ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the experiences of three New Zealand female transgender netball players, specifically examining aspects of their identity management. It also discusses the experiences of transgender players who were New Zealand Men's Netball Association (NZMNA) members at the time. The chapter highlights the narratives of these transgender players and the usefulness of the gender-conforming/gender-transforming distinction and the limitations of focusing just on queer versus straight identities, and in particular queer solidarity. The participants described alliances with some heterosexual South Islanders that depended on the latter recognizing that transgender players need not threaten their identity. The chapter also discusses the nature of early association and changes associated with the incoming South Islanders. The earliest South Island men's netball players to participate at national championships found themselves in context in which they were in minority in terms of both their heterosexuality and their White ethnicity. The chapter emphasizes the distinction between heterosexuality and hetero-normativity and the experiences playing with heterosexual men.