the transmasc sports leagues helping to redefine masculinity

"I believe in helping out with [basketball] skills, but also I’m hoping to develop a very healthy sportsmanship culture."

I appreciate you all for being here! I am a full-time freelance sports writer. Today’s newsletter is bonus content for paid subscribers related to the reporting I did for my recent feature for SELF about Basketdolls, the all-trans pickup basketball league in Brooklyn.

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Queer sports leagues have existed almost as long as organized sports, but they haven’t always been created with trans people in mind. Queer people, like other historically marginalized groups, have always been excellent at creating community gathering spaces, whether those are bars, supper clubs, or softball teams. These “third places” helped queer people move from the isolation of mainstream, heteronormative culture to the acceptance and support of like-minded community. “Making solitude a choice rather than an unavoidable fate has been the greatest achievement of the gay civil rights movement,” writes June Thomas in her book, A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women’s Culture.

Queer sports leagues can be a balm to people with non-normative bodies or sexual orientations, giving them camaraderie and healing without the anxiety and dysphoria often induced by sports settings. They’ve also served as venues where organizers could recruit comrades and help the community access resources.

In recent years, sports in general have become much more hostile to trans people—something which has impacted queer leagues, as well. Historically, these gay and lesbian leagues didn’t usually discriminate based on gender or presentation but as fear-mongering about trans athletes increases, these once safe(r) spaces have become less so. For example, earlier this summer a beloved and long-running lesbian volleyball tournament on Fire Island was canceled due to protest after organizers denied a trans man entry.

The backlash largely targets trans women, who are disproportionately visible in sports relative to the number of them actually competing. The hypervisibility of trans women has led to exclusion and violence, but it has also sprung up trans-specific leagues and teams, like Team Trans Ice Hockey. On the flipside, transmasculine athletes have garnered much less attention, and until recently there have been fewer teams and leagues made specifically for them.

Fortunately that's changing. A spate of transmasculine-centered teams are popping up to fill that gap and provide opportunities for transmasc people to enjoy sports with people who share their unique experience of the world.