery to remove breasts and create a male-shaped chest” (Bohn, 2018, para. 4) in the Rolling

Stone article. Six articles highlighted the fact that Manuel had previously competed as a female, including the fact that he “fought for the last time as a female in 2012 at the U.S.

Olympic Trials” (Young, 2018, para. 5).

Images that accompanied the analyzed articles include Manuel being announced as the boxing winner, Manuel flexing and Manuel in the boxing ring. Only one photo included a before and after picture of Manuel’s transition to male.

Chris Mosier: Paving the Way for Transgender Inclusion in the Olympics

According to his website, Mosier is the “first transgender athlete to represent the

United States in international competition, first transgender athlete in the ESPN Body

Issue, and first transgender athlete to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the gender they identify” (Mosier, n.d.). In January 2020, Mosier became the first transgender athlete “to qualify for and participate in an Olympic trials in the gender with which he identifies”

(Chavez, 2020, para. 3). Mosier is also the first transgender athlete sponsored by Nike. A total of 156 articles were provided within the timeframe of Jan. 25 - April 25, 2020, using the search “transgender athlete Chris Mosier.” However, after the articles were analyzed

108 articles were removed because the researcher could not access the article or Mosier was not mentioned in the article and/or mentioned in the podcast section of the website only. Therefore, 48 articles were analyzed. The word “trans” or “transgender” was included in 35 out of 48 articles and headlines include, “Trans athlete Chris Mosier on

34 qualifying for the Olympic trials,” (Minsberg, 2020) in the New York Times and “Chris

Mosier makes history at Olympic Trials, calling it ‘incredible and heartbreaking,” on

Outsports (Ennis, 2020). Additionally, 11 articles mention that Mosier is a Nike- sponsored athlete, whereas 23 articles highlight that he is making history and/or the first ever. Four out of 48 articles mentioned his transition. According to a LinkedIn post by

Mosier, his family always called him “Chris,” so he kept his name, which he said, “was a benefit… it was much easier to be acknowledged as I saw myself since people had to only change my pronouns, not my name” (Mosier, 2019, para. 3).

However, many of the analyzed articles focused on Mosier advocating or on a particular state bill or lawsuit that could negatively impact the transgender community.

Examples include, “Lawsuit challenges Idaho law banning transgender women from sports,” in the Boise State Public Radio (Gaudette, 2020), where Mosier is pictured at a

Boise protest, or “Trans athletes welcomed on teams despite hostile state bills,” on

NewNowNext (Sosin, 2020) that includes a Mosier tweet on a potential Missouri law. In fact, 21 out of 48 articles focus on Mosier advocating and/or state bills or lawsuits.

4.2. Male-to-female athletes According to GLAAD, a transgender woman is an individual who was assigned female at birth but now identifies and lives as a male. (GLAAD Media Reference Guide,

2016, p.10). A total of five male-to-female athletes, Rachel McKinnon, CeCe Telfer, June

Eastwood, Andraya Yearwood and Lindsay Hecox, were analyzed from October 2018 to

July 2020.

Rachel McKinnon: Gold Medalist Teaching Transgender Acceptance

According to her website, McKinnon is one of the only transgender world champions in any sport, she achieved this honor by earning a gold medal in the women’s

35-44 sprint event at the 2018 UCI Masters Track Cycling (Rachel McKinnon, 2020).

While McKinnon celebrated her victory on social media, not everyone was pleased with her victory. The third-place finisher, Jennifer Wagner of the United States, tweeted, “I was the 3rd place rider. It’s definitely NOT fair” and others tweeted that she is a cheater

(Yahoo!Sports, 2018, para. 6). According to a Cycling Weekly article by Ballinger

(2018), “Dr Rachel McKinnon was born a biological male but identifies as a trans woman and is a campaigner for trans rights” (para. 4). A total of 37 articles were analyzed from

Oct. 14, 2018, to Jan. 14, 2019, using “transgender athlete Rachel McKinnon.” While the search provided a total of 86 results, 49 of the articles were removed from analysis because there was no mention of McKinnon, the article was written in a different language, the article could not be accessed by the researcher or McKinnon was mentioned in the podcast section of the website only. In fact, 33 of the 49 articles were removed from analysis because McKinnon was mentioned in the podcast section of the

Outsports website.

