By:
Kristi Kopaniasz
Intersex
Athletes: Natural or Unfair Advantage?
In class
we talked about intersex athletes having an unfair advantage. The reason, these
athletes have higher levels of testosterone that rival that of male hormone
levels. One of the examples we talked about was the South African female runner,
Caster Semenya. There were talks during the Olympics about her having an unfair
advantage because she seemed to be intersex. Having more testosterone in the
body helps increase muscle mass compared to a female that does not have as high
levels of testosterone. Below is part of a statement from The Women’s Sports
Foundation that talks about invasion of privacy for intersex athletes:
“As the recent controversy surrounding Caster Semenya’s
eligibility for women’s track makes painfully clear, intersex athletes are
vulnerable to exclusion from women’s sports, as well as ridicule and invasion
of privacy. The Women’s Sports Foundation believes that women with intersex
conditions have the same rights to participation in athletics as all women. It
is also our position that eligibility standards for women’s sports that require
an athlete to demonstrate particular hormone levels promote the policing of
gender by medical means, leading to the unwarranted invasions of privacy not
only for intersex athletes, but any athlete whose femininity is questioned.
Moreover, any policy that singles
out women’s sports for eligibility based on hormone levels is discriminatory
and sends the harmful message that female athletes are uniquely vulnerable and
in need of special protection from the normal, natural variation in size,
skill, and athletic ability that exists among members of either sex.”
Personally, I feel that that’s just how they were born. I
think it is unfair to subject them to testing or even going as far to not let
them compete because they have an unfair advantage. Their bodies naturally make
that hormone. Intersex athletes should not be punished for something they were
born with and can’t change. I can see arguments for both sides, that’s why I
would love to hear what you think.
· How do you feel about intersex women with higher levels of
testosterone competing with women that don’t have the same testosterone levels
or to go as far as those intersex women competing with men?
In addition to Caster Semenya, we talked about Brittney
Griner. For those of you, like myself, that saw her play last year, she towered
over other centers and powered her way to the hoop. People across the country have
commented on her masculine appearance. I have heard comments that “she’s a man”
to “she should play in the NBA”. All of this is based on her appearance and
deeper voice.
Recently, during the Olympics there was a Chinese women’s
swimmer that was questioned for doping. Although this does not deal with being
born intersex, she was compared to men since she beat Ryan Lochte’s 400 m time.
·
With
several controversies lately, what is your view on gender testing? How would
they determined who would/wouldn’t be tested? And if they did selectively test,
do you feel that is discrimination?
I agree with you in saying that gender testing is unfair. These athletes are born this way and it is not something that needs "fixing" If the athlete was raised as a female, played on female teams, then let them compete where they are most comfortable: on a female team. What really upset me was that Caster Semenya was forced to start a hormone treatment in order to be able to compete in the Olympics. Her ability is natural, and hindering it just seems unjust. I believe that someone in class also mentioned that this hormone treatment caused her times to slow down as well which is even more frustrating. Why should her ability have to suffer because her gender isn't strictly female or male? I believe that intersex athletes should be able to compete where ever they want. They work just as hard as other male and female athletes for their abilities and they should be able to showcase that.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Zoellick
Jenn, I to feel that their abilities should not suffer because the athletes were born this way. They got where they are as elite athletes not because they have extra hormones but because they worked hard day in and day out and became successful. The Olympic committee and any other committee in the world should not ask the athletes to "fix" something that to them is natural. Semenya being asked to do a gender testing is plan out rude I believe. The committees felt threatened to do something because someone brought it up and question Semenya's gender. I agree with you that they should be able to compete where ever their skill level allows them.
DeleteJenny Kelley
Jennifer,
DeleteI do agree with you that gender testing is unfair because this is they way they are born and cannot "fix" the problem. The thing I disagree with though is that I think that the hormone treatment they made Semenya do was just. She had higher levels of testosterone then the females and once they "leveled" the playing field her times decreased. Some may see this as unfair but I see it the other way and believe her having higher levels of testosterone was the real thing that was unfair.
Josiah Blevins
I would have to agree with you Kristi about it is unfair to punish those who are born with the extra hormones. It is not their fault they were born this way and should not be as to change who they are just because we as a society tell them to. I personally think they got to be the athletes they are not because of the extra hormones they were born with but because they put in the time,effort,and dedication to reach the highest level of performance. I think those with higher levels of testosterone should be able to compete with women who do not have the same levels of testosterone. They should compete because I believe there are not as many cases of this abnormally but once we notice it we as a society make it a bigger deal. Semenya and Griner have a sign on their backs because they were born differently. These signs now will be with them for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteJenny Kelley
This is a very difficult situation you put someone in when asking about how to deal with intersex people. You should not discriminate because someone is intersex. Personally I think intersex people should be allowed to compete. But like they did with Semenya they should have them take a drug that lowers their testosterone levels. The reason I think this is because now you are giving someone an unfair advantage over other competitors. I think for gender testing that everyone should be tested and if they are found to be intersex institute a drug that lowers their testosterone. This then would make it so no one is discriminated against and levels the playing field.
