Shewmaker, Transgender Athletes and the Queer Art of Athletic Failure, Fischer and McClearan

Critical Analysis of Transgender Athletes and Athletic Failure

The article examines how transgender athlete Fallon Fox utilizes the queer art of failure to disrupt traditional sporting spaces characterized by racialization, hypermasculinity, and heteronormativity.
The goal is to unpack the paradoxical situation of Fox, who faces criticism regardless of her performance—whether winning or losing.

The controversy surrounding Fox's participation in women's mixed martial arts (MMA) exemplifies transphobia and a rigid understanding of gender that conflates biological sex with gender identity.
Fox’s approach to athletic failure presents a useful critique of sex segregation in sports, as well as the interconnected issues of racism, (cis)sexism, and transphobia.

Transgender Athletes: Individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth.
Sex Segregation: The practice of separating individuals based on biological sex differences in competitive settings.
Cisgender: Individuals whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned at birth.
Queer Art of Athletic Failure: A redefinition of success and failure in sports, challenging normative biases about gender and athleticism.
MMA: Mixed martial arts, a full-contact combat sport.
Fallon Fox: The first openly transgender fighter in MMA.

Fallon Fox's case illustrates the complexity surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports.
Sports organizations maintain that women athletes require separate categories due to perceived physiological inferiority compared to male athletes.
Guidelines have been released to facilitate the participation of transgender athletes while attempting to preserve competitive fairness.
The accusations aimed at Fox regarding bone density and testosterone reflect historical patterns of scientific racism.
Although the UFC promotes itself as inclusive and supportive of LGBTQ+ athletes, Fox’s differences were deemed unacceptable.
The “damned-if-she-wins and damned-if-she-loses” scenario highlights the heightened scrutiny placed on transgender athletes.
When Fox lost to Evans-Smith, dominant cultural myths about her inherent male superiority and genetic advantages over certain ethnic groups were challenged.

“I believe that there should be a requirement. The spectrum of testosterone and estrogen and what it can do in sports is rather amazing. It does have its advantages and disadvantages. . . . Especially in mixed martial arts where someone who has a really, really, really good advantage could cause a lot more damage to someone who does not.” (151)
“I guess this means that people will realize that I’m just a woman after all. I’m female. I’m human. Sometimes I dominate and sometimes I’m dominated.” (159)

What do you think would have transpired if Fox had not won her first two fights? Would scrutiny have been lessened?
How would the UFC and public perception change if a transgender fighter were included in a major event?
Do you agree or disagree with the idea that having once been male implies enduring physical characteristics, such as bone structure, that affect competition in sports?