30 Years On, by Ricki Coughlan
CONTENT WARNING:
The following story may be triggering for some members of the trans and gender diverse community.
The following is a piece written and supplied by Pride in Sport Ambassador, Ricki Coughlan.
So 30 years ago today [1 Dec 1991] I dropped into the local news agent to pick up the morning paper on my way to my Sunday run at Centennial Park and this [front page article] greeted me . . . The previous evening I had headlined on Channel 7 news, as that afternoon a person who couldn’t deal with my existence brought a news team and a phoney petition to Sydney Athletic Field.
This was pretty devastating for me. I’d been running and racing for a few years at this point and loving my sport. I ran with a great squad of runners and enjoyed my weekend racing with so many amazing athletes. I had a career in the fitness industry, a nice relationship with a man and a good circle of friends. I was just an average person in the burbs living her dreams.
“I had lost my social anonymity and had to explain my life to everyone…”
After a terrible struggle in my childhood and teen years I took the only action I wanted and needed; I transitioned. This was all now 10 years in my past in 1991 and I had completely moved on in my life. But now, I had lost my social anonymity and had to explain my life to everyone in my immediate social and professional circle and everywhere I would go for the next couple of years everyone would know my story. It was embarrassing. I didn’t want this. I wanted to live my life just like everyone else.
There was a media furore, but I had the support of my fellow female athletes, my coach and running squad, workplace and circle of friends. My fears that I would become the object of ridicule and hate were not realised. Instead, everywhere I went I was met with the well wishes of welcoming and supportive people. The general consensus was that the person who outed me had massively overstepped the mark, invaded my privacy and was a cruel bully. I had a right to choose a life I could live and a right to play sport.
“The person who outed me had massively overstepped the mark, invaded my privacy and was a cruel bully. I had a right to choose a life I could live and a right to play sport.”
Some weeks before this hit the headlines I had met with Athletics NSW and they informed me that “Athletics is a sport for everyone and there is a place for you in this sport.” With no precedent to work with anywhere in the world, Athletics Australia requested that I should be tested to make sure that I didn’t have some kind of huge physiological advantage. Really, they only needed to look at my racing results: I was a good club runner and competitive at state level.
So for the next 18 months I was put through a range of tests at the Australian Institute of Sport whilst dealing with media appearances, the lies and nonsense of the person who outed me and the media questioning whenever I turned up to race. In 1993 Athletics Australia notified me that they could find nothing out of the ordinary about my physiology and that I was free to continue competing.
Ricki Coughlan participating in the 2021 Pride Month Video Campaign with Pride in Sport and SBS.
These days people reflecting on those times talk about me in heroic terms and use terms like “trail blazer” but it wasn’t like that for me. I had no idea that there were so many transgender people and no idea that I was setting some kind of precedent. I wasn’t doing what I did for anyone else because I never thought there would be anyone else. I never thought any transgender people would want to play sport and I just wanted to race and enjoy fun and fitness with my friends.
I continued to compete in Athletics for another year whilst the person who outed me found herself increasingly unwelcome. I just melted back into society and got on with my life. It is only in recent years that I’ve begun to understand the significance of those events now, half of my lifetime in the past.
This reflected a reality of the times. Transgender people in those days were not discussed in “polite company”. Trans people were marginalised, despised, considered “perverts” and “weird”. We were broken aberrations and should not be permitted near small children or spoken about near them.
“Many others since have also changed hearts and minds in their circles and shown others who struggle with their gender or their identity what is possible.”
I have more lately heard that my story at the time gave others who were still closeted and marginalised some hope and a dream, which they would also go on to fulfil and I’m glad that was one outcome.
So this story is one of the power of visibility. I didn’t want that visibility at the time, but my visibility put a human face and a name and a person on the term “transsexual”. This gave some hope to a few and changed the hearts and minds of millions of Australians. Many others since have also changed hearts and minds in their circles and shown others who struggle with their gender or their identity what is possible. Trans children and youth are now changing hearts and minds among their school communities and the barriers of ignorance and misunderstanding are coming down in a new generation, promising a better, more welcoming and more inclusive world. The story continues.
Yours in sport,
Ricki Coughlan
If content of this story raises any concerns for you, support is available.
ACON: 1800 063 060
Lifeline: 13 11 14
1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732
QLife: 1800 184 527
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About Ricki Coughlan
Widely recognised within the sporting industry as one of the worlds first public transgender athletes [in athletics disciplines], Ricki brings a breadth of knowledge and life experience to this space. Ricki is the founder of Love Fitness. Two of her big passions are running and helping other people become their own champion through performance running, fitness and personal development. For over 35 years, Ricki has managed fitness centres and trained fitness leaders. In her years of running and training Ricki has won State championships, and even been picked for State teams. She’s stood on the podium at fun runs, and won plenty of medals. However, the real rewards were perhaps less tangible on those days, like the work which went into achieving those things and the way that work moulded her character. The amazing self-esteem which evolved as every day she tore down negative self-belief and fostered a champion’s mindset. It was also the foundation for a life of amazing health and wellbeing.
About Pride in Sport
Pride in Sport is a national not-for-profit program that assists sporting organisations and clubs with the inclusion of LGBTQ employees, athletes, coaches, volunteers, officials and spectators. It is part of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, which provides a range of services to employers, sporting organisations and service providers with support in all aspects of LGBTQ inclusion. All funds generated through membership and ticketed events go back into the work of Pride in Sport, actively working alongside sporting organisations, clubs and participants to make Australian sport inclusive of LGBTQ communities. For more information, visit the Pride Inclusion Programs website here.
Learn more at www.prideinsport.com.au/trans and www.transhub.org.au