E225: Lay'lah James On Trans Wrestlers in Pro Wrestling, Nyla Rose and Oklahoma Ban, Inter-Gender Matches

Lay'lah James is an independent wrestler not only out to make a name for herself, but educate the fans along the way about the trans community. Lay'lah is transgender and we discuss what was like growing up the wrong sex and the struggles she faced not only growing up, but the struggles she's faced in professional wrestling. In 2022, Oklahoma signed a bill banning trans athletes from competing against same sex (transgender woman in women sports) and this included pro-wrestling. Lay'lah shares her thoughts on the Oklahoma State Athletic Commissions decision. Lay'lah is transgender and we discuss what was like growing up the wrong sex and the struggles she faced not only growing up, but the struggles she's faced in professional wrestling. Lay'lah expresses that the wrestling community has been very open, and very accepting of her (with a few exceptions). She has goals within the wrestling community including dream matches with top wrestling superstars! Laylah James interview 00:00 Intro 00:49 Coming up in wrestling being trans 02:25 Coming out as transgender 03:25 How she felt about herself as a male 04:00 Changing at school 04:20 Bullying 05:40 Finding resources on trans community 07:00 Advice to those struggling 09:10 Oklahoma Bill "Save Women's Sports" thoughts 10:45 Inter-gender matches in wrestling history 11:45 Oklahoma Bill and its effects on Nyla Rose 16:00 Any reluctant telling promoters she's trans 17:10 Promoter having issue with her being trans 18:50 Podcasters cancelling 20:25 People afraid of backlash 22:15 When she became a fan of pro wrestling 22:59 Wrestling inter-gender matches and backlash 24:30 Not having any women to train with or wrestle at school 24:50 Oklahoma Banning matches, what about training? 26:25 If you're banning trans what happens when they wrestle men 27:00 Thoughts on people wanting all trans sports 27:50 Transgender Boxing League? 29:15 Rick Steiner - Gisele Shaw WrestleCon 32:46 Who does Lay'lah James look up to 35:30 Comments on the Nyla Rose post from non-wrestling fans 36:50 How Lay'lah wants trans people represented in wrestling 38:00 Shoutout to Taylor One Shot creating a transgender belt 42:45 Thankful for acceptance in wrestling 44:10 Going to certain places also having an issue with race 45:00 Wrestlers she wants to work with in the future 45:25 Shares story almost wrestling Nyla Rose Resources https://transequality.org/ https://www.hrc.org/resources/be-an-a... https://gate.ngo/our-work/ #LaylahJames #NylaRose #SupportIndyWrestling #transcommunity #lgbtq #WrestlingCommunity #WrestlingNews #Oklahoma Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/perchedonthetoprope/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy