Tag: LGBTQ+

【Report】5th BreakTalks “Trans Woman and Sports Fields” (June 29, 2022) 

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On Wednesday, June 29, S.C.P Japan held a fifth BreakTalks. This time, we invited Ms. Shuna Matsumoto, who has been working as an athletic performance coach in Y.S.C.C Yokohama (as of June 2022), as our guest speaker. She was born in Germany, and after learning about coaching in Germany and the United States, she has been a track and field coach as well as an athletic performance coach for over 20 years. In 2020, she  publicly came out as a trans woman (*1).

This time during BreakTalks, Ms. Shuna shared with us her experiences and perspectives, working life, and things that are important in the sports fields and society for a while. Her story made everyone discuss a few topics such as “Transgender and Sports” and “Transgender and Society.”

Before the guest talk, Orime, a member of S.C.P Japan, explained the current situations/facts and issues related to “Trans women and Sports Field.”

In November 2021, the IOC announced a new framework related to the participation of  transgender athletes in sports: “IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.” In this framework, the IOC stated that there would be no regulations that would define the common criteria for gender categories for each sport with regard to the participation of athletes in competitions. This new framework also stated that each sport and its governing body would determine the criteria, taking into account the nature of each sport. As an example, the recent new rule of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) on the participation of transgender people was presented, which resulted in the limitation of the participation of transgender women in the women’s category.

In addition, we touched on the participation of LGBTQ+ (*2) people whose sports skills are at a general level. Due to the lack of sufficient knowledge about LGBTQ+ individuals and the structure and mechanics of sports based on gender binary, LGBTQ+ youth, especially nonbinary (*3) youth, there have been reports of lower participation in sports.

Looking at these facts, we can say that the participation of LGBTQ+ people in sports still has a lot of challenges. On the other hand, the Tokyo Olympics not only featured 222 LGBTQ+ athletes (as of August 2021), but Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics in the gender category to that which they identify with.

Hubbard’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics visualized transgender people, as she became a role model for young people, bringing diverse communication among sports fields and society. Through the game, LGBTQ+ athletes, including Hubbard, conveyed a lot of messages for the future of the sporting world and youth. 

Afterward, Torizuka, who has been working for S.C.P. Japan as an intern, interviewed the guest speaker, Shuna Matsumoto, about her experiences, thoughts, and feelings that led her to officially come out as a transwoman, as well as things that she would like to see in today’s society and sports world.

*1 Transgender is a term that refers to people who feel a discrepancy between the sex they were born with and the sex they self-identify. Among them, people who wish to be closer to their true gender both physically and mentally are called transsexuals. Trans women mean transgender, including transsexual, whose physicality as male and their gender identity as female do not match.

*2 LGBTQ+ takes the initials that stand for Lesbian (a person who identifies as a woman or feels a connection to womanhood who is attracted to women.), Gay (a person who identifies as a man or feels a connection to manhood who is attracted to men), Bisexual (a person who is attracted to two or more gender identities), Transgender (a person whose gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth.), Queer (a person whose gender identity or sexual orientation does not correspond to established ideas of majority), Questioning (a person who does not know, cannot decide, or does not decide their sexual orientation or gender identity), and + (plus) represents the diverse range of sexualities and gender identities that do not fit into the LGBTQ categories listed above. 

*3 Nonbinary refers to a person who does not identify their gender within the binary gender system (i.e. woman/man).

Ms. Shuna’s Sports and Coaching Experiences

“When I was 12, I started track and field in Germany, where I spent my childhood. As Germany has good coaching licensing systems, clubs whose coaches have the license earn high reputations, which leads to an increase in club membership, and some areas offer subsidies for coaches with the license, teams are active to develop coaches. 

Having played track and field in such a good environment, I worked as an assistant for coaches in the club that I belonged to from the age of 14. With a main coach, I earned coaching knowledge and skills through first-hand experiences in the club. After that, I studied coaching at Athletes’ Performance (now EXOS) in the United States. Several policies of the organization such as “training that never makes a difference between men and women” and “the focus on training a move rather than muscles” inspired me to study coaching there. I believe my duty and importance of coaching is to develop players I taught to a level in which the players can become coaches.”

