Preparations for 2018 Pride House Pyeongchang are under way
By
Narang
Published
in July 24, 2017
Translation
by Kang Yieun
Controversies regarding athletes’ gender & gender norms
in the sports world
“The
goal of [participating in] sports should be winning, overcoming, and achieving.
Yet, the achievements of female, transgender, and intersexual athletes are
limited by an arbitrary line drawn by sexism and homophobia within the sporting
world. When an athlete breaks through this arbitrary line, all kinds of
controversies and suspicion arise on their gender identity.” (Keph Senett,
Canadian activist for human rights for gender minority athletes)
 |
| Keph Senett giving a lecture entitled “Creating a Pride House for the Gender Minority Community” at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul on July 18. © Ilda |
The sports
world has firm gender norms. Strength, speed, and aggressiveness are considered
‘masculine’ and are encouraged. When a female athlete becomes the best [in her
field], the very fact is considered as a violation of the norm.
One typical example is the Korean
soccer player Park Eun-seon. Park has been considered ‘a soccer genius,’ ‘the
face of Korean women’s soccer,’ and ‘the best striker in South Korea,’ but was put
under scrutiny concerning her gender for being well-built and good at soccer. In
2013, Park led her team, Seoul City Hall, to second place in the league while
leading the league in scoring with 19 goals in 22 games. At the end of the
season, the head coaches of the six rival clubs in the WK League (Women’s Korea
Football League) demanded a sex-test of Park with threats of boycotting the
league.
Although the National Human Rights
Commission of Korea recommended the league punish to these six coaches for violation
of human rights, the Korea Football Association and Korea Women’s Football Federation
stopped short of this, issuing warnings only.
A South African sprinter, Caster
Semenya, was actually subjected to a sex-determination test after winning the 800-meters
at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin, Germany.
 |
The
first Pride House, opened in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
(Retrieved from the home page of 2018 Pride House Pyeongchang, http://pridehouse.kr/) |
What is Pride House?
Patriarchic
gender norms in the sports world lead to discrimination against gender minority
athletes. Keph Senett, a Canadian activist of human rights for gender minority
athletes and a member of Pride House International, pointed out that “sexism
and homophobia in sports are closely linked”.
“The sexism in the word ‘sissy’ and
the homophobia in ‘faggot’ are
connected. Athletes hear these words all the time even when they are
heterosexual. Such sexist and homophobic culture hurts the sports world.”
Senett gave examples of an American
football player, Michael Sam, and a Nigerian soccer coach. Sam left American
football [professionally] and broke up with his partner after his coming out. Former
head coach of the Nigerian women’s soccer team, Eucharia Uche, infamously claimed
that “lesbians in our team were really a big problem, but since I’m coach of
the Super Falcons, that has been cleared up.”
Keph Senett was visiting Korea to
give a lecture titled “Creating a Pride House: a community for gender minorities”
at Schofield Hall in the Canadian embassy on July 18. The event was co-hosted
by the Korea Sexual-Minority Culture and Rights Center (KSCRC) and the embassy.
Pride House is a venue where gender
minorities are welcome and can enjoy the Olympics in safety and comfort. It also
serves as a place to discuss sports and the human rights of gender minority
athletes. In Korea, KSCRC is preparing the “2018 Pride House Pyeongchang” (http://pridehouse.kr) for the upcoming 2018
Winter Olympics.
The first Pride House opened in
Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. An idea
originating from the gay tourism industry was fused with human rights activism
for gender minorities to result in the Pride House. Two pavilions were operated
for gender minority athletes and fans, where workshops, exhibitions, and events
(such as a meeting with Blake Skjellerup, a short track speed skater from New
Zealand who came out soon afterwards) were held. According to Senett, the first
Pride House received more than 20,000 visits.
Later Pride Houses operated in the 2012
London Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the 2012 UEFA European Football
Championship held in Poland and Ukraine, and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
and Paralympics. Pride House International was then officially established last
year.
 |
| A photo exhibition of athletes who have come out at the 2012 London Summer Olympics Pride House |
“Remote” Pride Houses show international solidarity
Pride
House is not limited to having a physical venue. Its form can change depending on
a specific nation’s environment and restrictions. In Poland and Ukraine, for
example, Pride Houses were operated at small bars rented out for two to three
days so that gender minorities could watch the matches together.
Any activities raising awareness of
discrimination against gender minorities within the sports world and showing
solidarity with other gender minorities abroad can be considered Pride House.
Pride House is, therefore, more of a movement than a house.
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics was
a special example where international support proved critical. A year before
the Winter Olympics, the Russian State Duma passed a bill known as the ‘gay
propaganda law’ in the English-language media. Actions defined as punishable by
fine, arrest, or detainment under this law include providing information on
gender minorities to minor children, holding events related to gender
minorities, and publicly advocating [for gender minorities].
When a request to hold Pride House
in Sochi was explicitly denied, international supporters held ‘remote’ Pride
Houses in solidarity with Russian gender minorities in twenty or so cities
across the world including London, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. The Russian LGBT
Sport Federation also suggested a ‘same-sex hand-holding’ movement during the
Olympics. Athletes, journalists, attendees at the games, and fans would hold
hands with anyone of the same sex and post the picture online to participate. It
was a simple gesture, but gained sizable traction in and out of Russia.
 |
| During the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the ‘same-sex hand-holding’ movement gained traction across the world in support of Russian gender minorities. This picture was taken at a Mardi Gras festival in Australia. (Retrieved from http://pridehouse.kr) |
To start a discourse on sports and gender minorities in Pyeongchang
Discrimination
against gender minorities in sports has yet to be discussed in Korea. What
human right issues have succeeded in making their way into public discourse are
limited to those of female athletes being exposed to sexual harassment and
physical violence. It is still rare to see efforts to tackle overall
discrimination.
2018 Pride House Pyeongchang has
about 200 days left to open. Activist Candy from KSCRC wants to raise awareness
on the issue of gender minorities in sports in Korea. She hopes “2018 Pride
House Pyeongchang will be a springboard to start discussions on the human
rights of gender minorities in sports, on what needs to be done to protect their
rights.” What form will 2018 Pride House Pyeongchang take? Now that awareness of
the existence of and the rights of gender minorities has picked up in Korea, the
discourse has to be extended to those in sports.
*Original
article: http://ildaro.com/sub_read.html?uid=7945
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