After the analysis of the 37 articles, framing themes became evident. In 30 out of

37 article headlines, the word ‘transgender’ or ‘trans’ was used, and in 19 articles the headline focused on the backlash that was received by McKinnon or the third-place competitors reaction to her victory. Articles included, “Transgender Canadian cyclist defends winning championship after bronze medalist complains” in the National Post

(Brean, 2018) and “It’s definitely NOT fair’: American cyclist lashes out after losing world championship to a trans woman” in the Daily Mail UK (Simpson, 2018).

Additionally, 15 articles stated that McKinnon was born a man, identifies as a female or is a biological male, and seven articles focused on her transition or use of testosterone.

Images that accompanied the analyzed articles included McKinnon on the cycling podium and/or competing against other female athletes.

While much of the framing of McKinnon was negative according to the standards set by GLAAD, McKinnon was referred to as “Dr. Rachel McKinnon” in ten articles, which represents positive framing as her educational successes are highlighted.

CeCe Telfer: Track Star Racing to Victory

In May 2019, Telfer became “the first-student athlete in Franklin Pierce history to collect an individual national title” (The Official Website of Franklin Pierce University,

2019, para. 2). According to a TRIBLIVE article, “Telfer made history last month as the first publicly out transgender woman to win a NCAA track title” (Pastrick, 2019, para. 5).

Telfer, formerly known as Craig, previously competed on Franklin Pierce’s men’s track and field team. A total of 42 articles were provided using the search “transgender athlete

CeCe Telfer” from May 26 - Aug. 26, 2019. However, five articles were removed from analysis because Telfer was mentioned in the comment section of the article only or the article was written in a different language. Therefore, 37 articles were analyzed.

While many articles focused on the advantages Telfer has over biological females,

“trans” or “transgender” was highlighted in 24 out of 37 articles, and Telfer’s birth name,

Craig, was mentioned in 20 articles. Additionally, 15 articles mentioned Telfer’s transition and 10 stated that Telfer was a biological male, that she identifies as a female and/or was born a male.

June Eastwood: Breaking Barriers in Division I Cross Country

On Aug. 31, 2019, Eastwood became the “first transgender athlete to compete in

DI cross country when she runs for the University of Montana in the women’s division…” (Dutch, 2019, para. 1). A total of 58 articles were provided using the search

“transgender athlete June Eastwood” from Aug. 31, 2019, to Nov. 30, 2019. However, only 29 articles were analyzed, as 29 articles were removed from analysis as there was no mention of June Eastwood, the article focused on Clint Eastwood or the researcher could not access the article.

After the analysis of Eastwood was complete, similar framing themes were discovered. In 16 out of 29 articles, the word “transgender” or “trans” was used in the article headline. Additionally, 13 articles mentioned Jonathan, and 14 articles mentioned that Eastwood had previously competed on men’s teams, whether this was in middle school or the previous year at the University of Montana. The Daily Signal article,

“Males don’t belong in women’s sports - even if they don’t always win,” stated, “June

(formerly Jonathan) Eastwood have been competing in NCAA women’s sports for the past year. Both previously competed on their school’s men’s teams and were competitive in the men’s division…” (Hepler and Jones, 2019, para. 2). Ten of the 29 articles added that Eastwood identifies as male or is a biological male, and nine articles mention testosterone or the transition to female.

However, ten articles mentioned that Eastwood was named the “Women’s Cross

Country Athlete of the Week,” by the Big Sky Conference, and eight articles referred to the fact that Eastwood was the first openly transgender woman to compete at the

Division-1 level in cross country and track. While the articles mentioned Eastwood’s

38 accomplishments, not all were presented positively, including a College Fix article headline, “Big Sky Conference names male runner ‘female athlete of the week,’ leaves out he’s transgender” (Piper, 2019) and the Accuracy in Academia article, “Biological man to race against women in NCAA division I” (Nitzberg, 2019).

In analysis of the images accompanying articles, many included Eastwood running with female teammates. However, two articles included Eastwood as a male and a comparison picture between Jonathan and June.

Andraya Yearwood: Battling Inequality in Court

In February 2020, three Connecticut high school track and field athletes announced a “lawsuit over a policy which allows transgender athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identify” (Maxouris, 2020, para. 1). The article, “3

Connecticut high school girls are suing over a policy that allows trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports,” further adds that “As examples, the lawsuit mentions two transgender athletes by name, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, who it says began competing in the 2017 track season and brought home ‘15 women’s state championship titles”

(Maxouris, 2020, para. 13). A total of 75 articles were provided from Feb. 12 to May 12,

2020, using the search “transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood,” and 66 articles were included in the analysis. The nine articles were removed from analysis because there was no mention of Yearwood or the researcher could not access the article.

After analyzing the results, 39 out of 66 articles mentioned or focused on the

Connecticut lawsuit, and search results also included focuses on similar bills or potential bills in Arizona, Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio and Mississippi. In some of these articles, an image of Yearwood competing against other females was provided. “Trans”

39 or “transgender” was used in 50 article headlines, and Yearwood’s transition was mentioned in seven articles. Additionally, the successes of Yearwood, including state championship victories, were mentioned in 16 articles. However, while these successes were mentioned, not all search results were positive. A National Review article,

“Attorneys for Conn. high school runners ask Judge to recuse after he forbids them from describing trans athletes as ‘male’,” states, “Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood who have combined to win 15 girls indoor and outdoor championship events since 2017. The year prior to Miller and Yearwood’s participation, those titles were held by ten different girls…” (Crowe, 2020, para. 12).

Many of the images that accompanied the articles were Yearwood and Miller competing against other high school females.

Lindsay Hecox: Taking On Idaho’s Government

In March 2020, Idaho Governor, Brad Little, signed Idaho’s Fairness in women’s

Sport Act, which “prohibits transgender athletes from competing in sports consistent with their gender identity. Idaho is the first state in the nation to enact such a ban” (Moreau,

2020, para. 6). In response to the Act, two federal civil rights groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lindsay Hecox and an additional student athlete on April 15, 2020. Hecox transitioned and “is now a student at Boise State, but she will not be able to compete on the university’s cross-country team this fall” because of the law (Moreau, 2020, para. 5).

A total of 109 articles were provided using the search “transgender athlete Lindsay

Hecox” from April 15 - July 15, 2020. 74 articles were eliminated from the results because Hecox was mentioned in the podcast section of the article only or the researcher could not access the article. Therefore, 35 articles were analyzed for Hecox.

In the 35 articles that were analyzed, 25 articles used “trans” or “transgender” in the headline, and seven articles mentioned her transition.

Chapter 5: COMPARISONS

Table 3: Statistic Comparisons Table three includes the data set comparisons for FTM and MTF athletes.

Athlete: Articles Trans/transgender First ever/ Focus on Disclose Analyzed included in the history making: transition: birth name: headline:

Kye Allums 3 66% 33% 66% 66%

Schuyler 5 100% 60% 60% n/a Bailar

Mack Beggs 40 75% 0% 60% 0%

Pat Manuel 12 83% 75% 67% 0%

Chris Mosier 48 73% 48% 8% n/a

FTM 79.4% 43.2% 52.2% 22% Average

Rachel 37 81% 38% 19% 3% McKinnon

CeCe Telfer 37 65% 11% 41% 54%

June 29 55% 24% 31% 45% Eastwood

Andraya 66 76% 0% 11% n/a Yearwood

Lindsay 35 71% 0% 20% 0% Hecox

MTF 69.6% 14.6% 24.4% 25.5% Average:

The data in table three provides insights into the differences of how female-to- male and male-to-female transgender athletes are presented in the media. While the findings for the usage of “trans” or “transgender” in article headlines were similar, the athlete presentations were vastly different. While 100% of Bailar’s articles included the words “trans” or “transgender,” he was framed positively in the articles. Example 42 headlines include, the The New York Daily News article, “Harvard athlete Schuyler Bailar among first openly transgender NCAA swimmers,” (The New York Daily News, 2015) and TIME’s “Meet the first openly transgender swimmer to compete in the NCAA”

(Feeney, 2015). The same pattern emerged in the presentation of Pat Manuel, whose

headlines include, Yahoo!Sports “Transgender boxer Pat Manuel wins by unanimous decision in historic professional debut,” (Young, 2018) and NPR’s “A trans man steps into the ring - and wins his debut as a professional boxer,” (Wamsley, 2018) and Paper

Magazine’s “Trans boxer Patricio Manuel on his historic debut win” (Michael, 2018).

