Trans Sports Panel and other awesomeness.

Tonight the UVic Law Students and Allies club, along with the Uvic Sports and Entertainment Law club, held a panel entitled Inclusion of transgendered athletes in Olympic Cycling: Implications for Canadian and International Sport Policy. Dr. Jim Rupert from UBC spoke about the biological aspects of gender, and to those regarding being transgendered or intersex, or any variation along a spectrum of hormonal differences. Then Dr. Ann Travers, a sociologist at Simon Fraser University who specializes in the areas of sport and gender, especially as related to gay sporting and womens sporting spaces.

It was just fascinating. I felt like I learned so much I have never even thought about before. Dr. Travers spoke about a sporting world that didn't have a male/female dichotomy or divide. She spoke of the possibility that given equal societal expectations and things like equal nutrition, that men and women could be competing at the same level.

Also, both spoke to the evidence thus far that transgendered athletes compete at similar levels to where the competed before their transition.

This panel was great! We had it in one of the fair size lecture halls, and it was nearly full! There were like...whole classes who had to manditorily come to this. And lots of support from the law faculty. I think that Both speakers were engaging, interesting and really intriguing material was presented by each of them. A lot of people were saying that it was one the best talks that has ever come through the law school. Wow...props us! I think its officially shorter just to type out all the names of the ppl in the club than to type out the name of the club...Jess, Didi, Mark, Andy, and Rachael. and Rashida. Yes shorter for sure. Mostly we just call it the gay club now.

Also on this exciting and best day of my week so far, I can speak about the fact that there is going to be a professor visiting soon from Feb 19-ish to March 19-ish from the University if Edinburgh, and she researches in the areas of transgendered persons legal rights, and feminist perspectives in Health Law. Its fascinating research if you ever want to look it up- Dr. Sharon Cowan. So apparently she and Gillian Calder have "danced a paper before". As in, quite literally, dancing out a paper instead of reading it. I don't really understand how that works, but I may ask them to do one. Or perchance I will just ask for a normal reading style lecture. We, and by we I mean the gay club and the Uvic Association of Women and the Law aka UAWL, decided on that at lunch since 3/4 of our regular members were at the UAWL meeting. I love it.

SO morals of the story: 1) Gillian calder is amazing 2) Transgendered sports panel was amazing 3) Visiting prof sounds amazing.

Rach, co-prez of a stellar club, from another cold, but bright and clear Victorian night.