ABSTRACT
Physical activity and sport are generally regarded as important social practices that not only contribute to one's health, but also to personal empowerment and social connectedness for both people belonging to hegemonic social status groups and minority groups. This chapter presents the findings of two explorative, qualitative studies about the experiences in physical activities and sports among trans men and trans women. These expand the existing body of knowledge around transgender participation in sport. The chapter argues that alongside exclusionary processes, physical activity and sport spaces also have more positive meanings for transgender people, relating to negotiating gender identity and (re)claiming embodied subjectivity. Sport spaces are challenging during the 'liminal' transitioning process, involving the literal transgression of binary gender structures such as changing rooms and sex segregated sporting competitions. Indeed, for some trans people, physical activities and sport were and are foremost enjoyable, empowering activities within supportive social environments, (re)creating body awareness, gender identification and a sense of belonging.
