Bodily changes and performance effects in a transitioning transgender college athlete

AbstractNational Collegiate Athletic Association regulations stipulate that once collegiate transgender male athletes begin taking hormones, they no longer can compete on a women’s team and can only complete on a men’s team. However, little is known about what happens physically, mentally and emotionally during transgender athletes’ athletic transition. This case study focused on the physical and athletic changes that occurred during the first year of taking testosterone as reported by a trans male US college athlete in a video diary. Diary entries were recorded approximately once a month for 12 months. Guided by transfeminism, we employed a narrative approach to chronicle his transition. The participant described physical changes as his body adjusted to increased testosterone (e.g. increased facial hair, body fat redistribution), emotional or mood disturbances, and training and performance effects. His diary also highlights the challenges of shifting from a women’s to a men’s athletic team, leading us to...