Sasha Jane Lowerson just wanted to perform ballet on some waves. But after the Australian longboard surfer applied and sent payment to enter a competition Saturday in Huntington Beach, the athlete, who identifies as transgender, found out that the organizer refused to let transgender athletes register. Photo: SalditaFilm Instagram screenshot
Sasha Jane Lowerson just wanted to perform ballet on some waves.
But after the Australian longboard surfer applied and sent payment to enter a competition Saturday in Huntington Beach, the athlete, who identifies as transgender, found out that the organizer refused to let transgender athletes register.
Todd Messick, whose American Longboard Association organizes the event, had announced in a video posted to Instagram April 25 that the contest would not allow transgender women to compete in the women’s division. Participants would be required to enter the category of the gender they were assigned at birth
The video received more than 4,000 likes and 1,000 comments from supporters and opponents of the decision.
But this week, the California Coastal Commission intervened, saying the American Longboard Association could not discriminate based on gender and prevent certain athletes from having access to the state’s coastline.
The surfer fight in Huntington Beach is part of a larger battle across the country regarding the rights of transgender individuals, particularly those individuals participating in sports.
Lowerson put herself forward because rules set by the International Surfing Association allow transgender women to compete if they meet certain criteria around testosterone levels.
“I was really disappointed and surprised (at being excluded),” Lowerson told the BBC. “You can’t cherry-pick the rulebook. If you’re going to use the rulebook, you use all of it.”
Two days after Messick’s video, Lowerson responded with a post on Instagram.
“As I walk my journey through the turmoil and the implications of people that want to spread misinformation, I’ve found myself wondering why?” Lowerson wrote. “Just why (do) people hate me for existing?”
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Advocates, such as SurfEquity’s Sabrina Brennan, say a ban on trans athletes has nothing to do with athleticism or competition. “It’s a Republican and religious agenda that’s playing out and, frankly, harming people,” Brennan told the Los Angeles Times. “The entire LGBTQ community is being negatively impacted. There’s a lot of damage happening.” Lowerson told The Inertia she will not participate in Saturday’s event.
