The discussion in today’s class about transgender and transexuality really sparked some thought and got me thinking of a past personal experience of mine. Growing up in an “average” town everything seemed pretty normal. As I played sports throughout my youth I got involved with a recreational basketball team. During this time we had a coach who was very knowledgeable about the game and had a great passion for teaching. This man was a father of one of the players and got along with all of the players. About five years after I was on that team there was word that the man had separated from his family and moved away because he planned on having a sex change. After some time the man returned to town representing a female body and attitude, this came as a shock to the community. At the time I had no idea how handle the situation or address this individual. As time passed the man stayed involved in the child’s life and everything sort of went back to normal, besides the views of some of his former players. Many of the players felt like he had lost their trust and had done something wrong.
Looking back on this situation I feel that I would now be more accepting of the situation. Learning about these scenarios and hearing the stories of individuals who have gone through this has opened my eyes and helped me realize that this is not something that is easy to deal with and has no standard protocol on which to act. If this individual had a significant impact on a city of people I can only imagine the impact and controversy that a famous athlete would cause. The commotion that is stirred up when these stories come out have to be taxing on all involved and I can see why these cases are not extremely prevalent. The fact that the number of cases is rising shows the growth and increased acceptance from spectators and critics. Hopefully people continue to follow their hearts and this will lead to increased awareness about the matter. A voice leads to growth, and growth leads to acceptance.
-HH
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteReading about your experience made me think of what I would do in this situation. Being at a young age, I would find it difficult to understand exactly what happened or even how it happened. I think in this situation I would be accepting and still trust that person since what changed was their appearance and not their personality. I'm sure the coach still knows a lot about basketball and would still have my respect if I was a player.
- Jeff Kravetz
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. I think that it is good that you have a personal experience like this one that you can connect to the things that we are discussing in class. I do not know how I would take that situation at a younger age. I think if I were younger I would have been more judgmental of the coach and looked down upon him. At this point in my life, being a little older, I would also be more accepting of the situation like you said in your post. It's good to respect people and their decisions because you never know what that person has been through or how they are feeling psychologically.
-Logan Walker
ReplyDeleteHunter--
I find your blog post very fascinating and I appreciate your willingness to share a personal story like that. Throughout my youth, I came from a similar “normal” town and never had a situation like this. Looking back, I don’t know how I would have reacted. After taking classes such as this one, I really have learned a new perspective. In no way do I believe that I would have not been accepting to a situation like yours, but I am fully honest that I believe that it would have been an interesting transition. Now when relating this to sport, I can only imagine the controversy it draws. Athletes are fully in their right to make these kinds of personal choices, but media will definitely have an opinion no matter what. When looking ahead, I am hopeful that people will become more accepting. As frustrating as it may get, I know it will take time, and society as a whole may never be in agreement with situations like yours. I know I will do my part to help foster an inclusive environment; the coming years will sure be interesting.
-Alex Solis
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I thought of how I would react to my high school soccer coach being transexual. In class we talk about how accepting we would be, but thinking of my own coach doing that would be a great shock. I think it would take a little time to adjust, but I believe I would be very accepting of his decision. I think this class has really helped open our eyes to different issues and helped us be more accepting to other's situations.
Erin Scott
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteYour message in your post was great. If that were to happen to a friend of mine I wouldn’t know how to react. But then again, what type of friend would I be if my friend only changed his appearance and I distanced myself from them. My friend only changed their appearance, not who they are. It takes a big person and a TRUE friend to stick by someone’s side through a transition like this. I really believe that this goes along with having a gay teammate from my aspect. Would you stop being close to your teammates if one of them was homosexual? May people would have mixed feelings about this topic. Now after spending time in this class, I have become more acceptant of others feelings because I know that, that person hasn’t changed as my friend and teammate only their appearance or relationship status.
Darion Delaney
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteFirst off good post and it is awesome that you were willing to share this story. I am also from a small town but I have never had a situation like this. I know if this happened to me I don’t know how I would have reacted at such a young age. I know it would definitely take some time for me to adjust to my coach but what it all comes down to is that it is their decision to do what they want with their life. This class really opened my eyes up about that and I know if this happened to me and once I got a little bit older that I would be accepting to their situation and why they wanted to do it.
Lindsey Landversicht
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your poast and you make some very good points. I have never been put in a situation in which I've had to face transgender decisions. However, I think before taking this class I was very naive to what the world has to offer and the different kinds of people it holds. Now that I have been exposed and educated on this matter I think I would view the person for who they are and not what they are. I believe this class has made me more acceptable to different types of people.
-John Ruppert
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about your personal experience. I believe it is difficult to know what someone would do until or unless they have faced such circumstances. I'm sure a lot of people could relate to the context in which you grew up - it seems to be typical of how a lot of us were raised in this part of the country.
Thanks again,
Dr. Spencer