By: Manny Burton
The ESPN Film Renée outlines the life of tennis phenomena Renée Richards and the battles that she encountered in an effort to become the first Trans-woman to compete on the Women’s Tennis Association. The documentary begins by chronicling the early life of, then, Richard Raskind, the daughter of two doctors, and the ways in which, both she and his sister, tended to ignore some societal norms associated with gender (i.e. clothing and parental relationships). Through this examination of Raskind’s childhood, her battle with her sexuality was highlighted, such as her tendency to try embrace wearing her mother’s clothing whenever no one was around. As Raskind grew up, she emphasized her efforts to hyper-masculinize herself in her early adult life, via sexual escapades with women, and dominant personality within relationships and on the tennis court, in an attempt to suppress his unaccepted urges. In an attempt to gain control over her life, Raskind decided to undergo hormone therapy, ultimately opting for a sex change operation. Following the operation, the newly liberated Renée Richards moved to California, leaving her family (son and ex-wife) and friends. A year later, Renée entered into La Jolla Tennis Championships, one of the largest amueter tennis competitions in California, dominating the competition, and attracting large-scale media coverage. This dominating performance ultimately lead to her secret being discovered. Soon after her secret became mainstream news, Richards entered the Tennis Week Open, a tournament in which 25 of the 32 competitors dropped out of in protest to Richard’s inclusion. Richards won the Tennis Week Open handily, prompting the Women’s Tennis Association to implement a rule which subjected women entering any sanctioned tournament to a Barr Body Test, a test which determined your sexual chromosome, on all competing players as a way to “scientifically prove that she was a women” (33:54). While refusing to be subject to such a biased test, Renée Richards sued the WTA for the right to play on tour, and compete in the 17976 U.S. Open; the courts ruled in favor of Richards, ultimately determining that she was a women, and that she must be allowed to compete on the WTA circuit.
Renée Richards has proved to be a very significant figure within, both, the transgender and sports communities, two entities which previously remained mutually exclusive. Richards was one of the first athletes which advocated for the inclusion of transgender peoples within the sports world, sparking one of the most controversial conversations within sports to the present day. Although Renée was subject to overwhelming criticism and exclusion, her perseverance and courage lead to one of the earliest legal victories within the fight for transgender rights. With that being said, Renée Richard’s fight for equality was met with serious backlash and was often times equivalized to a spectacle or attraction, highlighting the longstanding relationship between the transgender community and the socially accepted cisgender majority. Yet, this relationship was eased due to Richards’ acceptance by some of the most popular tennis players of the time, such as Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King. It is important to acknowledge the role that race may have played within Renée Richards’ relationship with the tennis world and the general public. What if the first transgender women’s tennis player has been African American? Black transgender men and women, to this day, are fighting for true equality within the world. With respect to the progress that Renée Richards embodied for the transgender community, the absence of an intersection between gender and race may provide an explanation for her progress.
Works Cited
ESPN Shows. ESPN Films – Renee. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meCL5WsgT8U. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
Hainey, Michael. “Dr. Renée Richards: A GQ+A with a Trans Icon.” GQ, 27 May 2015, https://www.gq.com/story/renee-richards-interview.
“Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).” Women’s Sports Foundation, https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/about-us/partners-and-funders/corporate-supporters/womens-tennis-association-wta/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.