What about Transguys and Sports? (FTM only, please)

[Seamus_Jameson]

Hey guys,

I'm being given a hard time by someone who thinks I don't really want to play sports, because I don't join women's teams. So I thought I'd ask the folks here.

Poll: For the guys interested in athletics, if you had the options of 1) not competing or 2) competing as a lady or 3) joining a co-ed team (for the sports which have them), what would be your preference?

Also, what sport(s) do you play/want to play?

Thanks!

[DanielMacBride]

Why is it so important to someone else that you should join women's teams? o.O If I had the options you describe, I'd pick either 1 or 3 over 2, no question (whether I picked 1 or 3 would depend on how people viewed my gender if I joined the co-ed team).

I'm not big on sport because I can't play any due to my back problems, but if I did, I'd probably play something like cricket (I'm not a real good team player though lol, I prefer sports where I compete as an individual - competed in equestrian, swimming, gymnastics, athletics and tennis as a kid and never in any "team" events like relays or whatever). Failing that, something like target shooting or archery maybe, or if I could afford to, I'd get back into horses (I used to be a successful competitive showjumper many moons ago).

[mistunderstood]

I have to agree with Daniel 1 or 3. I do like hockey and football maybe even rugby. I like to hit people or be hit. Full contact rules for me. Now because of arthritis I can not play those games but if I could I would.

[Areyan]

i'm going to be the nerdiest guy here and say that i don't do sports much because i'm not the sporty type. but if i had to choose one it would be golf most likely or deep sea fishing (for sport)... not really into the rough and tumble sports myself. if i had to choose out of your poll options, i'm with Daniel - either 1) or 3)... would not catch me playing in women's teams of either sport. mixed would be ok but i'd be too busy eyeing up the girls to be concentrating on my game if it was an all-women's team.
lol :o

[AnonyMouse]

1 or 3, full stop. It would be disingenuous of me to join a woman's team since I don't see myself as a woman in any sense. A co-ed team would be the optimum choice, of course.

I'm not much into sports, though. A casual game of volleyball or three-man baseball is about as close to it as I get. I was somewhere between fifteen and seventeen when I was playing volleyball with some extended family's acquaintances when they split into girls' and boys' teams, and I decided to play on the boys' team just because, and kept trying to fit in with them (I don't know if I did or if they even cared). This before I thought of myself as trans or even gender variant. I think I played on a girls' team before that point just because I was "supposed to," but the older I've gotten the less I've found myself able to tolerate making these little social gestures just for others' approval.

(I was always doing that at social gatherings - finding some boys to hang out with, because I just felt so much more comfortable with them. That was how I ended up playing Goldeneye on the N64, which was a great story in itself.)

Anyway, I would suggest you give your someone flak for not joining any teams for the opposite sex for whatever xe's into. Every time xe harasses you about it. Give 'em a taste of xir own medicine.

[NiCo]

If we are talking about joining sports teams where I am standing right now, I would only join male teams. I wouldn’t join a female one or unisex because I am competing at male level, which I can now 2 years into T. I’m not only equally strong but I am post op. I think it would be very unfair of me to compete against females. And because I am stubborn, I would not join a unisex team. I had enough of that sh*t when I was at school.

I have always had an interest in sport. I won several athletic championships every single year without fail at school and broke many records in the area I lived. I was a long distance sprinter, loved cross-country – marathons. Anything to do with winning something, I was interested; because I was arrogant…I knew I was good!

Another strong point was competitive fighting. I started with Karate and moved onto Judo, which then moved on to Kickboxing and Thai boxing. I started out doing it to control my rage problem but I was good at it so competed. I have always been a fighter and still can be at times, but it is always better in a controlled environment with rules in place. Although sometimes in the heat of the moment, such rules can be temporary forgotten. Lulz.

It is something I am going to get in about once again because I know I can do it if I put my mind to it.

Anything to do with sprinting, football, hockey, basketball…I’m game. I wasn’t considered #1 for no reason ;)

[Seamus_Jameson]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I thought that maybe I was just being weird and peculiar, but it's good to hear that I'm not alone in my attitude towards gender and sports. I get into arguments like these, frustrate the hell out of myself trying to convince people that just don't "get" it, then remember that it doesn't matter anyway--when I start hormones, I would be banned from any regulation woman's sport anyway. So, no, I couldn't compete with women.

[metalguy639]

For me I would personally play on a men's team. I'm a man so I play on a man's team. the sport I would play would be soccer/football, I actually played it for about 24 years and played semi pro ball. I played on boys teams until I was 16 and they forced me to play on a girls team, the girls did not like me much because i would hurt them LOL. Oh well whatever! I've played on Co-ed teams they are ok, but usually women just plain annoy me especially if they duck or scream and run away from the ball. that kinda stuff really annoys me and makes me want to hit them with the ball. Sadly I do not know if I can play anymore, I have not played in years. I would love to but I severed my achilles tendon about 13 years ago and never got surgery for it. So I do not know if I would be able to play. But I am thinking about playing this spring/summer on a men's team.

[FTM_Todd]

1 or 3 for me as well. I hate playing with the girls because they just don't play as hard as men do when it comes to being reckless. I always played on coed teams for soccer untill my parents forced me to play on girls teams (I played soccer) I always wanted to play football but I wasn't big enough and none of my high school football teams would allow a girl to play which I found incredibly unfair. I've had to choose either playing with the girls, or not playing and I quit soccer. I'm hoping there will be some adult leagues that are coed that I may be able to play in in the future.