Background
The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) recognises that much of traditional sport competition is still organised by male and female binary gender categories.
In order to be inclusive of our entire intersectional LGBTQ+ community around the world, the FGG cannot support this approach in its entirety.
This traditional binary structure is not and cannot be inclusive of all gender identities.
To best promote Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™ the FGG has endeavoured to develop and implement a policy that will support the inclusion of every gender identity, as well as a safe and fair competition for all, across all of our sports and cultural events.
Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2022 Gender Policy
To register to take part in the Gay Games, participants need to indicate their legal gender and the gender they feel most comfortable participating in as part of their Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2022 (Games) and FGG experience, as follows:
Legal Gender Declaration
Legal genders can be demonstrated by government-issued identification that display their name, date and place of birth, and photo for security verification, e.g. passport, national ID or driver’s license.
If legal gender cannot be matched by the aforementioned documents, waivers can be accepted on a case by case basis, as both GGHK and the FGG recognise the difficulty for some people to obtain these documents.
When registering, participants will be able to indicate prior to attending the Games whether they are likely to not have the documentation to demonstrate their legal identity, so proactive communication can be established to make the accreditation process as smooth, sensitive and supportive as possible.
Specific measures will be put in place by GGHK to ensure the appropriate handling of personal information at accreditation collection, in order to prevent any kind of undue disclosure. The GGHK privacy policies can be found at gghk2022.com/legal
If there are any issues throughout any of this process, from registration to accreditation collection, these can be raised with the FGG and GGHK via this email address: inclusion@gghk2022.com.
Gender of Competition
A participant should take part in the Games in the gender of competition they feel reflects their identity best, which may be the gender that aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth, or a different gender.
GGHK and the FGG acknowledge that only participants can determine their gender identity, and a participant should never feel forced to take part in a Gay Games competition that does not align with their identity.
The FGG will work with GGHK to ensure that a range of competition options are provided for all sports and cultural events so that we remain an inclusive place for all gender identities.
In order to best ensure fair play and safe participation, some sports may need to continue with the provision of male and female binary gender competition categories, but alternative formats should be offered outside of these categories wherever possible, to ensure that participants of any gender identity are able to take part, e.g. mixed gender competitions, specific non-binary competitions, or open competitions with no gender categories at all.
If it is not possible for GGHK to provide an inclusive competition opportunity for any individual participant, they will be entitled to a full refund on their Games and sport registration fees.
Should a new record be set during an event by a participant, GGHK and the FGG cannot guarantee that the record will be ratified. The final decision depends on relevant international federations or governing bodies’ gender recognition policies.
GGHK and the FGG are committed to pursuing the official ratification of new records by federations or governing bodies and will support them to develop more inclusive policies wherever possible.
Conduct
The FGG will not tolerate any kind of discriminatory behaviour towards any participant, official or volunteer at GGHK2022 as per the Gay Games 11 Code of Conduct.
GGHK and the FGG stand together in supporting all participants of any gender identity to be able to take part in the Games, ensuring the Games remains a place for the entire global LGBTQ+ community.
It will not be tolerated for any participant to question or challenge another Games participant on their gender identity; this is a breach of their human rights and totally against what the Games stands for.
The Gay Games exists to promote Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™ for all, and the FGG will not tolerate any participant taking advantage of the inclusive nature of the Games to better their own performance or that of their team.
If there are any issues relating to a participant’s gender of competition, or the challenge of it, these should be reported to individual competition leaders, and further raised with the FGG and GGHK grievance and disciplinary panel via the Games app or via this email address: inclusion@gghk2022.com.
Confidentiality
GGHK and the FGG recognise that people with diverse gender identities are not always legally recognised in their country of origin or residency, and the challenges that are faced in these circumstances.
Participants’ legal name and legal gender will not be disclosed if different from their chosen name and gender identity, in order to best support participants of diverse gender identities, as well as to protect those participants who may not be able to live as their true selves when at home.
A discrete, professional, and respectful approach will be taken when addressing each person’s gender of competition and the collection of their accreditation.
If there are any issues around confidentiality or the handling of an individual’s personal information, these should be raised with the FGG and GGHK via this email address: inclusion@gghk2022.com.
Questions
For any question about this policy or its application at the Games, please get in contact with the GGHK and/or the FGG via this email address: inclusion@gghk2022.com.