McKinnon and Yearwood, who had the highest percentages of “trans” or

“transgender” used in article headlines, did not receive the same type of positive framing.

McKinnon’s articles focused on the backlash that she received following her victory and reaction from the third-place American. Examples include, CBC’s “Transgender

Canadian woman sets off debate after winning cycling world championship,” (Casole-

Gouveia, 2018) Surrey Now-Leader’s “Transgender cyclist from B.C. wins world title, backlash ensues,” (Anthony, 2018) and Yahoo!Sports “‘Not fair’: Runner-up fumes over transgender world champion” (Yahoo!Sports, 2018). McKinnon was also labeled incorrectly in article headlines, including Canada Free Press’ “There’s nothing more anti-female than letting biological men compete in women’s sports,” (Canada Free Press,

2018), American Council on Science and Health’s “Should men who identify as women compete in women’s sports?,” (Berezow, 2018) and The Christian Institute’s “Man wins women’s world cycling title” (The Christian Institute, 2018). While many of Yearwood’s articles focused on the lawsuit in Connecticut, she was also framed negatively, including in The Blaze’s “Female athlete forced to compete against biological males finally gets

43 major victory” (Enloe, 2020) and Newser’s “Justice Department: trans athletes aren’t girls” (Newser, 2020)

Additionally, GLAAD states “transgender should always be used as an adjective… Avoid ‘Susan was born a man’... Oversimplifications like ‘born a man’ can invalidate the current, authentic gender of the person you’re speaking about” (GLAAD, n.d.). After analysis, Telfer’s articles had the highest rate of negative framing and mentions as such oversimplifications. Examples include, “Franklin University and Telfer took much criticism for a biological male swamping his natural-born female competition, with many criticizing the championship win was as unfair,” (Huston, 2019, para. 3) and

“A biological male, Craig (CeCe) Telfer, completely dominated the NCAA Division II

Women’s Track National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles” (Bettle, 2019, para.

12).

According to the GLAAD Media Reference Guide articles should avoid focus on medical issues, including the fact that this limits the “viewer from seeing the whole person…” (GLAAD Media Reference Guide, 2016, p. 18). While the female-to-male athletes transition received more attention, all eight analyzed athletes had references of their transitions. Manuel’s transition from female-to-male provided the highest percentage of mentions. His transition mentions included, “the transition started with hormone treatment 18 months later, and by early 2014 Manuel had put on 15 pounds, grown facial hair and heard his voice drop a couple of octaves. The following spring, 26 months after his final fight as a woman, Manuel flew to Salt Lake City for surgery, which involved the removal of breasts and the shaping of a male-contoured chest” (Young,

2018, para. 6) and “He also began taking hormones and medically transitioning, having a

44 mastectomy and then surgery to give him a male-shaped chest” (Wamsley, 2018, para.

11). Similar results were found when Bailar’s transition was presented. His transition was described as “he had his breasts surgically removed and has started hormone treatments”

(The New York Daily News, 2015, para. 19) and that the “double mastectomy Bailar underwent in March removed his mammary glands and breasts…” (Freed and Meagher,

2015, para. 8). Telfer had the highest percentage of articles for male-to-female athletes that mentioned transitions, however, her transition was not framed as negatively. Articles included, “The runner had been a male athlete just last season before ‘transitioning’ to a woman and joining the female track team…” (Huston, 2019, para. 2) and “She took a year off to begin hormone treatment and came back in 2019 to compete on the women’s track team” (Ragar, 2019, para. 54). While Telfer’s transition was not as negatively framed, according to GLAAD, this transition should not be discussed or publicized at all.

Additionally, Telfer’s transition was typically paired with the fact that she competed on the men’s team as recently as 2018.

The GLAAD Media Reference Guide states “when a transgender person’s birth name is used in a story, the implication is almost always that this is the person’s ‘real name.’ But in fact, a transgender person’s chosen name is their real name…” (GLAAD

Media Reference Guide, 2016, p. 18). While the average for female-to-male athletes is high, this is because Allum’s birth name is mentioned in two out of three articles. The other athletes did not change their name or their birth name was not mentioned.

