Inclusion of transgender athletes the elephant in the room during AFLW’s Pride Round

This weekend, players and fans alike celebrated the AFL’s first Pride Round — but not without an elephant in the room.

While in the men’s competition a single Pride Game is played annually between St Kilda and Sydney, AFLW has well outpaced AFLM by evolving over just five short seasons into a full round.

It’s an historic achievement made possible by the culture of AFLW, in which many players — and members of the community who support the game — are openly proud of their sexuality.

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AFLW has fundamentally changed the relationship of the LGBTIQ community to football and vice versa, but this has not necessarily translated into the inclusion or celebration of trans athletes.

Perhaps the best case study of this is Hannah Mouncey.