Sport and gender, time for a new agenda Broken Hill transgender AFL footballer Kirsti Miller. Photo: Darrin Manuel The mixing of sport with social issues is a process fraught with danger - like combining in-laws with Christmas or Collingwood fans with civilisation. And although we comedians tend to inhabit this terrain as our natural territory, there are some subjects that even we tread upon warily. Take for example the case of Taylor Lianne Chandler who was born intersex and made the sport pages in recent weeks for apparently dating America swimming champion Michael Phelps. The story goes that while Phelps was serving time in rehab after being arrested on DUI and excessive (but surprisingly not record-breaking) speeding charges, Taylor decided to do some Facebooking. But instead of posting cute photos of kittens, Taylor went online for the worst thing of all: over-sharing. Now like any story relating to a "WAG" the reader is generally prompted to pass judgment. Example: Should Nadia Bartel be allowed to call her fashion blog The Chronicles of Nadia if she refuses to dress like a giant lion? But while I'd hoped the oversharing might have been the issue, instead it turns out most people got hung up on Taylor's Intersex status and what damage this could do to Phelps' sporting career. The only public discussions about transgender people in the sporting community I recall was when South African runner Caster Semenya underwent gender testing after smashing her own world record at the World Athletic Championships in Berlin. Or, when local boxer Susie Q Ramadan took on Thai fighter Usanakorn Kokietgym, who was accused by trainer Barry Michael of punching "harder than most blokes I know." Barry's obviously never come between me and a good Boxing Day bargain. In the latter case, I saw much debate surrounding Usanakorn's gender unfold on Facebook, where the conversational tone was more along the lines of "it totally looks like a dude" as opposed to, "Hmm, how can we approach transgender issues respectfully?" I also remember that in each case, there was a bizarre misconception that if these two athletes were cleared to complete, this would lead to a slew of men changing gender in order to seek an advantage. Now there are sporting advantages to being male. These relate to muscle mass, lung capacity and an ability to stay focused if there happens to be a rogue Benedict Cumberbatch in the crowd. But there's one solid reason why no bloke would undergo years of medical treatment and endure doctors, therapists and lawyers to gain a sporting advantage - because clearly, at the end of all that, you would still be a female athlete, and where's the benefit there? Sure, this sneaky male-to-female athlete could join the Victorian Women's Football League where they'll take home a salary of $0 annually and get little to no recognition. They could jump into the W-League or the Women's National Basketball League, which thanks to ABC cuts won't be broadcast any more. Or, if they really want to rake in the coin, they could target tennis where all they'd have to do is beat the likes of Serena Williams. Yes, they might be called a "shemale" from time to time but Serena gets this slur herself, so everything is even in that department. The fact is that politics surrounding sex are not only tricky if you're part of the LGBTI community, in many ways it's still an issue if you're merely a girl. In a country where same-sex marriage is still against the law, where women are grossly outnumbered in Parliament and where dinosaur parks and school chaplaincy programs flourish while indigenous programs are cut, it's hard to see our government stepping up its efforts to help educate people on why Michael Phelps dating Taylor Lianne Chandler is fine. As the 2013 case of Broken Hill transgender AFL footballer Kirsti Miller shows there is a long way to go. Miller had initially received support from her club after a rival player who asked her to "show me your cock," but later felt that support had evaporated when she went public with her concerns. The recent Four Corners episode The Real Me certainly helped shine a light on the difficulties faced by transgender individuals, with the brave and articulate young protagonist Isabelle and her parents giving an uplifting account of how compassion and acceptance can help create fulfilling lives. Despite this, even Isabelle's switched-on and involved dad indicated that his first inkling that his "son" was not like other boys was when he showed no interest in sport. Rightly or wrongly sport is ingrained in many minds as a marker of manhood. Blokey sport has an ability to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, but through heartbreaking and inspiring examples of strength, unity and courage, it can also positively change perceptions worldwide. For example, how good was that moment at this year's grand final when Luke Hodge planted a big old kiss on Buddy Franklin and everyone realised how awesome it is to be friends? By continuing efforts to create inclusive environments, right down to primary school events, sport could inspire and inform. And one day, when the sport gender wars have been won and the Essendon drug scandal is finally sorted, we'll have time to focus more on all that oversharing on Facebook.