The Process of Coming Out and the Reactions of People around Her

In my childhood, I was not really thinking about my gender identity (Gender identity: a person’s internal, deeply held sense of their gender. It doesn’t necessarily correspond to one’s physical structure.). That is partly because people around me naturally accepted my long hair and pretty, girlish face. My unestablished gender identity has changed to female as I grow up.  Having revealed my gender identity in Germany, I worked as a woman for a year. However, since I had not made big results in my work and I was facing many other challenges at the time, I gave up telling people around me about my gender identity. Then I moved to Japan in 2013. The new life in Japan was hard, but I noticed that I could be myself when wearing skirts. On the other hand, though I had been wearing makeup and nails for some time,  I was anxious about what everyone would think of me and lived my life always thinking of reasons for wearing makeup, such as using foundation to cover rough skin, so I could explain when I was asked about it. Even doing so, I still wanted to come out, and around the second year at Y.S.C.C Yokohama, I slowly began to live my life a little more openly by posting pictures on Instagram that everyone would realize that I’m a transgender and by wearing more makeup than before.

While thinking about when to express my feelings at Y.S.C.C Yokohama, the head coach brought it up to me first, and the process naturally led me to come out. After that, the head coach explained to the club. I also learned later that the head coach had explained my gender identity to the players without my knowledge. The other male coaches at the club might be considerate of me and would not come in when I was changing in the locker room. Y.S.C.C. Yokohama has players with diverse backgrounds. Maybe that’s why I feel that the team is willing to accept people from all walks of life and not be critical or conservative with people, including me. ”

Transgender Athletes and Sports

“When I was doing track and field, I had no aversion to play as a male athlete. Even now, I have a desire to compete in the men’s category when I do athletics. In the mixed events in track and fields that I was working on, the number of events were different based on gender: decathlon for men and heptathlon for women. I prefer decathlon to heptathlon, for decathlon has more events and I am more used to it. I would like to participate in the decathlon as a female athlete, if possible. Also, in track and field, both men and women train together and work off the same training menus. So, I never felt uncomfortable about gender. In addition, while doing athletics, I never thought about my gender identity as I was so focused on the competition (This may be different from other transgender people).

I am openly transgender. Being a transgender does not prevent me from doing my job because I can compete as a coach regardless of gender thanks to my record as an athlete and coaching achievements to this day. On the other hand, athletes may not be able to continue competing due to the “gender” category, so trans athletes are in a really hard situation. However, we can change these situations in a lot of ways such as changing rules and establishing clear rules about gender categories.”

After the guest talk session in the first half, the second half was dedicated to participants’ interaction with each other through an active exchange of ideas and opinions.

Ms. Shuna left a comment saying, “LGBTQ+ people also live their lives naturally. If the people around them could accept the behavior of LGBTQ+ people as natural, without treating them differently because they are lesbians or transgender, and then discrimination against others would not arise.”

She also commented, “society sometimes puts restrictions on jobs that only women can do or men can do, but if people with abilities can get jobs regardless of gender, society will change. For example, in the profession of coaching, the training menu and methods do not differ between women and men. She also touched on the way she interacts with others, commenting, “When I teach kids in a club, professional athletes, athletes who have participated in the Paralympics and won medals, I always feel that I am teaching ‘athletes’regardless of disabilities or ages.”  

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the 15 participants from different backgrounds and to all those who were involved and supported the event.

We also would also like to extend a sincere and big thank you to Ms. Shuna for participating in this event and sharing her story and thoughts, with the volunteers, sign language interpreters, and all the participants.

【Report】The First BreakTalks – LGBTQ+ – (Guest Speaker: Airi Murakami) on June 15th, 2021.

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On June 15th (Tuesday), S.C.P. Japan held the first BreakTalks event. To celebrate Pride Month, we invited a professional rugby player, Airi Murakami, as our guest speaker. She made an official announcement of having a same gender partner in April this year. The theme of the event was “Sexual Orientation, Gender Indentity and Expression (SOGIE) and Sports – Importance of an environment where people can play in their own way and how each of us can contribute to a more inclusive society.”

