Intersex Athletes

Gender Segregation of Sport

• Different positions on gender segregation will lead to different positions on the eligibility of intersex women.
• Jane English's view
• Every person, regardless of gender, should have access to the basic benefits of sport (exercise, health, character, teamwork, etc.)
• Women as a group and men as a group should have equal access to the scarce benefits of sport (prizes, glory, fame, scholarships, etc.)
• How? by integrating a few sports, inventing new sports...
• but primarily by gender segregating sport ...
• and giving equal resources to women's sports
• Why is equal access important? English: because equal access to sport contributes to the self-respect of all women; women need to see other women succeed in all walks of life
• Other rationales for the gender segregation of sport
• today's readings

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Rules for Intersex Athletes: 2011-2019 

• 2009: Caster Semenya, South Africa, wins world championship in 800 meters
  • legally female, female gender identity, intersex condition--46XY, possibly Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome 
  • challenged, gender-tested, suspended pending results
• 2010: Semenya is reinstated 
• 2011: International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decides that if challenged, any athlete competing in a women's event (a) must be legally female and (b) testosterone level must be below 10 nmol/L unless athlete is insensitive to testosterone

• can reduce testosterone with contraceptive pill or surgical removal of internal testes



Fertilitypedia

• 2012: Semenya wins Olympic gold medal in women's 800 meters (presumably met 2011 standard)
• 2014: Indian runner Dutee Chand dropped from several competitions due to "hyperandrogenism" (high testosterone in a female). 
• legally female, female gender identity, intersex condition
• 2015: Chand appeals to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
• CAS suspends testosterone testing, giving IAAF time to defend.
• 2016: Caster Semenya wins Olympic gold medal in women's 800 meters
• 2018: IAAF defends and upholds testosterone testing for intersex and trans athletes
• athletes competing in a women's event must have testosterone under 5 nmol/L (unless athlete is insensitive to testosterone)
• only for middle distance (400 meters to a mile) running events, 
• must sustain lower level for 6 months prior to competition (chemically or surgically)
• affects international competition only
• alternatively these athletes can compete in men's events
• "in no way intended as any kind of judgment on, or questioning of, the sex or the gender identity of any athlete" (a question of eligibility, not gender)
• 2019: After another challenge, IAAF upholds 2018 policy. 
• clarifications here: limit on testosterone only applies to intersex women who are both XY and legally women (e.g. Caster Semenya)
• also applies to trans women (who are XY as well)
• 2019: decision challenged and suspended pending review by Swiss Supreme Court

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Question: should Caster Semenya and other XY women have to reduce their testosterone to 5 nmol/L in order to compete in women's events?  Positions:

1. They should be included unconditionally (Rachel McKinnon, Friday)
2. Yes, this is a reasonable limit (today's readings: Murray, Coleman)
3. No, they should be excluded altogether

What if English were alive to discuss?  

• Winners in women's events should send an empowering message to women--"You can do anything!"
• Does Caster Semenya make women feel like they can do anything?

Doriane Lambelet Coleman

• Discusses female disadvantages and performance differences, concludes:
  "The result of this differential is the performance gap between males and females that justifies the existence of a women's category in competitive sport." (p. 2)
• Why must women have access to the basic and scarce benefits of sport?  For the benefit of biologically female athletes themselves. (compare English)
• Why not use gender-identity to decide who's eligible for women's events?
• What does she say about the silver and bronze winners at the 2016 Olympics?

 The "Missy Franklin" Objection (that Coleman tries to rebut)

1. Missy Franklin is 6'2" with a 6'4" wingspan, which helped her become a gold medalist in women's swimming; that's perfectly legitimate.
2. Semenya's high testosterone is an analogous advantage in a woman.  THEREFORE,
3. Semenya's high testosterone is perfectly legitimate and she shouldn't have to reduce it to participate in women's events.

Coleman's reply, p. 10

Murray's Talent Argument

Murray, p. 100

1. Sports should be governed in such a way that outcomes are largely determined by talent, dedication, and courage.
2. If sports were gender-integrated, winners would be mostly male, making maleness in effect a talent.
3. But maleness is not a talent.  THEREFORE
4. Sports should not be gender integrated, but rather gender segregated.
5. Gender segregation requires limiting women's events to people with testosterone in the female range. THEREFORE
6. There should be testosterone limits (he discusses 10 nmol/L)

What about fairness?

Not the main focus on Murray or Coleman.  We will discuss next time.