More than 40 years ago, Renée Richards successfully fought for the right to play women’s tennis after undergoing gender confirmation surgery. Richards goes unmentioned in “Changing the Game” — a fast-moving, vivid, and touching account of three teenaged transgender athletes and their struggles to play competitive sports in high school — but her example should be taken into consideration when thinking through this issue.
Richards had her surgery only when she was over 40 years old, and it cannot be stressed enough how difficult it was for her to get to that point in 1975. By contrast, the three modern-day transgender teenagers in “Changing the Game” have already started taking hormones, and so the challenges they are facing are very different from the ones that Richards faced; still, one constant on this issue is the outright prejudice of the right wing.
It was Tucker Carlson’s father Richard Carlson who first outed Richards as transgender,...
Richards had her surgery only when she was over 40 years old, and it cannot be stressed enough how difficult it was for her to get to that point in 1975. By contrast, the three modern-day transgender teenagers in “Changing the Game” have already started taking hormones, and so the challenges they are facing are very different from the ones that Richards faced; still, one constant on this issue is the outright prejudice of the right wing.
It was Tucker Carlson’s father Richard Carlson who first outed Richards as transgender,...
- 6/1/2021
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Dr. Renée Richards, a former athlete who paved the way for transgender rights by fighting to play professional tennis after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, doesn’t think Bruce Jenner’s sexual orientation will be affected by his female transition — and she’s speaking from experience. “It’s interesting that people talk about Bruce Jenner: ‘What’s his love life gonna be after he’s transitioned to a woman?’ He’s been married a couple of times — he’s basically a heterosexual man,” Richards, now a successful ophthalmologist, told GQ in a new interview. “I find it hard to believe...
- 5/27/2015
- by Greg Gilman
- The Wrap
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Eric Drath
Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade
For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.
Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Eric Drath
Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade
For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.
Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...
- 6/19/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Eric Drath
Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade
For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.
Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)
Directed by: Eric Drath
Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade
For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.
Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...
- 6/19/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
In 2009, the issue of gender in sports was brought to the limelight in a most unfortunate way when a South African middle-distance runner was suspected of having a condition that would give her an advantage over other her female competitors. Public support for Semenya was overwhelming and she became a cause célèbre.
In the light of Caster Semenya’s case, Eric Drath’s documentary Renée becomes that much more relevant. The documentary follows ophtalmologist and former professional tennis player Renée Richards, who underwent sex reassignment surgery. She was propelled into the public sphere when she attempted to enter the 1976 Us Open and was denied entry by the United States Tennis Association (Usta) after refusing to submit to a chromosome test to determine her female status. The film follows Richards’ life from when she was still a young Richard Raskin, an athletic boy who becomes an accomplished eye surgeon, husband, father and gifted tennis player.
In the light of Caster Semenya’s case, Eric Drath’s documentary Renée becomes that much more relevant. The documentary follows ophtalmologist and former professional tennis player Renée Richards, who underwent sex reassignment surgery. She was propelled into the public sphere when she attempted to enter the 1976 Us Open and was denied entry by the United States Tennis Association (Usta) after refusing to submit to a chromosome test to determine her female status. The film follows Richards’ life from when she was still a young Richard Raskin, an athletic boy who becomes an accomplished eye surgeon, husband, father and gifted tennis player.
- 5/28/2011
- by Laura Holtebrinck
- SoundOnSight
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.