Week 2 - Ryan Hetrick

By Ryan Hetrick

In the past week of class we discussed a relatively new concept for classifying gender, that concept's name is intersex. Intersex is defined in its most basic condition is "The abnormal condition of being intermediate between male and female", from google dictionary. The topic resulted in interesting discussion and many different, unique viewpoints.
       
On one side, people believe that having a male hormones, producing naturally in the female body, results in an unfair advantage for said person. This argument in theory makes sense, skipping the fact that the hormones are naturally growing. I mean, if you were competing against someone, and although you had a more refined skill and worked harder towards the end goal, and they were able to defeat you with raw physicality and size, you would be frustrated and become complacent (or at least I would). This has led to groups of people demanding that intersex persons be forced to take a supplement that brings their normal body levels down to those of 'normal' females.
       
An argument somewhat similar to this has been made in male sports as well. In the UFC, several fighters have undergone TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy). This treatment is typically performed on fighters that have doctor approval that their testosterone does not meet the average males testosterone levels. This treatment, while legal to a certain extent, is illegal when the levels reach a certain ratio. Many people in the UFC community have become outraged that this program is allowed because it has drastically changed performances for fighters that have gone off and on the treatment. My question to you is, should this kind of therapy be allowed, especially in a combat sport? And then after you've answered that question, should intersex persons be allowed to compete at their normal bodily levels, or be forced to take a supplement to alter their natural body?

Okay, maybe a little off track but now to the other side of the argument. The other side of the argument says that these people should be able to compete as normal females. They are not doing anything unnatural to their body or purposefully altering themselves in any way. I am on this side of the debate. Just because someone is more naturally talented or physically gifted than you, you should not take your anger out on them and try to change them. What you should be doing is trying to change yourself, work harder, train longer, use it as motivation to push yourself to victory.  The next thing you know, we'll have people upset with superstar athletes such as LeBron James for being more physically gifted. Can you imagine someone bringing up that topic? "Yeah, we should make LeBron take something so that we have a chance."

I am firmly for the fact that Caster Semenya was able to compete in the Olympics and I believe that my points motivated that other women in her events to go after her and even beat her, fairly. As for a solution to the whole discuss, I really don't have one other than to let the persons compete in whichever gender they feel represents them both physically and mentally, to the appropriate extent.