Dr Lois Ferguson & Dr Kate Russell
School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia
The following vignette is a fictionalised story based upon real conversations with gender diverse pupils (aged 11-18) in England who shared their experiences of PE and desires for greater inclusion during a doctoral research project. Gender diversity is an umbrella term which refers to those whose gender differs to their sex assigned at birth, for example, trans, non-binary or genderfluid individuals. Whilst these individuals may differ from each other in their gender expression (e.g. in their appearance, pronouns or preferences), there are common issues that they face in PE, making participation in this subject a difficult one for some. The vignette below seeks to explore some of these issues, alongside possible ideas to support their engagement in PE.
Today is Thursday, and that means the worst lesson of the week – PE. I wonder if I can say I’ve forgotten my kit? I can’t stand the PE kit, it clings to my body in all the wrong places. My boobs are getting bigger and I just wish they weren’t there. I don’t feel like a girl inside, but my body is being read this way by everyone, and the PE kit just makes me feel even worse. I wish I could just wear something a bit baggier to draw attention away from my chest.
And then there’s the horror of the changing rooms. Why do we all have to be in one big open room?! I already feel uncomfortable in my body, and now it’s on show for everyone to see. I usually try and get changed in the accessible toilet during break, but there’s only one toilet for the whole school and it’s not always available. A few cubicles in the changing rooms would make such a difference!
I never really felt all the gender stuff until I got to my teens… As a child, everyone just played sport together, and we weren’t split up or expected to do different things. I never felt like a girl or a boy, just a person. I loved running around and playing with my friends! But when I started secondary school, everything changed. I never really understood the need to split us up into genders. I’ve missed out on so many sports I’d have loved to do at school because they see me as a girl. They say it’s down to safety, but I don’t see them worrying about the 4-foot boys in rugby class who get wiped out by the 6-footers! There are so many rules in PE that just don’t make sense…
Right, let’s go and see how this hockey lesson pans out. I used to love playing mixed hockey outside of school but now I can’t stand how the teacher calls us ‘ladies’ all the time. It just reminds me of how out of place I feel in girl’s PE. These days I’m feeling more masculine and manly, not at all like a ‘lady’. But being put with the girls in PE makes me feel like I’m in the wrong place, with the wrong people. Why can’t we all just do PE together and take gender out of the equation?
And to top it all off, I’ve just started my period. Great! Another involuntary thing my body does to add to my gender dysphoria. How do I sort this out? The teacher wouldn’t let me go to the toilet last time… At least I’ve got some close friends in this class – they’ll cover for me while I go and get it sorted. God, I hope this sanitary pad doesn’t show through my shorts!
Pfffff OK, let’s just try and get through this lesson without any funny stares or comments from the others about the way I look. I’ll steer clear of everyone else and just stick with my friends, at least they understand me and support me as I’m figuring this gender stuff out.
Sometimes in form time we talk about being gay or lesbian, but never about being trans or non-binary… There are rainbow flags in the corridors but no gender diverse flags anywhere. We need more conversations about this, so people understand that not everyone fits the stereotypical idea of a boy or girl. Then maybe people would understand what it’s like to be me, and school might be more bearable. Maybe I’d even start to enjoy PE again!
Further information
If you would like further resources on how to support gender diverse students in PE, look out for tomorrow’s resource post, which provides PE teachers with a gender diversity reflection tool.
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