Swallows and Amazons, or the Sporting Exception To the Gender Recognition Act

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 purports to restrict transgendered persons' opportunities to participate in sports if their involvement is not conducive to either `competitive fairness' or `safety'. This article considers the difficulties in founding a prohibition on either ground, through reference to the medical literature and by considering relevant developments in other jurisdictions. It works towards a theoretical framework for consideration of the broader issues concerning sport and sexed/ gendered bodies by suggesting that transgender sport may be regarded as a struggle over the legitimate use of the sporting body; and one that both reinforces and challenges the significance of sports as a gendering practice.