by Steven Arness | Jun 23, 2022 | Thoughts
I kept thinking about Title IX and if I really had something to say about it. First off, let’s remind everyone what it says,
“No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
However, what you mostly hear is that it was for girls and women to participate in sports. There is no segregation of sex in the wording, the law was to be applied equally to either sex. Having said that, sports were at the time dominated by males, and women and girls were sidelined for the most part. As such it’s very prominent in the news as the only example for what Title IX did.
But what about the sport of figure skating? The ratio of was completely opposite, but instead of it being too manly for girls and women, it was too feminine for boys and men.
Before Title IX however, skating was dominated by men until Madge Syers of Great Britain in 1902. The ISU then segregated the sport in 1903.
I can’t find a reference of when females overtook males in the sport, but I’m going with the late 1980’s. Around that time it seems that masculinity was being questioned so most males who didn’t want to be bullied didn’t stray to far from stereotypical behaviors.
Unfortunately Title IX is not much help for boys and men who wish to participate in sports that are considered too girly or feminine. The only restriction those boys and men have are what society has placed on males who choose to do so.
What changes need to happen for boys and men to feel safe when participating?
by Steven Arness | Jun 20, 2022 | Thoughts
So what do I mean about the discrepancies of being a white heterosexual cisgender male?
Over the weekend I came across an article about Billie O’Neel, a transgender female figure skater who’s been hiding for 40 years. They recently outed themselves due to their state enacting a new law to prevent transgender athletes from competing. Unfortunately Ohio is going down that same path with HB151 “Protect Women’s Sports” is trying to stop transgender females from having an unfair advantage in competing in female sports. The Advocacy groups however dismiss the fact the while males cannot take performance enhancing drugs like testosterone, male transgender athletes can. And they also forget that transgender females are taking blockers which can severely effect there muscle mass and endurance.
While I have great empathy for Billie and what she now has to endure, I however am flabbergasted in how she was able to garner so much attention and support so quickly for the cause she believes in. I myself as a non-traditional figure skater have openly endured the bigotry, discrimination, and microaggressions of others for the past 20 years. I’ve spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars in trying to bring my experiences to light. Yet you will only find articles about me in 3 spots, my own website, The Fifth Edge, The Wooster Daily Record, (free version can be found here) and The Plain Dealer (link no longer works as it’s over 18 years old but the archive is here) and that’s it. Countless submissions to local and worldwide news organizations, diversity and inclusion advocacy groups, equality and justice groups, etc etc etc yet it’s as if most everything I’ve sent has been blocked.
I wish I had kept a better diary of all the people I talked with, wrote letters too (not a lot of emails back then) and phone calls I made. But as I’ve said, I’ve been dealing with this for 20 some year now. While I can’t legally be discriminated against based on attire, it hasn’t stopped people for taking bigoted actions against me, pressuring others to discriminate, or just outright violate the law. Back in the day when I contacted USFSA they told me that “We only regulate competitions, not rinks or coaches” Contacted the PSA and they told me that coaches are independent contractors and they can choose who that want to teach, or not teach, even if it violates the PSA’s code of ethics (or whatever it was called back then (Rules of Conduct?).)
Most assuredly if Billie was discriminated against for being transgender that lawyers and the media would be beating down her door and would be welcomed to numerous support groups. The same I believe would happen if a female was forced to wear a skirt and most assuredly it would be a breaking 6 o’clock news story.
Me however, being a white heterosexual cisgender (new to me term) skirt wearing male is instead deemed as some kind of deviant and not worth any kind of consideration or investigation. Indeed, US Figure skating recently created a Diversity and Inclusion group. Even though people classify my experiences as the epitome of discrimination, I was not elected to be in the group, nor was I further contacted to share my experiences. It turns out it seems that inclusion has it’s own boundaries.
Sometimes I mention to people that I’ve been discriminated against, and they give me weird looks due to my sex and skin color. They remark that I couldn’t possible be discriminated against, so I show them my figure skating picture of which they remark, “Well just wear pants and you won’t have to deal with it.” Nobody tells a person of color to just change their skin color to “deal with it” People can tell transgenders all they want that they are wrong to change their sex, but they are not them so who are they to say? And lets not forget the LQBTQ+ community and all the attention, support , and laws they have for what is happening in their daily life.
Certainly people of color had no choice in their skin color, just as transgender people will tell you they had no choice. In the past females also had little choice in many things, attire being one of them. The amount of experiences and coverage on this is boundless and never ending. Why is my choice of wearing a skirt or dress any less than anyone else’s? Why am I told I need to be something I am not when I make the choice of wearing a skirt or a dress?
Foremost, why is what I have faced and experienced not worthy of discussion?
by Steven Arness | Jun 15, 2022 | Thoughts
I haven’t had much interaction with a lot of these different diversity and inclusion groups but can imagine the conversation going like this.
Them: Hi thanks for contacting us what’s your concern?
Me: I’m looking for support as I’m being discriminated against.
Them: Are you lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer? LGBTQ
Me: No.
Them: Are you black, indingonus or person of color? BIPOC
Me: No.
Them: I don’t understand, can you explain?
Me: I’m a male that wears skirts and dresses sometimes and have been told to leave or change clothes.
Them: Ah so your transgender, we might be able to help you with that.
Me: No, I’m still male when I wear a skirt or dress.
Them: So a crossdresser?
Me: No, I don’t change my appearance just because I’m wearing a shirt or dress.
Them: I’m sorry but we only cater to people who don’t have a choice based on their skin color or sexual preference.
Me: So inclusion is not all inclusive?
Them: No.
Me: So while my mom can wear pants, skirts, dresses, and not have to change her appearance to do so. I would have to completely change my appearance if I wore a skirt or dress to be treated the same as her. Is that what you’re saying?
Them: No, white cisgender males are not included in our diversity group even though they could be discriminated against for their choice of attire.
Me: And why is that?
Them: Your not LGBTQ or BIPOC and what clothing you wear is a choice.
Me: But I’m being discriminated against!
Them: Sorry, but we can’t help.
Me: Do you have any suggestions?
Them: Have you tried a men’s rights advocacy group?
Me: Yes, but they are focused on other forms of discrimination like parental rights.
Them: Where do you live?
Me: Ohio
Them: It’s not legal in Ohio to discriminate based on sex in Ohio.
Me: I know that, but I was still asked to leave for wearing the same clothing as the female customers who were there and not asked to leave.
Them: I’m sorry, but your discrimination is not included in our diversity and inclusion mission, I suggest seeking legal advise.
Me: I guess Webster’s was wrong.
by Steven Arness | Jun 8, 2022 | Thoughts
Do you know what sucks about dealing with the bigotry and discrimination I’ve faced for 20 years indulging in the same freedom as my female counterparts?
It’s that when I do win, and I will, to where I have the same freedom as my female counterparts, I’ll also have lost.
What have a I lost you ask? Do you know what has changed in those 20 years? My body, my body is 20 years older then when I started dealing with all this bigotry. Age is not kind to anyone, one day age will win, but the bigoted and discriminatory actions of others never will.
by Steven Arness | Jul 28, 2021 | Experiences
Someone posted a message about how they were distracted by their skirt during their program when competing. Many replied that they should do a few practice run throughs in full kit so they get used to it.
And here we are, back to tradition as even though females can compete in a skirt or pants, they still feel compelled in having to wear a dress.
In the early days of my skating, a few of the females wore dresses or skirts and most of the others a wore leggings and/or bun huggers.
If you’re practicing in non-skirted attire, then why not compete in the same? It’s not against the rules anymore, well, unless your in synchro, I don’t think they changed that one yet.