Currently Murakami is playing for the Yokohama Musashino Artemi Stars, a rugby team in Tokyo, but until 2015, she was a basketball player at the Akita Bank of the East Japan Regional League. In 2019, she competed and represented Japan as a rugby player in an international match of rugby union (a 15-person rugby) game . In April this year, she publicly announced that she has a same gender partner, which was the first time for a national representative elite athlete to do so. She also actively advocates for LGBTQ+ rights on social media, including the legalization of same gender marriage, and positively interacts through online platforms with those who struggle with sexual orientation and gender identity, and stereotypes and prejudices based on gender.

In the first half of the event, Machi Orime, an intern at SCP Japan, interviewed Murakami about her experience, her thoughts on coming out as an athlete and what she thinks about the society we live in as well as the world of sports. 

What made you decide to come out?

Ever since I was a kid, I have been tired of hiding my sexuality and worrying about it. I always wanted to be open about it. When I joined my current rugby team, my coach and teammates accepted me and my sexuality in such a laid-back manner. Also, my current partner is open about her sexuality and she was in favor of me coming out. I have also left the national team due to an injury, so the circumstances are less restrictive for me now. These days it is also easier to make personal statements on social media. I thought this is the time to do it.

I happened to make the decision to come out, but the decision is up to a LGBTQ+ individual as to how or what coming out should be. Why do we even need to come out in the first place? I believe that the ideal society is one where coming out is not necessary, where people can talk about their lovers and partners regardless of their sexuality and gender identity.

What struggles did you face with your sexuality and what messages can you share with others who are doing through a similar process?

When I was in high school, I experienced bullying and rejection by people around me because of my sexuality. My mother and friends at school supported me through these hard times. Also, the coach of my current team is someone who warmly accepts me for who I am, and that positively influences the atmosphere of the team and teammates. It has made me feel that the entire team is accepting and that I am in a safe place. This inspires me to be the person who can do the same for others. When I was being bullied, I had thought that being a LGBTQ+ was my weakness, but now I think it is a part of my unique personality.

If you are worried about your sexuality, we encourage you to talk to other LGBTQ+ individuals. I think that the LGBTQ+ community has grown much larger, and there are more opportunities to connect with others. I didn’t have the opportunity to get counseling when I was having a hard time, so I would like to help children who are in the same position as I was, to receive the counseling. We are currently offering free consultation through social media, so please do get in touch.

In the second half, we had a discussion with Murakami and the participants. The participants brought diverse backgrounds and experiences with them, such as those who were not familiar with the situation and problems surrounding LGBTQ+, those who are not interested in sports, and those who are involved in teaching competitive sports. 

Participants asked various questions, “How can we support LGBTQ+ players?” “ Murakami said she felt warmly welcomed by the team when joining the team, but it is hard for LGBTQ+ athletes to know if a team is going to be LGBTQ+ friendly before joining. Others asked, “ given this circumstance, how can I show that the team I coach is LGBTQ+ friendly and actively welcome LGBTQ+ athletes?”  Other questions included, “what kind of practical consideration should be given when interacting with LGBTQ+ athletes in everyday life?” In response, Murakami shared her experience and opinions. In addition, participants actively exchanged opinions among themselves, and it was a great opportunity for all to think about LGBTQ+ and diversity and to learn what others think about it.

Finally, Murakami introduced the concept of an “LGBTQ+ ally”, someone who is supportive for LGBTQ+ individuals. She thinks that having more “allies” in the society will eliminate the need for people to come out altogether. She also commented, from her own experience of being bullied and rejected, that it is crucial for adults to reach out to children who might be going through a hard time.

Through the BreakTalks events, S.C.P. Japan will continue to welcome diverse guests, introduce interesting initiatives, and provide a place where people from various backgrounds can meet to exchange and work together to achieve a more diverse and inclusive society. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all twenty participants as well as everyone who helped us make this event happen.

Finally, we would like to thank Murakami who kindly accepted to be the keynote speaker, the volunteer staff, and the sign language interpreters.