Lindsay Hecox
Who is a citizen?
Hey Siri, who is a citizen?
[sit-uh-zuhn]: a member,
inhabitant,
native—
one who owes allegiance,
and is therefore entitled to protection.
A citizen.
Pledge allegiance to the flag,
league or commission,
knowing that cisness
means entitlement to competition.
If gender identity matches certificate of birth,
Better suit up! In their eyes you have worth.
You can focus on your game
and mold your craft,
“stick to sports”,
even perfect your autograph.
When “ball is life”
each day may be a grind,
and if gender fits the script,
the game can dominate your mind.
Meanwhile…
trans athletes await
as officials sit and debate
if their status as humans
should let them cross home plate.
Clubs and boards fret about funding,
and do everything they can
to keep Lindsay Hecox from running.
They cite “fairness”, “safety”, and “integrity”,
as if hyping women up
isn’t something of rarity.
Aim to keep the binary at all costs
even if that means
so much talent is lost.
Fear runs all
and preserves the status quo
so states like Tennessee
can stop the next Patricio.
Where’s the logic
in claiming fairness is dealt,
when they’re the very ones
supplying blows below the belt?
Texas ain’t Cali
Mack’s begs fell short,
so all his state titles
deemed wins to abort.
Fighting each day just to play the game
but they’re all stuck on still debating your name.
Inclusion’s better
but not a perfect solution,
when inclusion still means
checking hormone distribution.
The issue isn’t really about you and me,
it’s about the assumptions plaguing our society.
The system believes
that men are always better
but if a woman tries to challenge
no way they’re gonna let her.
They see gender
as black or white,
they say any other view
isn’t worth the fight.
They see anomaly
and hone right in,
boost views they support
like those of Caitlyn Jen.
They say, “See, look!
I’m not transphobic”,
as if banning hopeful athletes
is somehow heroic.
Industries’ bigotry
outweighs social advancement,
they give more grace to using
performance enhancements.
I guess their greed might have a limit,
‘cause transactions
involving trans action
they’ll always prohibit.
So Siri, let’s talk.
Can you tell me again?
Is an athlete a citizen,
as long as they try to win?
If loyal and devoted,
shouldn’t they be protected?
Or is citizenship for athletes
exclusively selected?
At the end of the day,
we all just want to belong
so how come trans athletes’
belonging is so prolonged?
(By Hannah Stein)
(Photo Credit: Teen Vogue)