Transit Authority signaling an Official Review. Photo by Jason Frost; August, 17, 2019
Transit Authority (she/her/hers; ey/em/eirs) has been involved with derby in some way or another since she was about 13. Her name was inspired by the MBTA, as she loves transit, is transgender, and generally officiates rather than plays roller derby. She was part of PVRD’s junior derby program, left for some time, and returned as an adult.
Read the full text of her interview transcript below!
When did you hear about roller derby?
I should explain when I fell in love with roller derby. I didn’t really fall in love with roller derby—I fell in love with Pioneer Valley Roller Derby.
When I first started in the derby world I was a spectator, 100%, and I kind of dug into that spectator culture, whatever that may be of roller derby. So I didn’t really have much of a relationship with any of the skaters—except for my siblings, obviously—but I paid attention to how they presented themselves a lot, and one of the things that really stuck with me about the first few bouts that I went to was—to be clear at this point, I thought I was cis and knew basically nothing about gender—I saw people subverting gender norms like a lot and people playing men’s derby wearing skirts and crap like that, and I was like “That is so freaking cool!”
Probably because I was like “I want to be you,” but also like, that’s cool! Especially back in those days, roller derby wasn’t exactly about the sport really it was like, “This is a community, we have a sport that we play, and we’re just gonna roll with it and have fun.”
I’ve noticed a lot of the changes and how people present themselves in the sport as well, like we’ve traded our tutus for athletic shorts… The subversion of gender and how people were unapologetically being themselves in a sporting context was what brought me to roller derby and the loss of that is part of what drives me away at this point.
Roller derby is a “female-dominated” sport, as you know. What were your thoughts on men’s roller derby when you first heard about it? How do you feel now?
When I first learned about roller derby and men’s roller derby, I was like “This is amazing!” It’s like a lot of traditional sports, except flipped, where the men’s team are kind of effed up sometimes and not really paid attention to.
…One of the reasons why I like men’s derby a little bit to this day is because it was intentional in making sure that, “Yes, we’re going to center men because men don’t have a spot in this sport right now, but we’re also going to make sure that everyone can participate, regardless.”
And now I fall on a wonderful place in the sports-gender-discrimination thing of “Let’s abolish gender-specific sports,” at least on like the highest level for local-ness. If you want to have intentionally women’s teams every once in a while, that’s good, but it doesn’t seem like there needs to be men’s roller derby at this point, honestly. Let’s just put some more effort into all-gender roller derby, but I don’t know, that’s my take.
Would you be willing to play on men’s derby teams, in light of their more open gender policies, as a trans woman? Are there any PVRD teams you wouldn’t be willing to play on?
I would feel comfortable playing for all of them honestly. The men’s team, which is currently the Dirty Dozen … has a soft spot in my heart solely for the reason that it was the team that got me into roller derby and the one that my siblings played for. So, even though I’m definitely not a man, since the culture of men’s derby right now is just like “eh, there’s men and other people,” I would be glad to play for them solely so that they can keep on playing.
That’s very specific to PVRD. I wouldn’t consider playing men’s derby for any other league.
How does the environment of PVRD make you feel as a queer or trans athlete?
So I consider myself an athlete in the loosest of terms. I don’t look like an athlete, but I’m here, I do sports for my fun sometimes. I have a particular affinity for sports like baseball and what you American people would call soccer, and in those sports I feel more as a visitor. Like when I’m participating in them, it doesn’t feel exactly like my sport, even though I honestly would say I love both those sports more than roller derby. But they still aren’t home to me, at times…
So I have sporting circles, and I have gender and sexuality circles that are intent on gender and sexuality, because I educate people sometimes. And then, in the middle between those two is roller derby. It’s in the overlap and it has all the benefits of being a sporting environment and being an intentionally queer space, and that is really refreshing as queer athlete I guess. I don’t have to explain to people “Yes I’m gay, yes, I know how to hit a baseball,” kind of. It’s cool.
To your knowledge, how does playing a “female-dominated” sport affect its cis male players?
It’s a taste of being a minority for white cis men. Some of them grow positively and some of them struggle with it a little bit—well, probably all of them struggle with it a little bit, at least a little bit, some of them a lot a bit. I think it’s good for them. I’m glad that my siblings went through that, especially right before I came out.
Do you think the future of sports is sex- or gender-segregated?
So I’ve played men’s sports, I’ve played women’s sports, I’ve played non-gender specific sports that are dominated by men, I’ve played non-gender specific sports that are dominated by women. Roller derby is a weird sport because it’s one of few sports where there truly is no real advantage—well, there is maybe some advantages to some body types and athletic styles, but it’s very minor, if it exists at all. Every body type and every person and every skater is going to have an advantage over any other, specifically based on who they are, and they can use that in the rules of roller derby. That’s part of the sport. So roller derby is pretty unique in that way, because most sports aren’t like that.
And then a part of me is also remembering the times that I’ve played on women’s teams, on intentionally women’s sports, and how validating that has been. Not specifically because “ooh I’m being treated like a woman,” but it’s good to know sometimes that this place is meant specifically for a minority, like a non-privileged group getting together to play some lesbian softball. That’s great! I love it! 10 out of 10! But then again, this isn’t a professional league, so… I like space for intentionally minority sports and making space for that, but why do cis white men need something specific for them?