Despite LGBTQ athletes having made a bigger splash at the Olympics than ever before, queer sports people say they continue to lose opportunities because of a rigid male-female divide in many activities.
The pressure to fall in line with a deeply gendered culture alienates some LGBTQ athletes, who tend to drop out, according to Fumino Sugiyama, a transgender activist who was a member of Japan’s national women’s fencing team before transitioning to become a man.
"I tried swimming, but I couldn’t stand to wear a girl’s swimsuit, so I quit,” said Sugiyama of his experience of sports in childhood. "I like volleyball, but there was no way I could wear ‘knickers,’ and I like tennis but I didn’t want to wear a skirt."