My local NPR station, WFIU, just aired an hourlong conversation with members of the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls (BHRG), our town’s roller derby league.
I’m an enormous roller derby fan, and I love BHRG just to absolute pieces. One of the reasons I love my local team so much is that its skaters are all up in gender’s grill. It’s an extremely queer league, with tons of genderqueers peppering the roster.
Which is why I’ve been so confused by BHRG’s silence around the new gender policy passed by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The policy (included in its entirety at the bottom of this post) embraces a draconian, limited, and limiting view of gender. Basically: if you want to skate, you have to a.) be biologically female; b.) be able to prove that your hormone levels are within the “normal” range for biological females; and c.) be living as a female.
If I wanted to join roller derby (and I think I’d make an excellent jammer), I would be ineligible according to the WFTDA policies. This is because I am not living as a female–I identify as genderqueer, and many of my friends refer to me as “Jake” and use male pronouns to refer to me.
Additionally, several of my friends–many of whom skate for various roller derby teams–have hormone levels that are outside of the “normal” female range. They are cisgendered females, living as women, but would be disqualified to skate under WFTDA policies.
On today’s radio show, I asked the panelists how they felt about the gender policy; they stated that they disagree with it. I followed up with a question in the chat box about why BHRG doesn’t therefore protest the gender policy like some other teams are doing; their response suggested they did not know that other teams were protesting.
I am helpfully including a link to an article about the Philly Roller Girls, who are skating under the WFTDA gender policy but are concurrently protesting the policy. As the team’s general manager Jocelyn Jenik points out, the policy not only appears to be developed out of fear but also places an undue burden on transgender skaters:
“I personally bristle at the idea that because someone is born male, they have an inherent advantage in flat-track roller derby. That is not the case. Roller derby is a team sport and no individual skater makes or breaks how a team performs,” she said. “I think this policy was probably produced out of fear, and that fear was then projected onto transgender skaters in a discriminatory way. The only demand for producing health-care records or private information is on transgender skaters, no one else.”
Philly’s approach to protest included sending a letter to member organizations opposing the policy, circulating a petition that gathered several hundred signatures from players, distributing a brochure explaining the issues with the gender policy, and making “transgender pride” temporary tattoos available at bouts.
I would love to see BHRG recording its opposition to the gender policy in a systematic way, especially since the panelists today went on record as opposing the policy. I’ll be happy to help organize this protest, since as a huge fan I attend most BHRG home bouts and some away bouts.
I’ll be waiting for my marching orders from BHRG folks, and I’ll let you know when I hear back from them.
Update: 3/9/2012, 2:48 p.m. EST: I want to add a recognition for the folks at BHRG who led the fight for an alternate gender policy: Several people affiliated with the league worked together to draft and submit a policy that was considered and voted on alongside the policy that was ultimately accepted by WFTDA voters. Though I haven’t seen their proposed policy, I have heard that it was far more gender-inclusive than the policy included below.
It’s because of that work, and the continued frustration on the part of some members of BHRG regarding WFTDA’s gender policy, that I think BHRG would be a great league to help continue the fight to change the rules. The Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls have proven themselves to be eloquent, articulate, and forceful in making their opinions heard, and they are therefore ideal for continuing the fight on behalf of all roller derby skaters whose voices wouldn’t be heard or hearable.
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Gender Policy
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to designate a set of criteria that applies to chartered team skaters in sanctioned interleague games so that athletes are able to compete on a level playing field in a safe, competitive, and friendly environment, free of discrimination. Fundamental fairness requires Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (“WFTDA”) to provide intersex and transgender athletes with equal opportunities to participate in athletics while still maintaining integrity as a women’s sport. This policy creates a framework in which this participation may occur in a safe and healthy manner that is fair to all competitors. This policy does not consider whether an athlete has undergone sex reassignment surgery, as such surgery is not considered medically necessary or linked to competitive equity.
II. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:
- Gender Identity. One’s inner concept of self as male or female or neither.
- Transgender Person. An individual whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned to him or her at birth. A Male-to-Female Transgender Person was assigned the sex of male at birth but has a female Gender Identity.
- Intersex Person. “Intersex” is a general term used to indicate an individual born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or chromosome pattern that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
- Female. Living as a woman and having sex hormones that are within the medically acceptable range for a female.
- Health Care Provider. A licensed practitioner who provides healthcare to patients independently or pursuant to the prescription of a healthcare provider as recognized by his/her state regulatory agency. Includes (a) doctors of medicine or osteopathy authorized to practice medicine or surgery under State law, and (b) Nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and physician’s assistants authorized to practice under State law and performing within the scope of their practice as defined under State law.
III. POLICY AND PROCEDURE
- This policy only applies to chartered team skaters in sanctioned interleague games.