Therefore, this analysis is not completely representative of the outcome. Allums’ birth name was outlined as “Formerly Kay-Kay Allums, he decided to change his name to

‘Kye’ and encourages people to call him a he…” (Brautigan, 2010, para. 3) and “player

45 formerly known as Kay-Kay Allums and Kiara Allums…” (TwinCities Pioneer Press,

2010, para. 3). An additional finding is the fact that many articles that focused on Mosier,

McKinnon and Hecox were eliminated because the athletes were mentioned in the podcast section of the Outsports website, a site that focuses on the successes of LGBTQ athletes.

Figure 1: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words Figure one includes images to compare the representation of FTM and MTF athletes in the analyzed Internet articles.

FTM Image Representation: MTF Image Representation:

(Yahoo!Sports, 2018)

(BBC, 2020)

(Sheets, 2019)

(Freed and Meagher, 2015)

(McGaughy, 2017) (NewsOne Staff, 2019)

(Piper, 2019)

(Kelleher, 2018)

The selected images, provided in figure one, that accompany an article are just as influential in impacting one’s beliefs of transgender athletes. The above images provide a snapshot of applicable themes that were displayed throughout the analyzed articles. The female-to-male athlete images were typically depicted as smiling at the camera, presented positively. The FTM athletes were portrayed as “manly,” as represented by the selected images of Beggs and Manuel. In opposition, when the MTF athletes were presented, they were viewed in comparison and competition with their female competitors. As evident by the first row of the chart, FTM athletes, Telfer and McKinnon, are presented side-by-side

47 with the biological females that they are competing against. These images are further depicting the body differences between the competitors. Additionally, row two presents the athletes as “dominating” their competition. However, the transitions of MTF and

FTM athletes were highlighted throughout the articles.

Chapter 6: DISCUSSION

As evident from the data, the media is not fully in alignment with the standards set by GLAAD. Additional work needs to be completed by the media to ensure that transgender athletes are presented fairly throughout these channels to ensure media consumers are receiving an accurate and fair picture of these athletes. As such, the information presented in this study provides valuable information for media outlets that want to depict transgender athletes, and the transgender community as a whole, with acceptance.

While the comparison percentages, provided in table three, between MTF and

FTM athletes were somewhat similar, the MTF athletes were generally presented more negatively in the images, headline and article texts. Throughout the MTF articles, a recurring theme was the fact that men who are assigned male at birth should compete against men, and that the men who decided to transition to female must not have been good enough to compete, therefore, they transitioned to female to remain competitive and be victorious against biological females. These articles tended to include comparisons of how the male body is biologically different than the female body, including testosterone and natural build, and focused on how men are typically stronger and faster than their female counterparts. However, the continued comparison between males and females, including our differences and similarities, is a common theme throughout all of society.

This theme that men continue to remain the superior gender, encourages individuals to question and have additional negative attitudes towards those who decide to transition to the “inferior” gender, females.

As previously mentioned, women, including athletes, have largely been excluded from participation in their respective fields due to the overarching ideology that men continue to remain the dominant gender. This ideology was again reinforced throughout the transgender community and was especially prevalent in the MTF articles. The article,

“Cronin: But what about girls?,” focusing on Telfer, states, “Here is the problem. Men and women are physically different and there is no getting around this undeniable truth.

This is the reason why male and female athletes don’t normally compete head-to-head…

It would not be fair” (Cronin, 2019, para. 7). Additionally, “Males Don’t Belong in

Women’s Sports – Even If They Don’t Always Win” heighted this exclusion and divide with the statement, “Both Telfer and Eastwood are examples of a growing trend of biological males taking over female sports” (Hepler and Jones, 2019, para. 13). The two provided examples prove that some journalists seek to highlight and draw attention to the differences between cisgender and transgender athletes. In comparison, articles, headlines and images that highlight cisgender athletes do not refer to them as “male athlete LeBron

James” or “female athlete Megan Rapinoe.” These articles prove that exclusion is ever- prevalent for female athletes, whether they are male-to-female athletes or those who are born as a biological female.

