Far from medical considerations (Stone, 1987), trans studies have become widely established in the field of education and trans*formational pedagogies are currently emerging in different countries (Nicolazzo et al., 2015).

The inclusion of "trans" students divides the French Republican school. Some professionals of the French education system, driven by the universalist tradition of the school as an institution (Haby, 1975) and its gender blind ambition, have difficulty accepting the recognition of students' gender identity. However, for some years now, we have been forced to note the intensification of differentialist orientations in French schools (Jospin, 1989) and the crumbling of the indifference to differences model (Rochex, 2020). Unsurprisingly, in 2021, a memo was published, aiming the actors of the French national education system, and entitled "for a better consideration of gender identity matters  in the school environment".

Although the document undeniably provides fairly explicit guidelines, the fact remains that Éducation Physique et Sportive (EPS) – French Physical Education (PE) – is surprisingly evacuated from the subject, leaving the questions expressed by teachers in this discipline unanswered (Couchot-Shiex, 2019).

It must be said that trans studies in Education and Training Sciences are struggling to emerge in the Francophone context (Richard & Alessandrin, 2019).  In France, there is a real dearth of scientific work on the experiences of young "trans" people in EPS, justifying the absence of institutional recommendations for professionals in the discipline.

On the other hand, in Europe and on the other side of the Atlantic, research investigating trans-identified people in Physical Education (PE) is multiplying. Different disciplinary particularisms are addressed: motor skills (Devís-Devís et al., 2018); locker rooms (Jones et al., 2016); groups (Hargie et al., 2017); performances (Devís-Devís, et al., 2018); physical, sports and artistic activities (McBride, 2021); or teachers (Foley et al., 2016).

Inspired by those, we have modestly begun, since 2020, to approach trans studies in EPS (Pouy-Bidard, 2022), an eminently singular discipline in the context of the "French-style" Republican School. On the occasion of the Emerging Researchers' Conference (ERC), we offered to explicitly answer these questions: what are the experiences of "trans" students in PE in France? And do they differ significantly from those of European "trans" youth?

The main hypothesis lies in the idea that PE, when it is an eminently scholastic teaching discipline in France, and when it officially is at odds with the competitive sports model, the experiences of "trans" students differ from those of their European counterparts. Put to the test, the validation or invalidation of this answer thus intends to make a singular contribution to the co-construction of the "trans-school-PE" research object on an international scale.

In order to propose a genuine assessment of the situation in the French context, this exploratory work adopts a qualitative method. In order to truly understand (Bourdieu, 2015/1993) what is at stake for these young people, the approach embraced is eminently inductive, seeking to explore what’s real without presupposing results (Strauss & Glaser, 1967). Aware that experience is undeniably declarative (Dubet, 1994), our approach is to interview the people it affects the most: young "trans" people. Moreover, seizing their emotions, feelings and sentiments in EPS allows us to use the techniques of the comprehensive interview (Kaufmann & Singly, 2011/1996) based on the principle of empathy with the interlocutors. Seven interviews are conducted with young people who define themselves as follows: two trans girls (Cassandra and Sarah), claiming a (trans)female gender identity but assigned to the (cis)male gender at birth, and five trans boys (Baptiste, Alexandre, Tristan, Quentin and Sacha) expressing a (trans)male gender identity but assigned to the (cis)female gender at birth. They are between the ages of 18 and 21 and report becoming aware of their gender identity in primary school, middle school, or high school. Three of them have explicitly declared their trans identity in school. They are Alexandre, Cassandre and Baptiste. In order to define and situate the experiences of these young people in EPS in a European context, the interviews give rise to a thematic analysis that allows for a broad overview (Becker, 2017) of the object of study. The verbatims from the various meetings are coded into units of meaning and then categorized. A thematic analysis grid is then constructed, working in two directions (Combessie, 2007): transversal and aiming to identify the experience of each of the interlocutors; and longitudinal, giving rise to a comparison of experiences between different European contexts.

The analysis led to the identification of six eminently gendered disciplinary particularities in EPS that are central to the experiences of the young people surveyed in the French educational system: the locker room; the body; groups; performance grading scales; the relationship to sports and artistic physical activities; and the relationship to the teacher. In addition, the positioning of each of the young people with respect to them is strongly attached to their transition’s journey. Our results thus indicate that students who have not come out tend to adopt a critical stance regarding gender hegemony in the discipline. They seem to be more comfortable with it - moreover, satisfied with it - once they are out: they perform gender (Butler, 1990). These observations, put in perspective with other educational systems, concur with the work of our Spanish and British peers. Unlike our initial hypothesis stated, the points of tension raised by trans-identified people seem identical. Nevertheless, it appears more relevant to underline the responses given by the young people that express the need to take into account trans-identities in the school environment and more particularly in PE. From our point of view, one of the French contributions to trans studies in Physical Education lies in the idea that differentialism - in terms of gender - leads to many blind spots for the inclusion of "trans" students, and that a redefinition of universalism is certainly, and under certain conditions, a possible way to think about the inclusion of "trans" students in PE and more broadly of students in schools.

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