A trans-identified male who goes by the Julie-Anne Curtiss is suing England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) over their decision to ban males from playing in the female category. Curtiss claims that RFU’s policy breaches the Equality Act of 2010 and his human rights.
Last week, the CEO of Stonewall UK, Nancy Kelley, publicly promoted a crowdfunder for Curtiss’ legal fight against the RFU and said, “If you can, support [Curtiss] in her fight for an inclusive rugby game #MakeSportEveryonesGame.”
In the description on his fundraiser, Curtiss shared that he began his “transition” in 2016 and is perceived “as female” by his “female friends, colleagues, loved ones and most relevantly, by [his] female rugby team mates.”
Curtiss writes that: “Trans women come in all shapes, sizes and ability levels, just like cisgender women,” in an apparent effort to compare larger-bodied females to men. He continues, “The new RFU policy has no nuance and instead has decided all trans women to be excluded. It is difficult to see how this broad-brush approach can be ‘necessary.’”
RFU’s policy to exclude males from female sport is described as an “injustice” and Curtiss asks readers for assistance with legal fees and “expert evidence.”
As of the writing of this article, €6,550 (approx. $7,000 USD) of a €20,000 (approx. $21,500 USD) goal has been raised.
Curtiss has maintained a personal blog for a number of years, where he has written about having had a cross-dressing fetish since he was a child, and that this fetish was something that impacted his ability to retain jobs and marriages alike.
In one post, he says that his desire to become a girl could partly be explained by the fact that “the girls’ side of [his] school seemed to me to be more ‘peaceful’ and certainly less overtly aggressive.”
He added that at eight years old he would dress in his sisters’ clothes and “loved the softness and it made me feel something deeply emotional inside.”
In another post, Curtiss says: “I never wanted to have homosexual sex, but strongly desired to have sex with a man, as a woman.”
Curtiss admitted that into his young adulthood, his cross-dressing compulsion was so bad that he would steal his step-mother’s clothing. His step-mother “tried to deal with this by locking her dressing room, which [he] got around by stealing and copying a key.”
Curtiss said “Despite the seeming normality of my life…I just could never shake or get beyond this yearning to be a girl. I was so jealous of the way girls were able to dress. I loved the idea of being able to wear make-up, mini-skirts and long hair. It drove me crazy… I didn’t want to be a man in girl’s clothes… I wanted to BE a girl.”
He continued to share that as an adult when he lived by himself he was pleased to dress however we wanted at home, “…but no matter how hard I tried, I was always consumed by the fact that I was a man-in-drag, not a woman.”
He mentions his exposure to pornography, “Unfortunately all I was exposed to was the weird world of transsexuals through porno magazines and I didn’t identify with that either. It seemed to me that even if I could re-assign my gender, I would forever be on the periphery of society, not able to lead a normal life and still not be considered a real woman.”
In May of 2016, Curtiss started his public display of his “womanhood,” writing on his blog that he “didn’t look particularly convincing, but “… internally I finally felt whole. Since then, rather than being asked to leave my job I’ve been extended 6 times!”
In August of 2022, Curtiss compared trans-identified males not being allowed to play in women’s sport with racist South Africa, writing: “Many have been surprised by my connecting this issue to Apartheid South Africa. Here’s a little history lesson. The Apartheid regime premised their ideology on the ‘fact,’ as they saw it, that people of colour (POC) were sub-human and therefore needed to be treated differently.”
Cutiss quietly deleted the multi-post thread after receiving backlash.
Earlier this year, Curtiss was interviewed by ESPN UK, where he announced his legal challenge to RFU’s ban on male players in the female category.
In a video that has since been widely shared, Curtiss can be seen towering over much younger female athletes. He stated that critics who oppose male players in sports for women and girls “need to be dragged, kicking and screaming if necessary,” until policies favoring gender identity over biological sex are accepted.
It was in July of 2022 that the RFU shared their decision to revise their “gender participation policy” and exclude anyone “recorded male at birth” from participating in female contact rugby.
The organization shared that their extensive review and consultation process of the policy concluded, with peer reviewed research, that the physical differences between men and women are too stark to ignore.
Male “advantages in strength, stamina and physique brought about by testosterone and male puberty are significant and retained even after testosterone suppression,” meant that the RFU could not justify allowing men to compete against women in safety and fairness.
Anticipating controversy, their decision was paired with ample statements regarding the thoroughness of the “research” that went into their ultimate revision of the gender policy.
“The RFU recognises this was a complex and difficult decision and the policy change was not taken lightly or without thorough and full research and consultation.”
Jeff Blackett, RFU President, even released a personal statement with the decision: “I would like to thank everyone for the passion, time and effort that has been put in to consulting with us and informing this policy review. Inclusion is at the heart of rugby values and we will continue to work with everyone to keep listening, learning and finding ways to demonstrate there is a place for everyone in our game. We know that many will be disappointed by this decision however, it has been based on all the scientific evidence available. Our game can be strengthened by everyone who is involved; be it in coaching, refereeing, administration or supporting and playing non-contact forms of the game.”
Curtiss has shared that his solicitors sent a pre-action letter to the RFU “asking it to explain why it thinks its new policy is lawful,” and confirmed that the RFU responded and “seems intent on defending its policy.” The RFU’s response letter wasn’t shared to the public by Curtiss due to confidentiality.
While Curtiss admits that his legal battle against the RFU “has to specifically focus on how the policy has impacted [him] personally,” he hopes that this will “influence the RFU’s approach more generally” for “every trans woman and girl who wants to play contact rugby [with women].”
Earlier this year, World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics, followed the RFU’s decision to ban males from competing against women. World Athletics’ previous guidelines allowed men to compete in the female division if they had suppressed their testosterone levels below a certain threshold – a standard which critics pointed out was set to as much as five times higher than the average amount of the hormone found in females.
World Athletics since announced that male competitors who have gone through male puberty are not permitted to compete in the female categories of international competitions.
FINA, the international swimming world’s governing body, also voted to ban trans-identified males from elite female competitions if they had undergone male puberty.
Earlier this year, the Scottish Rugby Union also banned trans-identified males from competing in women’s contact rugby, citing the safety of female players.
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