While the research outlined that additional fair representation of transgender athletes is still needed, it also reproduced the dominant ideology that males are superior to females. This was evident in how the female-to-male transgender athletes were praised for their accomplishments, whereas the talents and abilities of the male-to-female athletes were continuously questioned. Many articles questioned why the MTF athletes chose to compete against biological females and some articles made the assumption that

50 individuals decided to transition because these individuals couldn’t compete in a “man’s world.” However, this reflection is something that we see daily in our sports world, including when tennis-great, Serena Williams, was criticized for yelling at the line judges, whereas, these types of actions and reactions are considered acceptable in men’s tennis. According to Kim and Sagas (2014), “Unlike male athletes, female athletes have tended to be sexualized and objectified. This uneven portrayal has led to female athletes being confined to traditional gender stereotypes” and “the media has trivialized the achievements of female athletes by reproducing these stereotypes” (p. 126). This was evident in the comparison of Telfer and Mosier, as Telfer, who won a NCAA championship, was mocked and ridiculed for her successes, and Mosier was praised for his efforts and even awarded with a Nike sponsorship. Articles referred to Telfer as a

“he” and focused on the differences in her body when compared to biological females.

Kim and Sagas (2014) added, “Photographs of female athletes appear to be presented merely in an attempt to arouse heterosexual males… On the other hand, photographs of male athletes often highlight traditional male characteristics, such as masculinity and strength” (p. 126). However, in this study, I’d argue that the male-to- female athletes, those that the media refers to as biological males, are those who are highlighted for their strength when compared to the biological females. In the cases of

Yearwood and Telfer, images continued to display their body shapes and biological differences, while they were paces ahead of their competition.

In this study, the athletes who were born the dominant gender of male received more media coverage than those who transitioned to male. Therefore, reinforcing the idea that those who are born male continue to remain dominant and more important than their

51 female counterparts. Martin and McDonald (2012) analyzed 1,776 covers of issues of

Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine to find that “The aggregate number of females on covers was 113 out of 1776 (6.36%); males, on the other hand, were depicted on 1665 of 1776 covers (93.91%)” (p. 90). The researchers also found a common theme that women’s sports are continuously represented as tragic. Examples of this theme included,

“Monica Seles after a knife attack on the court… recent widows (Patti Olin and Laurie

Crews) of Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews who were killed in a boating accident, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan cover referencing the physical attack on her knee…” (Martin and McDonald, 2012, p. 91). While female athletes are continuing to be depicted in such ways, they are also not earning the media coverage to share their victories and triumphs with media consumers. Researchers have continued to find that women’s sports don’t receive ample airtime in comparison with their male peers. In

Australian Open’s coverage of both women and men on ESPN.com “only 20% was devoted to women, 72% to men, and 8% included both women and men or historical information about the sport of tennis” (Martin, Suh, Williams et. al, 2016, p. 3). The study further concluded that this gap also was reflected on SportsCenter in which “only

5% of the stories included in the telecasts were devoted to female sports… coverage dedicated to female athletes and sports decreased over the investigated time frame, as less than 2% of the reported information was allocated to female sports stories” (Martin, Suk,

Williams et. al, 2016, p. 3). While this lack of representation continues to be reproduced, it continues to send the message that the sports arena is one that belongs solely to men.

As previously stated, the athletes who were born as biological males received more media attention than the athletes who transitioned to male, which is also reinforcing this belief.

The fact that sports involving male athletes continue to consume media airtime and print space is directly related to framing. Therefore, how and the frequency that these athletes are represented in the media then impacts the everyday news consumers beliefs.

Therefore, if male athletes are presented more frequently and positively, consumers will then begin or continue to think that men’s sports competitions are more important than their female competitors. Additionally, the media is reproducing gender stereotypes through the text and images they select in representation.

Male superiority can be visibly seen in the men and women’s United States soccer teams. According to the ESPN article, “U.S. women's soccer equal pay fight: What's the latest, and what's next?,” the 2019 World Cup victory was the women’s fourth.

In comparison, the

Men’s best finish came in 1930, when the team placed third… The U.S. women's

current lawsuit contends that if the men's and women's teams won each of the 20

non-tournament games they are contractually required to play, women's team

players would each earn a maximum of $99,000 ($4,950 per game), and men's

team players would earn $263,320 ($13,166 per game)…. (Kaplan, 2019, para 13

and 14)

Additionally, “In 2011, Forbes, published its list of the 50 top paid athletes in the world, and there was not a single female athlete on the list” (Fink, 2012, p. 50). While the female athletes continue to receive less compensation for their victories and triumphs, the

2015 “Women’s World Cup was the highest-rated television soccer game in American history, eclipsing the number of people who watched the men’s team play in the 2015

World Cup in Brazil” and “Nearly 3 million tweets were sent about Team UCA in the championship game…” (Jensen, 2016, p. 850 and 857).