- To participate on the chartered teams in WFTDA-sanctioned games, an athlete must be Female, as defined herein. Male athletes may not participate, nor can those born female or Intersex who identify as male.
- Transgender or Intersex athletes who meet the definition of Female, as defined herein, are eligible to compete provided that, upon request, the athlete can produce a signed original statement, on office letterhead, from the athlete’s attending healthcare provider. The statement must include:a. Healthcare provider’s full name;b. Healthcare provider’s license or certificate number;c. Issuing jurisdiction of medical license/certificate;d. Address and telephone number of the healthcare provider;
e. Language stating that he/she is the attending healthcare provider for the athlete and that he/she has a doctor/patient relationship with the athlete; and
f. Language stating that the athlete’s sex hormones are within the medically acceptable range for a female. It is solely within the healthcare provider’s judgment to determine what range is “medically acceptable” for a female.
- Leagues will attest that the rostered athletes meet all eligibility requirements set by the WFTDA, which includes eligibility as a Female competitor, as defined in this policy, when submitting their chartered rosters.
IV. PRIVACY
WFTDA will maintain such information and documentation submitted pursuant to this policy in confidence, with only counsel, WFTDA’s medical advisor(s), the Board of Directors, and, in the case of an appeal under Section V, the Grievance Committee, having access to such information and documentation.
V. APPEAL
Should a league accuse another league of not properly determining eligibility of its athletes for participation pursuant to this policy, WFTDA will review the matter pursuant to its current Grievance Policy.
Related posts:
- moving beyond the gender binary (or: why I wear men’s clothes)
- request from AERA Queer Studies SIG for gender-neutral bathrooms
- on sexism and gender performance: it’s the bathrobes that’s outrageous?
- boys can wear skirts, girls can wear tuxes: let’s rethink school dress codes
- why I identify as genderqueer
Aimee Shand
March 10th, 2012
Rather than posting an update that continues to imply that BHRG is behind the curve on gender activism within WFTDA, I believe it would be more accurate to print a retraction or a new post. As one of the main individuals who drafted the Bleeding Heartland policy over two years ago, I know that it was not “several individuals” from BHRG, but the league itself that submitted a forward-thinking, progressive, inclusive gender policy when the idea of a gender policy was first being discussed in WFTDA.
I listened to a recording of today’s show, and heard the panelists inform you that when a gender policy was being voted on, the Bleeding Heartland policy was one of the two policies being advanced. What that means is that your local league has been in the forefront of drafting and advocating for a fair gender policy from the beginning. As you were informed by the panelists, BHRG is continuing to work for the advancement of our proposed policy. I would suggest a new post entitled “Bleeding Heartland at the Forefront of the Struggle for an Inclusive Gender Policy in WFTDA”. Not only are we continuing the fight, we pretty much started it.
(*I’m speaking here as a skater, activist, and individual. This is not an official statement from BHRG).
Jenna
March 10th, 2012
Thanks for your comment, Aimee. I respectfully disagree, and believe that having submitted a proposed gender policy a year ago is not sufficiently valid evidence that BHRG is at the forefront of the struggle. Instead, I would argue that individuals and leagues who are actively protesting the current policy as approved by WFTDA are the ones who are at the forefront. To the extent that these individuals are members of BHRG, then they are BHRG members who are at the forefront of the struggle–but a struggle that is not officially sanctioned by the league’s organizers, managers, and leaders, and cannot therefore be claimed by the league. To do so would be false advertising, on the same level as a Chick Fil-A restaurant claiming it is at the forefront of the struggle for LGBT civil rights because some of its regular customers, or employees, or stakeholders, are queer activists.
In order for me to agree with you that BHRG is at the forefront of this struggle, I would need to see evidence that BHRG (the organization, including its Big Mommas–top managers, coaches, and captains) is consistently standing in opposition to a backwards, insulting, and trans-phobic policy. So far, all I’ve seen since that brave effort to push a more gender-equitable policy is what can be best described as uncertain silence.
Aimee Shand
March 10th, 2012
I find your response interesting, because it indicates to me that the underlying issue here has to do with method, visibility, and audience in relation to activism.
You state that you haven’t seen anything that indicates that BHRG is still working on this issue. And that indicates to you that BHRG is doing nothing. That tells me that, to you, the way of effecting change that resonates as “doing something” is a more traditional social movement ‘outsider’ protest. But as you know, many different methods are undertaken to effect change in the world and within governing bodies. Many of the efforts that Bleeding Heartland has made and continues to make have occurred directly within WFTDA discussions and debates among member leagues. Since you are not in WFTDA, you are not aware that such debates and discussions are ongoing. You are not the audience in such debates and they are not visible to you. And so it seems to you that they do not exist.
