- Title: AUSTRALIA: TRANSEXUAL MIANNE BAGGER PREPARES FOR GOLF TOURNAMENT
- Date: 1st March 2004
- Summary: SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (MARCH 1 AND RECENT, 2004)(REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (FEBRUARY 26, 2004) 1. MIANNE BAGGER WALKING ON GOLF COURSE 2. BAGGER EXERCISING 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAGGER SAYING: "There are a lot of misconceptions about, in my case being a transsexual woman, of having unfair advantages in spo
- Embargoed: 16th March 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Reuters ID: LVA493FE5EU4DB1WVRSYK816WXSW
- Story Text: Contestants preparing for the Women's Australian
Open golf tournament are unfazed about playing alongside
the first ever transsexual pro golfer.
Danish golfer Mianne Bagger, who has lived in
Australia since 1979, will create a world-first when she
competes in the Women's Australian Open in Sydney next week.
Bagger, who started playing golf with her father at age
8, had sex-change surgery in 1995.
She played amateur golf at the state level from her
home town of Adelaide in South Australia from 1999 to early 2003.
After turning professional in August 2003 she recently
moved to Melbourne to train for the Australian Open, a
long-held dream. "This is my first professional golf
tournament and it's
one of the biggest in Australia, with a big media
contingent, with extra focus on me as well because of my
circumstances, so I really don't know how I'm going to
handle it but I'm just trying my best to make sure I can
focus on my game."
Her participation in next week's event is possible
because it's being run by Women's Golf Australia (WGA), one
of the very few golf associations in the world that will
allow transsexuals to compete.
WGA introduced regulations three years ago to allow
transgender players to compete once they have completed
surgery and have proof of "post-gender reassignment".
Contention over transsexuals playing professional sport
stems from concerns that their previous gender may give
them an unfair advantage.
"There are a lot of misconceptions about, in my case
being a transsexual woman, of having unfair advantages in
sport and being stronger and hitting the ball further,
which is just simply not the case," she says.
"I can't blame people for their opinions and what
they've been saying because why would they know any
different?"
"The best I can do is inform people, give them some
facts, explain things, why I don't have an advantage, why I
don't hit the ball further."
Bagger says gender reassignment is a long process which
as well as surgery involves hormone therapy, part of which
includes taking testosterone-inhibiting drugs.
"After surgery there's nothing left in our bodies that
produces testosterone anymore. So the way my situation is
now I have less testosterone than the average levels for
women in society, and as a result of the decreasing
testosterone I also have a decrease in muscle-mass and a
loss of strength. And
basically after surgery that's permanent."
It's a process that changed the style of her game.
"I don't hit the ball as far as I used to and my game
is no different to any of the other girls out there. If I
want to play well, finish well in a tournament I've got to
play some damn good golf."
Bagger has said it is her dream to win an Australian
Open, but outside that tournament there are few options for
her as a professional golfer.
"I can play this one tournament in Australia, that's
the only one. In Denmark there are a few pro-ams there's no
other tournaments at this stage I can play in. So where it
goes after the open I'm really not sure. I just have to see
what comes as a result of the open whether people will at
least start discussing the issue."
Bagger hopes her appearance at the tournament will help
to demystify the issue of transsexuals playing professional
sport. Another controversy that has touched golf recently is
the issue of women playing in men's tournaments.
While she agrees it's good publicity for the game,
Bagger says women should earn their right to play.
"I think if it's something that does continue maybe
might lead to change that if women do want to compete maybe
they should go through qualifying scores and earn a place
at the events like the guys do."
The AAMI Women's Australian Open will be held in Sydney
from March 4th to 7th.
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