Tennis Australia (TA) unashamedly shows preferential treatment toward male-to-female trans players over women. Gender ideology is protected while biological reality is dismissed. The Tennis Australia Transgender Guide explicitly states, “Players who identify as women should be allowed to play as women; players identifying as men should be allowed to play as men. Gender Diverse, Non-Binary players and players partway through a gender affirmation should play in the category in which they feel most comfortable.” There is no regard for fairness, safety or privacy for females who do not wish to participate with males who appropriate womanhood. Tennis Australia believes that feelings, preferred pronouns, costumes, a daily drug dependency and sometimes surgery are more than enough to allow males to access female competitions and change rooms.
The policy states that all efforts should be made to ensure privacy for the non-binary or transgender player with no mention of females who want privacy from males. The policy states clubs cannot prevent a male playing in female competition if that is what he wants to do. It would be exclusive practice for the club to: create club/association terms or conditions whereby she is excluded from membership or benefits of membership, such as taking part in women’s events due to a perceived physical advantage; and/or not take reasonable steps to ensure the Community Tennis venue is an environment that is free from discrimination by administrators, Committee members and/or players. Incredibly, Tennis Australia are fine with players identifying as they please when they enter competitions.
Clubs and associations should permit and actively encourage players to participate in all Community Tennis events in accordance with their gender identity. This applies regardless of their presumed gender at birth and any medical, surgical or legal affirmation process undertaken, or not undertaken. An individual player should be able to nominate their gender identity at the time of nomination for any upcoming competition, tournament or term of play. This includes appropriate flexibility to allow a member to update their gender identity record at their respective club or association at any point in time during their membership. The guidelines suggest clubs introduce ‘level-based’ competitions as an inclusive way to pander to trans players. It also states if males who appropriate womanhood want to coach or participate as a woman then they must be obliged.
There is a complaint process but it is clear that preference will be shown to the trans player, not the female who has to deal with an unfair playing field or an invasion of privacy in their change-room. Harassment is any unwelcome behaviour that is intimidating, humiliating or threatening. It can be expressed or implied, physical, verbal or non-verbal i.e. visual, as a single incident or repeated behaviour. Whether or not the behaviour is harassment is determined from the point of view of the person receiving the behaviour, assessed objectively. That is, it must be behaviour that a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think amounted to harassment. It does not matter whether or not the person harassing intended to offend or not.
The International Tennis Federation allows males who appropriate womanhood to compete in the female category if they (a) lower their testosterone to 5nmol/L1 which is twice as much as most females. Their height, reach, blood volume, heart and lung capacity, muscle fibres, strength and stamina are not considered an unfair advantage to other women. (b) she must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the ITF that the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5 nmol/L1 continuously for a period of at least 12 months (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 12 months is a sufficient length of time to minimise any advantage in female competition), and that she is ready, willing and able to continue to keep it below that level for so long as she continues to compete in the female category of competition.
Binary spokeswoman, Kirralie Smith, said there was no consideration for female players. “This policy is abhorrent to girls and women. They will be ostracised if they complain, face privacy issues in female change rooms, and face an unfair competition disadvantage on the court. Males should simply play as males, or in an open or mixed competition. There is zero need for them to compete as female.”
Source: Binary
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