But... if a man were to do that and they only test female athletes wouldn't he get caught while pretending to be a female? :S
Well that's just it ... there are plenty of 'men' who aren't XY males. If those genetic differences give them an advantage in whatever sport they specialise in, why should they not also be disqualified? (... If the games are in fact about only including XX or XY athletes).
I tried to find a succinct non-bloggish summary of these sorts of issues but didn't (lots of info avail, none of it succinct *g*), so I'll link you to an excellent blog post. The commentaries get into more details regarding some of the genetic profiles. Bottom line: human 'sex' is far broader than what we're taught in school and testing one 'apparent' sex for abnormalities is absolutely inequal, no ifs, ands, or buts. (Erm, is my NSHO showing? *g*)
And for what would have been a then-famous example of this situation occuring with an Olympic-class athlete, look at the case of Erik Schinegger (then known as "Erika"). http://www.ftmaustralia.org/library/05/erik.html
I think there's a world of difference between someone who deliberately takes hormones or other substances for the purposes of performance enhancement and deception versus someone who has a genetic condition that makes them a little different than the other girls or boys.
Obviously for Erik, and any others like him, this is a profoundly private matter that does not need to be exposed on the public stage. Or, if so, then all athletes should be equally at-risk for having their private medical matters exposed in this manner.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-08-10 04:45 am (UTC)Well that's just it ... there are plenty of 'men' who aren't XY males. If those genetic differences give them an advantage in whatever sport they specialise in, why should they not also be disqualified? (... If the games are in fact about only including XX or XY athletes).
I tried to find a succinct non-bloggish summary of these sorts of issues but didn't (lots of info avail, none of it succinct *g*), so I'll link you to an excellent blog post. The commentaries get into more details regarding some of the genetic profiles. Bottom line: human 'sex' is far broader than what we're taught in school and testing one 'apparent' sex for abnormalities is absolutely inequal, no ifs, ands, or buts. (Erm, is my NSHO showing? *g*)
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/gender_testing_and_the_art_of_war.php
And for what would have been a then-famous example of this situation occuring with an Olympic-class athlete, look at the case of Erik Schinegger (then known as "Erika").
http://www.ftmaustralia.org/library/05/erik.html
I think there's a world of difference between someone who deliberately takes hormones or other substances for the purposes of performance enhancement and deception versus someone who has a genetic condition that makes them a little different than the other girls or boys.
Obviously for Erik, and any others like him, this is a profoundly private matter that does not need to be exposed on the public stage. Or, if so, then all athletes should be equally at-risk for having their private medical matters exposed in this manner.
*shakes head sadly*