ReplyDeleteJosiah Blevins
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKristi,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that there shouldn't be gender testing for athletes like Castor or Griner. Someone born intersexually didn't intend to be born that way and it completely 100% differs from someone like Barry Bonds or McGuire that illegally changed their testosterone levels. However, it is important to still have gender testing so someone doesn't come along and cheat the game. In regards to Griner, from what I've seen, she has a stand-up personality and is very humble. Sometimes ridicule can also stem from jealously and the fact that people would love to have the success of Griner. This is obviously a debate that will never end and will continue to have strong opinions from both side. However, sadly, it's the athletes that suffer the most from our certain prejudices.
Nate Dudzik
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that intersex athletes were simply born with high testosterone levels and that they didn't do anything wrong. Some may argue that intersex females are able to have their high testosterone levels surgically decreased but to expect every athlete to pay for that sort of surgery is not reasonable. I believe it's also unreasonable to ask intersex females to compete with men because of high levels of testosterone. They've competed with women their entire lives and are used to competing with their own sex. Therefore, it wouldn't be right to force a woman to have compete with men by the time they reach the highest levels of competition such as in the Olympics.
(Chris Cournan's comment is above)
ReplyDeleteKristi,
ReplyDeleteI give you a lot of credit for bringing up this discussion onto the blog/forum. This is a topic many people don't feel comfortable talking about, but something that needs to be discussed. In class it was a topic many people shy'd away from giving their opinion, and that is what I feel the administrators of professional sports are doing as well.
In professional programs and women's sports, the topic of testosterone is something that needs to be taken care of immediately. This is giving women an unfair advantage and something that is tainting women's sports. I am not going to sit here and act like I have all of the answers either though. This is a topic that needs to receive a committee in women's sports to find the solution. This committee would involve the commissioner of the sport, doctors, but also specialist of same sex. We need to get people who are knowledgable of the circumstances to find a solution. This is an issue that needs to be resolved, but at the same time needs to handled with care. This is something that could turn into a very serious situation if not handled properly, but if handled with care we could have a solution in short time.
Nathan Riley
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI appreaciate you talking about this interesting subject, because I know everyone has a different view on this matter. I personally feel that intersex women with higher levels of testosterone should not be allowed to compete against males. I believe this because in the Olympics there is a female, and male competition. There is a reason why females don’t compete against males, and vise versa. For example in the Brittney Griner situation, I don’t personally feel she could compete against other males at a professional level. Males that would compete against her would be bigger, faster, and stronger. I’m not saying she could compete, but I guarantee she would not have the amount of success that she has while playing woman’s college basketball.
As of testing, I feel the Olympic committee is out of line, and are discriminating woman by testing them. There is no reason why the need a special medication to lower testosterone levels. Also, they should not be forced to compete against males, just because they do have a high testosterone level. Overall this is a tough topic to debate, but I personally feel that we are doing a poor job of discriminating females that compete in the Olympics.
-Brett Creamer
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI like the questions you are asking here because the subject has many differences of opinion, and on the national scale it is a rather new subject. I can see how in some sports there might be a push have intersex women compete against males, just because some sports are not thought of as having a "physical" aspect. However, I do not think intersex females should compete against males in any sport. Let's look at Brittney Griner. Yes, she dominates the women's game, but if she was to play against some of the centers in the NBA she would not have the same level of success. She would be over-matched by the likes of Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, Andrew Bynum, and Brooke Lopez to name a few. You also have to take into consideration that the men's game is much more physical than the women's game, which would make me question her ability to stay healthy over a full season.
Gender testing has discrimination written all over it. My issue is with selective testing. By picking and choosing who to test the Olympic Committee is causing more harm to these athletes than they realize. THis may cause athletes to suffer from mental and/or emotional disorders, which would greatly affect their lives. If these governing bodies such as the Olympic Committee want to gender test it has to be every athlete regardless of male or female, and they have to find a less intrusive way of doing it. That is the only way I can see it being acceptable.
-Derek Brewer
Kristi,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you by saying that the testing is unfair. I personally believe that if you were born like this, and you have always played with girls/boys, then that is what you should stick with. This was just the way that God created them, they had no say so in choosing how their body was supposed to be built. Also, I feel like for the females that do have a higher testosterone level than the average female, they should be able to compete with females still. If I was a runner/basketball player actually participating in the event against them, I might be a little upset, but at the same time, at the end of the day, they are females just like us, that is just the way they were born. Lastly, I do feel like doing selectivity testing is a form of discrimination because it seems like you are pointing fingers at certain people out of a whole bunch of people, which is unfair. Everybody who participates in the Olympics should have to do gender testing if that is what the committee wants to do, but they definitely should NOT do selective testing.
-Turea Moore
I do agree with you that gender testing is unfair because if they have gender testing, they can't show all of their talent in their games. They will have deep scars after gender testing. Most female athletes are working out harder for their games. Thus, I think, we should respect to them who female athletes have deep scars from gender testing.
ReplyDelete-Junho Song