Kye Allums is several things all at once: a student at George Washington University, a women’s basketball player and a transgender person who has decided to identify as a man.
Allums is going to continue to be all of those and has been more than pleased by the reaction since the news broke this week at Outsports.com.
Kye Allums, once known as Kay-Kay Allums, is the first Division I basketball player to publicly acknowledge transgender status.
Mitchell Layton"I've had numerous Facebook messages, text messages, people calling me, people I don't even know, telling me how they're proud of me and how I'm a really brave person, and it's been really positive," Allums told TheWashington Post.
Allums, who has changed his name from Kay-Kay to Kye, apparently is the first Division I basketball player to publicly acknowledge transgender status. Though he has identified as a man, because Allums is postponing surgery and hormone treatments, he is allowed to continue playing women’s basketball by the NCAA, the university says.
Robert Chernak, GW’s senior vice provost and senior vice president for student academic and support services, said in a statement: "The university consulted the NCAA regarding his competitive status. Kye will continue to be a member of the women's basketball team," The Postreported.
Allums, a junior guard who averaged 7.4 points last season, plans to put off any medical treatment until after he has used up his college eligibility.
"I didn't choose to be born in this body and feel the way I do,” Allums told The Post. “I decided to transition, that is change my name and pronouns because it bothered me to hide who I am, and I am trying to help myself and others to be who they are. I told my teammates first, and they, including my coaches, have supported me. My teammates have embraced me as the big brother of the team. They have been my family, and I love them all."
Huh? So you're telling me that she wants to be a full fledged legitimate man, but that "he" wants to continue to play women's basketball? That seems a little odd. Transgendered people usually like to be recognized for what gender they believe they are but in this case she seems to want people to recognize her as a man but still participate in women's sports. Wait, I thought she wanted us to recognized her as a man. She's double dipping on this one.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, Brady. Kye identifies as a man, but as the article clearly stated, he has not undergone any hormonal treatments or surgery - he is still anatomically and hormonally female. Transitioning between two genders is a process that takes years and isn't as simple as switching basketball teams. Changing his name and switching pronouns is a big step and is just the beginning. You can't expect everything to just happen overnight.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that his team has been so accepting and that he can continue to play. It sounds like he has a great support system.
I think that it is absolutely amazing that this individual has been willing to become such a public figure even though they will be ridiculed continually probably for the remainder of his life. Ever since enrolling in this class, my eyes have continued to be open to many new things that I have not thought about before. How would I deal with having a son or a daughter who is transgender or gay or lesbian? How can we judge them at all for the decisions that they make when we can never fully understand them and put ourselves in their situations without actually being one of them and struggling with the same things as them. Using the word struggle may be offensive, but I use that word to allign it with the gospel perspective of what is natural and normal. I have learned to be less judgmental and try to educate others who may have tainted opinions on matters like this. What an incredible story.
ReplyDeleteI think this story is really bizarre.... I am a firm believer that you were born the gender that God wanted you to be. Why would you want to change into a different person? A person that God did not intent for you to be??
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brady... I think it is a little strange that "he" wants to undergo surgery's to become a man but yet he wants to postpone these surgery's until after college so he can still play women's basketball. This might sound a little harsh, but I think that this is just a cry for attention and I think it is a little ridiculous that people undergo gender changes.
I think this story just confused me more than anything. If this person is truly a man on the inside, how could he continue to play WOMEN'S basketball!?!? Does he think it's okay to put off doing something drastic just to take advantage of the situation that SHE is in right now? It seems that Kye (Kay-Kay, whatever s/he goes by that day) is lying to himself more than anyone else! he talks about hiding he is; if he is a man, then WHY IS HE PLAYING WOMEN'S SPORTS!?!? I don't feel the NCAA or the university could do anything about this situation. This is squarely on the shoulders of the player.
ReplyDeleteI guess it would be cool to some people to be a man or a woman, depending on what was convenient!
I think it's very interesting that switching from male to female occurred in conjunction with this person's athletic career. The stereotype of men being more apt to play sports is here flatly contradicted. This just goes to show just how simplistic a lot of our notions of gender roles are. Instead of a spectrum from masculine to feminine, I believe such traits are independent. In other words, a person can have an abundance of both "masculine" and "feminine" characteristics as seems to be the case here.
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