Top Five Points for Allies of Transgender People To Remember

 

1. Respect: Respect transgender people's name and pronoun. In all interactions, address them as their preferred name and the pronoun they use. Respect their privacy by not outing them or telling others of their identity without permission.

 

2. Confidentiality: Protecting the privacy of transgender student-athletes must be a top priority for all athletic department and affiliated school personnel, particularly when in the presence of the media.  All medical information shall be kept confidential in accordance with applicable state, local and federal privacy laws.

 

3. Support: Listen and be supportive. Allow trans people to control who they tell about their identity and how they tell them.

 

4. Every journey is different: Some trans people use hormones, some do not. Some have surgery, many do not. Every trans person's journey is unique. People have both a gender identity and sexual orientation, but some trans individuals don't identify with one or either and don't consider these descriptions part of their identities. Trans people can be straight, gay, bisexual, asexual, or have a different sexual identity.

 

5. Educate yourself: Challenge your own notions of gender roles and expectations. Use inclusive language. Continue your education on trans topics; do not expect trans people to be responsible for educating you. Do not ask invasive questions.

 

 

These five tips for trans allies were created by attendees of the 2013 LGBT Sports Summit, including Kye Allums, Fallon Fox, Keelin Godsey, Pat Griffin, Christina Kahrl, Chris Mosier, Cory Oskam, and Nicole Sequin. The tips were distributed to members of the LGBT Sports Coalition and serve as a guiding document for trans allies in athletics.