“It Doesn’t Matter How You Identify, You Can Still Skate With Us”: Gender Inclusivity in Women's Flat Track Roller Derby

Abstract

Women's flat track roller derby is a grassroots full-contact sport underpinned by an explicit gender policy stating that any self-identifying woman can play, including those who are transgender and gender diverse (TGD). Adopting a queer-feminist lens, this research examined attitudes toward and experiences of gender inclusivity in the sport from the perspective of cis and TGD athletes in the United Kingdom. Reflexive thematic analysis, drawing on survey (n = 153) and interview (n = 20) data, examined how roller derby offers a space accepting of different identities; its underpinning principles surrounding body positivity and how it is perceived a social movement, involving a community of individuals sharing values of equality, diversity and inclusion. This research shows that an inclusive rhetoric surrounding gender not only engages TGD individuals in sport but offers a space for marginalised and alternative identities to participate together.