This pay gap goes beyond soccer players and infuses many, if not all, of our sports arenas. The article “Why Female Athletes Earn Less Than Men Across Most

Sports,” indicates “tennis players are the only female athletes to rank among the overall top earners over the past decade…” (Abrams, 2019, para. 3). However, in regards to professional basketball players, “The top WNBA salary was $117, 500 last season, compared with $37.4 million in the NBA. The team salary cap for the National Pro

Fastpitch softball league is $175,000; the Boston Red Sox will split $227 million in

2019” (Abrams, 2019, para. 5). According to the article, “media companies have spent billions on TV deals for live sports content. The result is an explosion in player salaries in the major men’s sports leagues” (Abrams, 2019, para. 7).

While male athletes continue to earn higher salaries, they are also receiving more endorsement dollars as

In 2009, Tiger Woods earned $92 million dollars and Phil Mickelson earned over

$46 million in endorsement money alone… However, female athletes are chosen

less often to serve as endorsers and earn much less endorsement money than their

male counterparts… Maria Sharapova was the highest earning female athlete in

2008 at $26 million. However, this figure includes both endorsements and tennis

prize money…. (Fink et. al, 2012, p. 13)

To add to this statistic, “While athletes are used as endorsers in 11% of television advertisements, female athletes are used in only 3% of those” (Fink et. al, 2012, p. 14).

Therefore, the continued pay increase is a continuous cycle that is directly related to the advertising expectations of making money. When advertisers select the “perfect fit” for their brand, they’re seeking ways to gain more exposure, while gaining as much money as possible. Because men’s sports are displayed at higher frequencies, advertisers know that their brand has the opportunity to be seen more often. Through this cycle, we continue to reinforce the ideology, one that is set by the dominant gender, that male athletes are more important than their female counterparts, which is then continuously expressed throughout the portrayal of transgender athletes.

This dominant ideology that men are the superior gender continues to be seen in the everyday lives of females. It can be proven in the fact that the gender pay gap won’t close for another 257 years. (Hauck, 2019, para. 2) and that “Women in the U.S. workforce are making roughly $0.80 for every dollar earned by their male colleagues”

(Stevens, 2020, para. 4). Females are raised with the expectation to be kind and gentle, and they should put their children and families before their careers. According to

Fitzsimmons, Callan and Paulsen (2014), “The search for psychological differences between genders extends well beyond birth to encompass the differential experiences of men and women throughout their lives. Each sex develops behavioral tendencies appropriate to these roles” (p. 2). While issues in acquiring career capital continue to be an issue, “men’s dominance on boards of directors, the tendency is for boards to select males similar to themselves, thereby biasing against the selection of females”

(Fitzsimmons, Callan and Paulsen, 2014, p. 3). Therefore, females are not provided the same opportunities because they are prejudged based on preconceived notions of how males and females are differently that are learned through the media and its framing. The

August 2020 article “The Fortune 500 now has a record number of female CEOs: A whopping 38,” indicates that this new record “underscores the slow pace of change at the highest level of business” and only “A tiny fraction - less than 1% of Fortune 500 companies have Black CEOs” (Benveniste, 2020, para. 7). While this article illustrates the lack of women in leadership positions, the media and society must continue to promote women as potential leaders to ensure that opportunities for advancement are available in society. Therefore, this equal representation for all females is needed to stop the continuous cycle of reproducing the narrative that men must remain the dominant gender.

So while MTF athletes were presented as those who weren’t good enough to compete in their respective sport, FTM athletes were frequently described as “history making” or “first ever.” Despite the fact that transgender athletes are not earning the media coverage that is needed for equality, this proves that gender stereotypes are also reinforced and continued throughout their representation. Therefore, while the battle for equality is also necessary in the media coverage of transgender individuals, a much larger issue of equality is still needed between male and females as a whole. Only once this equality is achieved and the vicious cycle of inequality is broken can we expect for the transgender community to be treated equally.