I suppose an analogy here might be that of a congressperson authoring a bill, the bill getting defeated, and the congressperson continuing to work within discussions with other legislators to change other legislators’ points of view and gain their support. Why isn’t this congressperson protesting? Well, s/he’s part of the system s/he’s trying to change and has access to the individuals who can help hir effect change.
Protestors in social movements are often trying to get the attention of those who can effect change, because they have no direct access to policy themselves. So in some ways, to suggest that BHRG protest is placing BHRG in the wrong category within the structure of power and change.
Philly’s method of protesting at nationals is interesting in terms of audience and visibility, because while it registers as very public dissent, the audience at nationals is made up almost exclusively of other WFTDA leagues. Like BHRG, Philly’s communicating directly with those who can effect change, but utilizing a different method than BHRG has been using.
So, it seems to me that what you may be asking, rather than for BHRG to do something, (since BHRG has been doing something all along), is for dissent that is more visible to fans, and that perhaps involves fans more directly.
Mudd
March 12th, 2012
We definitely started the fight and I believe other leagues have used our gender policy and it seems like it got a lot of attention.
Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls
March 16th, 2012
The Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls would like to thank you, Jenna, for highlighting our league’s opposition to WFTDA’s current Gender Policy and the work we have done to try and change this policy. As was mentioned on the WFIU interview and in the update to your blog post, BHRG has been incredibly vocal within the WFTDA organization against this policy. We were one of the first member leagues to oppose the policy when it was proposed, and, when asked what an alternative policy might look like, we carefully and thoughtfully drafted a policy that was termed by the WFTDA the “Bleeding Heartland Proposal”, and which became the competing policy to the one that was eventually adopted. Our proposed policy is below, in case you are interested.
_______________________________
Bleeding Heartland Policy
Skaters will be asked to confirm their gender, but there are no medical or legal requirements. The affirmation document would be similar to the following:
“I understand that the WFTDA is a women’s sports organization and I hereby confirm on good faith that I am eligible to compete in a women’s sport. If, at some point in the future, I find that I am no longer eligible to participate in a women’s sport, I will stop being a competitor. If I am found to be willfully disregarding this policy my league has the right to revoke my status as a skater/competitor.”
________________________________
This is more or less the policy that BHRG has operated under from our league’s founding, even before joining the WFTDA. It is also the policy we currently operate under for all of our non-charter teams, and we welcome transgender and gender variant skaters to skate with our league. We are proud of this policy and have since shared it with other WFTDA and non-WFTDA leagues, as well as other women’s sports teams who were seeking suggestions of how to draft their own policies.
Unfortunately, the majority of WFTDA member leagues voted for the current WFTDA Gender Policy over our proposal, though we were heartened by a substantial minority vote for our policy.
In regards to the article about the Philly Rollergirls that you posted, we were very glad to see the Philly Rollergirls, a very well-established and well-respected team within WFTDA, become vocal publicly in their opposition to the policy after the policy was enacted. We have been aware of their statement since it came out and have sported the gender-neutral temporary tattoos that they created in opposition to the policy at several of our bouts. The league members who responded to your question on the radio were confused by the use of the word “protest” in the question, as they believed you were referring to Philly withdrawing or refusing to play within the WFTDA, which is not the case to our knowledge. We apologize for misunderstanding your question, but as it was submitted via online chat and then read by the interviewers, it was hard to get any clarification. We would welcome an actual face-to-face chat with you if you have any further questions or suggestions, as it would allow us more time to discuss the history, motivations, and process of the current WFTDA policy and our alternative policy, and share ideas about how to continue to fight for a change to the policy.
Since you chose to post on your blog instead, however, we feel it’s appropriate to respond in kind and allow your readers a chance to see our response. Your blog post initially seemed to suggest that you didn’t feel we were doing enough to oppose this policy. As one of the most vocal leagues against the policy since the beginning, we were initially surprised by this characterization. Upon reflection, we realized this misunderstanding may stem from the fact that most of the discussions we have had in regards to the policy have been within the WFTDA organization, which is a closed organization with a confidentiality policy. We have been operating under the belief that it is more effective and more powerful to continue the discussion within the WFTDA and to be a significant voice within the organization rather than leaving the organization and/or protesting outside of it. By being an active member and continuing the discussion, we’re able to address this diplomatically and strive to change the minds of the other member leagues as a dedicated member of the association.
That said, we do have some ideas for continuing our opposition movement that could involve participation and help from our fans and the public. If anyone is interested in helping or continuing this discussion, we urge them to contact us at info@bleedingheartlandrollergirls.com. We will continue to work for change on this issue, and, since we are a sports league that strongly values our fans and our interaction with community members, we welcome everyone to join us in being a part of that change. Thank you for your support and for the opportunity to share our thoughts, and we look forward to continuing our discussion in person.