This past Thursday, March 31st, was International Transgender Day of Visibility. Started in 2009, the Day was started to acknowledge and celebrate members of the transgender community. Brandeis junior Alexander Wicken of the fencing team helped to organize a Transgender NCAA Athlete fishbowl conversation with several other transgender student-athletes, current and former, along with the organization Athlete Ally as part of Brandeis's annual Deis Impact week.
"This event came together through an almost year-long collaboration between myself, the athletics department, [Brandeis's] Gender and Sexuality Center, and the folks at Athlete Ally," Wicken said. "Last year I had an idea to host an educative event focused around the trans athlete experience in response to Brandeis's wonderful trans-athlete inclusion policy, increasing anti-trans rhetoric and legislation throughout the country, and a general desire to raise awareness."
In addition to Wicken, the panelists included Malakai Chuckas, a 2020 Mount Holyoke College graduate who worked with the basketball team and is currently a diversity and inclusion consultant in the Chicago area; Natalie Fahey, a swimmer at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, who started on their men's team but transitioned while in college and competed for the women's team as a senior; Priyana Kalita, who played tennis at Miami University of Ohio; and Emet Marwell, Policy and Programs manager of Athlete Ally, who was a field hockey player at Mount Holyoke before his transition.
The panelists discussed how integral sports has been in shaping their identities from a young age. Even as they found other parts of their life in turmoil, sports was a constant. "Fencing is my home," Wicken told the group. "Sports has been the most constant thing in my life. Whenever I struggled, sports was a place that I found peace."
Another key component that all the panelists found at their respective institutions was support from those around them, especially when they were unsure what to expect. Fahey related the story of the pressure she felt to perform well for her team after scoring at her conference meet as a sophomore. In the midst of coming out, Fahey approached her coach. As she recalled, he told her, "We recruited you for the person that you are, not the times that you swim. I don't know much about this, but I'll learn."
The panel also talked about trans joy and acceptance, both of one's self and by others. Chuckas, who was struggling with his identity at Mount Holyoke until he met Marwell, recalled that "meeting Emet brought me so much joy, seeing someone who was able to live authentically.
"Choosing your own happiness is the most important thing at the end of the day," he added. "Whether that's continuing in your sport, or transitioning to find another outlet for your love of sports."
The evening concluded with a discussion of organizations that help provide mental health support for the transgender community, including The Trevor Project (866-488-7386) and Trans Lifeline (US: 877-565-8860; Canada: 877-330-6366).