Paul Kent hinted at a story along these lines a couple weeks ago.

 

Caroline Layt understands, more than most, the importance of trans women being allowed to compete in professional sport.

At the age of just four, Ms Layt started playing rugby league on her brother’s team — one of a myriad of sports, including cricket and athletics, she competed in as a male — at first grade and state level — for the 26 years before she transitioned.

It was a “hyper-masculine” environment to be immersed in, yet she “knew from a very early age” that she was transgender, Ms Layt told news.com.au, despite the fact she “tried to fit in and be one of the boys”.

Throughout her years at an all-male, Catholic boarding school, she “always was wistful” when, in her uniform, she’d see female students “and think, ‘God, I wish I was like them’”.

“So sport was pretty important to me, because it allowed me to forget I was different,” she explained.

Which is why Ms Layt — who continued a successful career in sport post-transition, and appears on tonight’s episode of SBS’s Insight to discuss the matter — stands in opposition to Tasmanian Liberal senator Claire Chandler’s so-called “Save Women’s Sport” bill.

 
 
 
Caroline Layt “knew from a very early age” that she was transgender, despite the fact she “tried to fit in and be one of the boys”. Picture: Supplied
Caroline Layt “knew from a very early age” that she was transgender, despite the fact she “tried to fit in and be one of the boys”. Picture: Supplied
Ms Layt understands, more than most, the importance of trans women being allowed to compete in professional sport. Picture: Supplied
Ms Layt understands, more than most, the importance of trans women being allowed to compete in professional sport. Picture: Supplied

“It basically precludes trans women from playing women’s sport. But in the broader sense, it precludes trans women from life — it’s just the beginning,” she said.

The bill seeks to amend the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, and would ultimately give sporting bodies and organisations the right to lawfully exclude a trans person from competing “in any sporting activity intended for persons of a different sex”.

While Ms Layt believes that “you can’t transition one day and expect to play the next, not in elite sport anyway”, “if you transition and you’ve followed all the rules and waited [the required 12-month without testosterone in the body], then you’ve followed your rules and guidelines and you should be able to play”.

“You can’t just go, ‘We’re going to blackball the entire trans community’. It’s a case-by-case basis and that’s how I’ve always looked at it,” Ms Layt said.

Being “blackballed” because she was a trans woman is something she experienced on more than one occasion in her own sporting career, after being outed by her rugby coach to her teammates. Picture: Supplied
Being “blackballed” because she was a trans woman is something she experienced on more than one occasion in her own sporting career, after being outed by her rugby coach to her teammates. Picture: Supplied
“It wasn’t directly ‘you can’t play’, but from the players’ perspective, it didn’t matter what I said, I was always in the wrong and I was always the bad person.” Picture: Supplied
“It wasn’t directly ‘you can’t play’, but from the players’ perspective, it didn’t matter what I said, I was always in the wrong and I was always the bad person.” Picture: Supplied

Being “blackballed” because she was a trans woman is something she experienced on more than one occasion in her own sporting career, after being outed by her rugby coach to her teammates.

 

“It’s not direct, it’s sort of like you’re just erased, you’re invisible, [coaches] don’t see you or your performances, so you’re just out of the picture,” she recalled.

“So [as a trans woman] you can only get so far — you’ll never get to the top, and that’s what I found with those people … I didn’t have a voice.

“It wasn’t directly ‘you can’t play’, but from the players’ perspective, it didn’t matter what I said, I was always in the wrong and I was always the bad person.”

Her fear is that “these people, the Katherine Deves’ and the Claire Chandler’s, they want to take that further and exclude trans women from a societal basis, as far as accessing healthcare”.

“It won’t stop at just sport. I’ve had my surgery — not that that should matter — but I’ve had my surgery, I had my medical transition,” she added.

“The surgery’s just the icing on the cake … but a lot of trans women don’t have the surgery. So [the bill is] basically saying, ‘Well, you can’t enter women’s spaces now’. I don’t know what danger I present to other women. It’s farcical.”

Liberal Senator Claire Chandler. Picture: Kenji Sato
Liberal Senator Claire Chandler. Picture: Kenji Sato
Co-founder of Save Women’s Sport and Liberal preselection candidate, Katherine Deves. Picture: Supplied
Co-founder of Save Women’s Sport and Liberal preselection candidate, Katherine Deves. Picture: Supplied

Referring to the oft-rolled out transphobic ideology that opening cisgender spaces to trans people could open those spaces to anyone, Ms Layt said, “If I go to the toilet, I’m going there because I want to go the toilet. I’ve never heard of a trans woman going in there and raping another woman.”

