Olympics struggle with ‘policing femininity’

They are just trying to create a fair playing field.

 

There's no such thing where's nature/biology is involved.
The only way to truly have a level playing field is to have identical robots.

This discrimination against people, not the least of which women who have a natural, be it abnormally, high level of testosterone.
It's despicable.

 

^ totally agree. I don't think it's acceptable that athletes should have to change their bodies and chemistry to be allowed to compete in what they dedicate their lives to.

 

I agree entirely. I'm not even sure if this is entirely safe or ethical. What will this do to an athlete emotionally, psychologically, and physically? Will lowering their testosterone levels have an impact on their sex drive? Their reproductive systems?

I'm not sure of the answer to any of these questions.

This has always had this issue. Why it is now suddenly unfair when it wasn't unfair in the past?

If they want to make the "fair playing field" argument, then they should conduct the tests, and divide people up accordingly. Just like they do with heavy and lightweight wrestling.

Virtually everyone who makes it to the Olympics has genetic factors working in their favor anyway. Again, this has always been the case. Are they going to start screening out people for their genetic advantages, too?

I want to be a jockey and ride on the back of a race horse. However, I'm too heavy and too tall. Therefore, I want all jockeys who are naturally short and light to be forced to undergo some type of chemical or genetic alteration that will induce growth spurts and weight gain in them. Because I want it to be fair.

That is pretty much the equivalent of what they're doing.

 

Anyone else wondering why South Africa has such a high intersex rate?

 

So should we just ban intersex people from competing in the Olympics?

 

That is so beyond messed up. Who are they to define what a feminine body is. Half of being good at a sport is just happening to be physicaly gifted with a naturally stronger, bigger or faster body anyway so this is just crazy. I'm sure there's male athletes with abnormally high testosterone and no one cares about them having the advantage. Ughhh I feel so annoyed by this, I don't know much about the olympic commitees but I'm surpised such a large organization is adopting these policies.

 

I don't know. I barely watch the olympics. All im going to say is that intersex women will dominate all athletic women's competition in the Olympics. If you are fine with that outcome then w/e. I am kind of undecided on the issue. Should the olympics allow transgendered women to participate in the women's olympics?

 

In my view, yes. Also, keep in mind that intersex is different from transgender. This policing femininity stuff is mostly about intersex folks, actually. I think it's unfair to exclude intersex people from women's events because although they appear female to everyone, their bodies don't "work" the way we expect. They have the bodies they have, and they are very athletic, and it's worth celebrating.

Honestly, I think the very existence of the debate is demeaning and offensive, as well as invasive.

And I'll happily throw down with any cisfemale feminist who disagrees on this.

 

I would give you the point if all intersex women were at the top, but as it stands right now, top female runners are, as far as we know, "fully" female (agh, that just sounds wrong to say....)

Not only that, but this is not the only case that people have taken advantage of their biological abnormalities in order to succeed at a sport. There are tons of biological abnormalities that make people naturally better and certain sports because they were born that way, yet we don't tell those people to stop competing.

What's going on here is disgusting. They are literally trying to define what being a female is. If you have a higher level of testosterone than most women, then you can't compete with other women since you aren't "woman" enough. Its ridiculous.