Framing the Narrative on Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sport
摘要
The discourse and dialogue on transgender athletes competing in sport has become increasingly volatile and complex. While the number of transgender athletes competing at elite levels is minimal the number of stories about trans athletes and policies, as well as questions of fairness, has grown significantly. This chapter will provide an analysis of language used in reports on transgender athletes competing in women’s sport by examining storylines from the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with examples from specific case studies. Throughout the chapter I draw on my personal experience of covering transgender athletes across different sports in international and national broadcast and digital journalism. The reporting since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics highlighted the need for increased education on inclusive language, regardless of whether the story focuses on including or excluding trans athletes from sport. Adapting to new language is an important part of the journalistic process as terminology and dialogue evolve. Getting the language wrong is inevitable to some extent, but journalists must continue to learn and ask questions.