That fact — and that hundreds of people still insist on incorrectly referring to trans women as “males” — ignores that she, and other trans women, have “taken all these steps to make our lives, but it will only ever be a silver lining”.

“I couldn’t grow up as the girl that I always knew myself to be. It’s almost like hiding in plain sight, and living a lie, but you’re living a lie to please other people,” Ms Layt explained.

“And there’s consequences for that post-transition, because you’re never going to … I know I’m never going to fit in 100 per cent like you will, or another woman will, as a cisgender female. My life is only ever going to be a silver lining in the fact that it’s probably harder to attract a partner, it’s harder to get jobs, so my life, I make the best of what I can.

“And I never really wanted to go through male puberty, but I didn’t really have a choice — that’s what I’m trying to say. And that’s always overlooked when they talk about this, and they say that we have male privilege — but did we want that male privilege?

“It’s sort of like you’re punished one way because you to go through that male puberty, but people weren’t aware because we hid it so well.”

 

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  • This line is annoying  "and they say that we have male privilege — but did we want that male privilege"?

    Look i dont care if they want to change it doesnt bother me but come on your joking. What about female rights in knowing that they are playing against other females.

    If he wants to be a sister then have respect for your other sisters mate.

     

    • More men in jail, homeless, committing suicide, not being able to see their kids and depressed.

      if women want that privilege be my guest

  • Sometimes events in our life or even different choices we make exclude us from following our dream or passion.  That is part of the process of life and if you don't want to be excluded from sport weigh that into your decision making process if you want to be trans.

    No one is excluding them from anything other than competing in sport where they have an unfair advantage.   Why not start a lgbt sporting organisation.  People with dwarfism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities have their own competitions and I'm sure plenty of other groups do too.  We didn't choose our disabilities but have to live with them and accept we can't be part of regular sporting groups.

    As for "it won’t stop at just sport" just because the lgbqixyz...... community used the same sex marriage vote to push through a whole raft of ridiculous changes, they are scared this legislation could be a doorway to more restrictions.  But this legislation isn't like that and is very specific do what you want but accept the consequences of your messed up choices.

  • Nothing wrong with transgenders playing sport, as long as it's against other trans.

    Thinking you're a women and getting surgery is one thing, competing against natural women is another.

    Surely the equivalent of a man taking steroids in terms of competitive advantage?

    • It's funny RAM, as I remember a four corners episode a few years back, panel full of women bar 1 man being Mark Latham

      The topic was about women sport on tv and they're not getting paid the same etc and the women all agreed they should as they are just as good, Latham said genetically men are better to watch simply due to the power and strength it's science. They chastised him calling him a bigot and sexist.

      If that's not real then a transgender women who was a man shouldn't be an issue right? Oh wait no it is? So what were you saying again?

      • Simple LB. The women on that tv show are just as unrealistic and nonsensical as the tranny wanting to compete with women.

         

    • 10433818277?profile=RESIZE_930x

      A bit late to this discussion - Taken from an interesting Quillette article.  https://quillette.com/2021/12/11/male-and-female-athletic-performance/.  For those that believe that testosterone suppression evens the playing field, this article debunks that myth.

      Call me a dinosaur but just because a man says he is a woman doesn't make him a woman - supporting that idea is insane.  As the table above (and common sense) shows men have significant advantages in physical, functional and performance measures over women developed primarily through increased testosterone levels during puberty and should not be included/allowed to participate in womens competition.  i don't particularly care how people live, dress, identify whatever as long as they don't force a load of identity bullshit down other peoples throats and into corporate/government/sporting policies.  

      What annoys the shit out of me is the spineless and woke leaders/bureaucrats/elites in private, government and sporting organisations whatever you want to call them who won't define a woman as an adult female human and pander to this crap.  Why is the feminist sisterhood silent and letting this crap happen without protest or comment?  

      At last there are a few high profile female athletes that have started to speak up - it has taken far too long.  

      Male and Female Athletic Performance: Worlds Apart
  • Can she play wing

    • If her last name was Arthur she would get a bench spot

  • Why is it that women who identify as men, or have transitioned to become men, never want to play in mens sport? Or does that happen and I just don't know about it?

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