I almost didn’t include Frances Anderson in Before Gender due to recent writings on her life. Coincidentally, I learned Rax Will published a short article about Frances in Them after I had submitted my final manuscript! Thankfully, her article in Before Gender shines more light on Frances’s early life, struggle with addiction, and subsequent recovery.
I was hesitant to include such an accomplished trans woman athlete, seeing it as potentially feeding into the narrative that trans women have an unfair advantage in sports (this is quite a stretch with pool). Ultimately, I decided it is more important to celebrate trans women winning than push back by underplaying or ignoring Frances’s success. Trans women deserve to celebrate, too.