Because of the negative representation of transgender individuals in the media, and the number of individuals who interact with the transgender community on a daily basis, this fair and equal representation in all aspects is crucial. Therefore, the representation and fair media coverage of transgender athletes is imperative to all

56 consumers to ensure that the transgender community is treated with respect, on and off the playing field.

Chapter 7: CONCLUSION

This data further explains the overall theme that males continue to dominate the sports arena and that it is imperative for the media to begin focusing on and highlighting the success of female athletes in order to advance their lives of females throughout the world. Only once this equality is achieved can we expect for the transgender community to be fully accepted in the sports world and beyond.

While this data and analysis mention the differences between the portrayal of female-to-male and male-to-female athletes in the media, there were additional limitations that impacted the study. First, the data collection timeline for MTF and FTM athletes is vastly different. FTM athletes were analyzed over a ten-year timeframe, whereas MTF athletes were analyzed over a two-year timeframe. However, if Allums was not included in the analysis, the percentages change, as presented in table two.

Table 4: Comparison Without Allums Table four provides a comparison analysis for inclusion of female-to-male athlete, Kye Allums.

Athlete: Trans/transgender First Focus on Disclose included in the headline: ever/history transition: birth making: name:

Statistics 82.75% 45.75% 48.75% 0% without Allums:

Percent +3.35% +2.55% -3.45% -22% Differences:

The biggest takeaway from the table four is the fact that Allums’ disclosure of birth names skewed the information. When Allums was removed from the data set, 0% of

FTM articles disclosed birth names, if applicable. As the disclosure of birth names is

58 negative framing, his removal from the analysis actually provides better media representation results.

As previously mentioned, using framing, the media tell us what to think about and further reinforces how we should think. Therefore, the Internet, as a commonly used media, especially in today’s world, is no different. Many individuals rely on Google searches and Internet articles to read the latest news and many may not understand or know that this media may be influencing their bias and beliefs towards a specific group of individuals. Through the previously mentioned framing research results, we can see that there is a need for additional, yet fair and equal, coverage of transgender athletes.

Some media stations must start by acknowledging transgender individuals at all.

However, it is only when the media represents these individuals fairly, that individuals as a whole will begin to see the transgender community as equals. To obtain this equal and fair representation, the media must begin by promoting the successes of transgender individuals and move beyond the previously mentioned “coming out narrative.” Instead of focusing on the idea that transgender individuals, including athletes, are physically, biologically and mentally different than cisgender individuals, the media should focus on being inclusive and accepting while asking how they can use their power to build up this community and not continue to tear them down. The media must continue using chosen names and cease the usage of the before and after comparison photos. Many individuals who are providing us with our day-to-day news also bring their implicit bias to their work. The elimination of this implicit bias can begin by obtaining and seeking out information that may make individuals uncomfortable or may not align with their beliefs.

It’s at this place of un-comfort that the transgender community will begin to be viewed with respect.

Additionally, as one individual collected and analyzed the data, there is the possibility for researcher bias and error in data collection. If the research were to be completed again, I would recommend that at least two researchers are involved to cross check factual information and help eliminate any research error and implicit bias. The researcher chose to use the standards set by GLAAD because the organization works to lead the conversation, shape the narrative and change the culture (GLAAD, n.d.).

Therefore, if we want to the change the narrative and change the culture of the transgender community, we must seek information from and rely on the experts who have been working to do just that for more than 30 years.

Despite these limitations, the presented data is accurate and remains impactful in ensuring all transgender athletes are presented fairly in the media. This groundbreaking exploratory study, including the comparison of FTM and MTF athletes, is one that hasn’t been completed before and can be referenced by media outlets when they are writing stories about the transgender community. The fact that transgender athletes are still presented unfairly in our media reinforces the idea that equal and fair representation is need in our media to ensure these individuals are presented fairly in society. Abrams

(2019) provided a quote that adequately sums up the need for equality in sports, “As women and girls continue to fight for equality in the workplace, the fields, arenas and courts have been, and will continue to be, no exception” (para. 13).

As such, this line of research could continue to be built upon for future research, including exploring representations in comparison with select media outlets to determine

60 if there are political differences in representation. This first step in exploratory research is imperative to ensuring fair and accurate representation for the transgender community.

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Appendix: List of Additional Articles

Appendix A includes a list of Internet articles that are mentioned, but not cited,

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