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What constitutes male and female? Where is the separating line that places athletes in a men’s or women’s competition? These seemingly simple questions have no concrete answers, at least in athletic terms.
This was recently highlighted in a very peculiar case involving Caster Semenya, the winner of the women’s 800 meter dash at the world championships in Berlin. Due to rather circumstantial evidence, Semenya is currently undergoing humiliating tests to determine her sex. This test was brought about by the International Association of Athletes Federation (IAAF). Caster and the IAAF have been maimed by the tests, and the onus lies solely on one; the IAAF definitely dropped the baton.
In this highly unsettling story, the main question is how an organization with such a grand scope could not be safeguarded against an event like this happening. The answer lies in a foolish decision made in 1999 to stop gender testing completely for women’s competitions. Now, the IAAF is reaping the undesirable benefits of its folly.
The biggest obstacle facing the IAAF is defining gender. Because the organization dropped any guidelines or regulations for determining sex, the doctors will soon make a scientifically informed, yet subjective decision. There really are no concrete answers amidst the murky gray area of gender verification. Contrary to popular belief, to define someone’s sex is not as easy as a simple private glance. There are instances where a person may have ambiguous external sex organs, according to an Aug. 21 New York Times article written by Alice Dreger, professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University.
Biologically, even XX and XY are not an intrinsic means of sex typing. In the article, Dreger said, “On the Y chromosome, a gene called SRY usually makes a fetus grow as a male. It turns out, though, that SRY can show up on an X, turning an XX fetus essentially male.”
Even hormones can be deceiving. According to BBC News, there is a condition where women produce an irregular amount of androgen, a male hormone, giving them a male appearance and slight athletic edge. The IAAF has conceded that this may give a person an advantage, yet they still allow it. As one can see from this scientific minutiae, any results regarding a gender-dividing line will be approximated.
These same results will spell doom for the IAAF; either result will place the organization in a woeful situation. If the scientists decide Semenya is indeed a man, then the organization just crowned an unlawful champion.
On the other hand, if the results would come back female, then the IAAF would have to answer for the unimaginable ordeal through which Semenya and her family underwent. The organization would have to explain why the tests and humiliations were necessary. What evidence did the group have that she was a man other than some masculine features?
The IAAF needs to immediately implement a gender-testing system similar to that of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Recently, the IOC employed a system in which a gender test would only be administered if an IOC official challenged the sex of the participant. The test would be done privately and prior to any competitions. I’m sure Semenya’s family and the other competitors would definitely have appreciated that.
Right now the true winner of the race, whoever that may be, should be basking in the glory of her victory. The IAAF should be promoting the demigod Usain Bolt. Instead, the federation is wallowing between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Semenya, meanwhile, is stuck waiting for the doctor’s results, her dignity abolished.
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