I am a recovering Basic B. I am an ally. I believe that gender is a spectrum, and while I identify as female and was assigned female at birth, I realize I was very uncomfortable as a child being dressed in ruffles and hair bows. I look back and cringe on times I was pressured (but made my own decisions) to join the cheerleading squad and a sorority to try and fit in. Those were very uncomfortable times and it took me until my mid-30s before I realized how unhappy and inauthentic it was. I am not a girly girl and I think that the gender binary system of Boy or Girl is bullshit.

A year ago I parted ways with USA Powerlifting. At that time, I had applied to host a 3rd powerlifting meet with the organization and I decided not to host again:

“I am writing to formally withdraw my request for sanction of the 2018 Atlanta Women’s Open. 
Thank you for the opportunity, but I will not be a meet director for USAPL as long as transgender athletes are unable to compete, and as long as women and men have different uniform rules (specifically referring to the option for men to remove their shirt for deadlifts, while women must).”

The Georgia state chair replied to me and informed me regarding the women’s shirt rule:

“As for the shirts being worn for the ladies in the D.L., I have never heard anyone in over 30+ years of being involved in this sport, this being seen as an issue??  We all know that a Man’s and Women’s anatomy is different and think most would see this out of respect for ladies.  Sorry you do not see it that way.    Hope to see you at a USAPL event soon!!  :)”    

It is SO FUNNY to me that he had never heard of this rule in over 30 years of involvement with the sport, and yet last year, Sweden proposed a rule change to IPF which was accepted. And now all lifters must wear a shirt under their singlet for the entire meet.

This weekend is the largest event of the year for USAPL Georgia. It’s a chance for allies to sit out, if they feel strongly enough about the new USAPL decision. Or it is an event to tell leadership that you are okay with their decisions. I realize that just like my decision a year ago, this is a personal choice.

Last night I messaged a trans friend of mine:

“I wanted to ask for your advice. I am an ally and I am so angry… I don’t even know what to do, as an ally, to be productive with my anger. What do you recommend? What do you think my call to action should be? Or as a cis woman should I just sit down?”

Her reply:

“I would never tell an ally to sit down in this matter. We need cisgender athletes to protest and be outspoken. USAPL likely isn’t going to listen to any transgender athletes, so it’s up to out allies to stand up and speak out with us.”

So I will protest and be outspoken.

The question is not about how to create tiny separate categories for every different human. The question is how to make sport inclusive without othering individuals who are not cisgender or who are not gender binary. 

I am still learning about all of this, as is everyone in the exercise science and sports worlds. Very little research is available to determine how much of an advantage someone born a man has, once they have transitioned and are taking testosterone blockers.

Yes, there might be an advantage if someone has been training at powerlifting his/her whole life, and then transitions. WE DON’T YET KNOW if that is the case. Is that advantage any different than for someone who has been taking PEDs their whole life and then stops taking them, can piss clean, but still retain an advantage? 

Yannis Pitsiladis, a member of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission and a professor of sport and exercise science at Brighton University, is currently studying what he believes will be the first study of the changing sporting capabilities of athletes as they transition from male to female or female to male.

I take issue with the ignorance of arm-chair powerlifters, so to speak, who don’t do the research or understand what they are speaking about, yet they form an opinion simply because transgender individuals make them uncomfortable.

I am a strength coach. My goal is not to create a new federation. My goal is to coach lifters to get stronger, whether they wish to compete or not. I don’t need organized sport to do that, but for my athletes who wish to compete, it would be nice to have it. In the meantime I will continue to be selective about which organizations I affiliate myself with and where I coach and compete.

If you would like to learn more, I recommend that you research topics like:

• Understanding Gender
• the Gender Spectrum
• Othering and Belonging

Ask friends what they recommend, and remember it’s not their responsibility to educate you or help you get “woke”. Here are a few books on my to-read list:

• Whipping Girl by Julia Serrano
• Unapologetic by Charlene Carruthers
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• White Fragility by Robin di Angelo
• Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Marie Brown
• Trans Allyship Workbook by Davey Shlasko
• Understanding Gender Dysphoria by Mark A. Yarhouse
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Vander Kolk MD
• You Have the Right to Remain Fat by Virgie Tovar

For me it comes down to this: If you’re not fighting for equal rights for transgender athletes, you are complicit in them being discriminated against.   

And I repeat, I am an ally and I am still learning about this topic. But I will not remain silent about the unfairness at hand. If you have other resources you recommend for me to learn more, please share them in the comments.

If you want to lift with the Fantastic Beasts, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Powerlifting Team, we train again on Sunday at 3pm at CrossFit Downtown Atlanta. Please RSVP so we can accommodate all lifters.

xoxo, Lis Smash

Lis Saunders is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a powerlifting coach in Atlanta, Georgia. She runs a personal training and coaching business, Team Lis Smash, and she is also the coach of the Fantastic Beasts, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Powerlifting Club. In 2018 she was honored to coach athletes in London at the LGBT Powerlifting Union’s International Powerlifting Competition.

Lis previously competed and volunteered with USA Powerlifting until February 2018. She was formerly a 2x meet director, 8x state record holder, state referee, club coach and volunteer with the organization. She placed 8th in the 72kg Female Open class at 2013 Raw Nationals and competed at the 2014 Arnold Sports Festival in the Pro Raw Challenge.