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MUWFC Gender Inclusion Policy

Melbourne University Women’s Football Club (MUWFC) has a proud history and culture of LGBTIQ+ inclusion and celebrates the diversity of our players, coaches, volunteers and members both past and present. We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all people to participate in Australian rules football and we stand in solidarity against discrimination of transgender and gender diverse people, as members and allies of the LGBTIQ+ community. 

 

MUWFC acknowledges that transitioning and living as a transgender, gender diverse or intersex individual can be an isolating experience, and many face rejection and exclusion from various social groups, including sport. MUWFC also acknowledges playing sport in a safe, inclusive environment can boost mental health significantly and everyone in the LGBTIQ+ community deserves the same opportunity to play and be included. 

 

We are a women’s football club, and acknowledge that gender is not binary. Not all people are or identify as either female or male. 

 

We welcome and will facilitate registrations from players who do not identify as women if they:

1. are transgender, gender diverse (including non-binary and genderqueer) or intersex; 

2. feel most comfortable and safe participating in women’s football competitions; and

3. their exclusion from the club would result in their exclusion from the sport

 

MUWFC is committed to the following further actions to help build a more welcoming environment for transgender and gender diverse people:

 

  1. POLICY

We understand that language and definitions used to describe different people and identities, including by different parts of LGBTIQ+ communities, change over time, and may also differ within the diverse LGBTIQ+ communities. We are committed to ongoing reviews of MUWFC’s policies and practices to ensure we are accountable for these changes.

  • An annual review of our Gender Inclusion Policy

  • The use of inclusive language both in person and on our website, social media, and in our recruitment materials to reflect this policy

 

2. EDUCATION

We will continue to learn from and engage inclusion experts to support our club and wider community with education and resources.

  • Minimum 1 x formal education session for our club members 

  • Monthly informal resource sharing to our club and wider community

  • A series of suggested practices and or training and education for coaches, volunteers, and the committee,

 

3. ADVOCACY

We will use our position to elevate the voices of those from the LGBTIQ+ community, specifically those who identify as transgender and gender diverse, whenever possible. 

  • Clear systems for handling and resolving grievances and complaints

  • Work with the associations in all competitions we participate in to proactively identify and break down barriers to participation for transgender and gender diverse people


     

Glossary of Terms:
 

Please note these have been copied from Transgender Vic glossary available HERE. 

 

Cisgender: A cisgender person is someone who identifies with the gender that was assigned to them at birth. For example, a cisgender (or cis) woman is someone who was assigned female at birth and currently identifies as female. 

 

Transgender: Transgender people have gender identities and expressions that differ from their assigned sex at birth (for example, someone who was assigned male at birth and is transgender may be female, genderqueer, non-binary, agender, or any other gender that is not male). Transgender is often used as an umbrella term, either on its own or as part of the larger term ‘trans and gender diverse’, but may also be used as a gender in and of itself. 

 

Trans man: A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Some trans men prefer to simply be referred to as men, whereas others feel being trans is an important part of their gender label. Some trans men use terminology such as FTM/F2M (female-to-male/female-2-male), but for others these terms place too much emphasis on birth assigned sex and are considered offensive. 

 

Trans woman: A trans woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Some trans women prefer to simply be referred to as women, whereas others feel being trans is an important part of their gender label. Some trans women use terminology such as MTF/M2F (male-to-female/male-2-female), but for others these terms place too much emphasis on birth assigned sex and are considered offensive. 

 

Non-binary: Non-binary refers to any gender that falls outside of the categories of male and female. It is usually a descriptive term added to gender labels such as transgender/trans and genderqueer, but some people simply use nonbinary to describe their genders. Some non-binary people may partially identify with a binary gender, and self-describe as a “non-binary woman” or “non-binary man”.



 

References:

 

This policy was heavily influenced by three other sporting clubs who have already done incredible work in this space. This includes, the Darebin Falcons FC, Flying Bats and Wom*ns Circus. Their policies can be found below. 

 

In addition, MUWFC’s policies work in addition to Melbourne University Sports LGBTQIA+ inclusion policy and the AFL’s Community Football Gender Diversity Policy.

 

Darebin Falcons Draft Policy

Flying Bats Policy

Wom*n’s Circus Policy

MU Sport LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Policy

University of Melbourne Gender Affirmation Policy

AFL’s Community Football Gender Diversity Policy

Transgender Vic glossary available HERE. 

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