Gender Testing in Sports

All other sports such as squash, badminton,volleyball, atheletics etc which are not covered by any other forum heading can be entered in this forum

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
prasen9
Member
Member
Posts: 19124
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:49 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: State College, PA
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 8 times
Contact:

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by prasen9 »

I suspect Santhi is the person's name and Soundarajan is the acquired/family name (or otherwise obtained name, may be the father's first name or something like that).  I guess the way my south-indian friends would typically write it is S. Santhi.  The family name comes first and is initialized and the first name follows.

Here is another link:
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/95162.ph ... n-official

Now this seems to suggest that Bhusan's diagnosis is correct.  Santhi seems to have some body parts (probably small testes?) that needs to be surgically removed for her to continue participating as a female.

What all these reports seem to establish is: a) Santhi is not an outright fraud, i.e., not a full-fledged man attempting to cheat blatantly, and b) she is in the gray area wrt gender.  The only things that were released was i) some official saw something that caused him/her to be suspicious, and ii) her DNA testing revealed (more) Y chromosomes.

This is a sad case.  It is good that the TN federation is backing her up fully.  The Indian federation should do the same.  Okay, after they are 100% certain that she is not an outright fraud.

It seems draconic to ask her to get an operation to be able to compete especially if it is scientifically known that her condition renders her no exceptionally great unfair advantage.

-pm

P.M.  I am continuing here because even if three people are interested, webspace is not that costly and we are not cluttering some other unrelated threads.  There may be some read-only members who may be interested in Bhusanji's comments.
Last edited by prasen9 on Wed Dec 20, 2006 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Sandeep
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 10722
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 4:21 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by Sandeep »

Bsharma, please continue your posts on gender testing. We are all reading it
I suspect Santhi is the person's name and Soundarajan is the acquired/family name (or otherwise obtained name, may be the father's first name or something like that).  I guess the way my south-indian friends would typically write it is S. Santhi.  The family name comes first and is initialized and the first name follows.
As far as I know, this is done only in Andhra Pradesh (family name comes first and is initialized and the first name follows). Prasen, may be your south Indian friend is a telugu guy :)

As Santhi is Tamilian, Santi Soundarajan should be the right way. Soundarajan I think is her father's name and is not a family name.
User avatar
ajay
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 5855
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2003 11:54 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: College Station, TX

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by ajay »

Bhushan,
I'm also reading your post with interest. So please continue. I remember researching this subject few years back.
Until seven weeks after fertilization, the embryo is neither a male nor a female; it is considered “bipotential” because the gonads have not become testes or ovaries.  The embryo waits for signals from its DNA to start it on its path to become a male.  If no signal is received the embryo becomes a female and if a signal is received from the Y chromosome, a male will be formed.


It is amazing how the foundation of this world lies in the theory of chance, and this is yet another evidence. Einstein may not agree but but what do you think - Does God Play Dice with the Universe?
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

My thanks to the SI members who are reading my treatise on human embryology, gender testing and endocrine disorders that can lead to ambiguity in the identification of gender of a person.  It is heartening to know that my work is being read and I am not harping alone in the wilderness.  :D I played tennis with a first year medical student at noon today and I should have asked these students to check my posts  for accuracy before I add them to the forum because they have taken their final exams last week on human embryology, anatomy and biochemistry. 

Ajay wrote, “It is amazing how the foundation of this world lies in the theory of chance, and this is yet another evidence. Einstein may not agree but what do you think - Does God Play Dice with the Universe?”

All human cells except one type divide by mitosis, i.e., the cell divides into two identical cells and each cell looks like the original cell.  A cell with 22 pairs of autosomes (chromosmes) plus one pair of sex chromosome (XX or XY) will divide into two cells with same number of chromosomes.  However, spermatozoa (sperms) and ova (eggs) are products of meiosis, in which the cell divides into identical cells, but the number of chromosomes becomes half of the original cell.  Comparison of Mitosis and Meiosis

One-half of the spermatozoa (sperms) have X chromosome and the other half has Y chromosome.  The spermatozoa race each other to fertilize the ovum (egg) and one chromosome wins the race!  If a spermatozoon with an X chromosome fertilizes the egg, a female child (XX chromosomes) will be born; if a spermatozoon with a Y chromosome is the victor, it results in the birth of a male child (XY chromosomes).  The mother can only provide the X chromosome in the fertilized embryo and it is amazing that in Indian culture a woman is often blamed for the birth of daughters yet it is the man who provides the X chromosome that determines the birth of daughters. 

Ajay asked, “Does God play dice with the universe?” 

It is wonderful that after centuries and centuries of human life on Earth, the ratio of males to females has been 1:1 and it means that half of the time the spermatozoon with X chromosome ends up fertilizing the ovum and similarly the spermatozoon with the Y chromosome wins half of the time.  Is God playing dice or flipping a coin?  There are ways to improve the odds of having a child of a particular gender, but I think that in most cases it is unethical to do so.  The ratio of males to females in India is changing and there are more males than females.  Can you guess the reason?  :damn:
User avatar
Kumar
Authors
Authors
Posts: 7093
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2003 12:59 am
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by Kumar »

BSharma wrote:
The mother can only provide the X chromosome in the fertilized embryo and it is amazing that in Indian culture a woman is often blamed for the birth of daughters yet it is the man who provides the X chromosome that determines the birth of daughters. 

  There are ways to improve the odds of having a child of a particular gender, but I think that in most cases it is unethical to do so.  The ratio of males to females in India is changing and there are more males than females.  Can you guess the reason?  :damn:
I was just listening to NPR (public broadcasting station in US) and they were talking about PGD. Pre Implantation Genetic Diagnosis. They were talking about how PGD is used to check the embryo for any genetic disorders . And they also went on to talk about gender screening. And it seems around 25% of the clinics that are capable of PGD do it offer Gender screening. And they interviewed a indian couple who were married for 15 years and has two daughters.. (lady of the house wanting a son to look after her, while the gentleman wants a son to take care of the business)...

URL to using PGD for genetic disorder.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=6653837

Bhushan, I was under the same impression that Guys sperm determines the sex of the baby. If you get a chance, listen to the NPR feed where they talk about girl wanting to screen her eggs to ensure the correct sex.  May be i didn't understand it.. I have to listen again.. (Audio stream should be available around 7:30 pm EST)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=6654619
Last edited by Kumar on Wed Dec 20, 2006 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
prasen9
Member
Member
Posts: 19124
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:49 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: State College, PA
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 8 times
Contact:

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by prasen9 »

Saandeep wrote:
As far as I know, this is done only in Andhra Pradesh (family name comes first and is initialized and the first name follows). Prasen, may be your south Indian friend is a telugu guy :)\

[\quote]

Thanks Sandeep, yes he is.  Although, I had a friend P. Shivakumar who was Tamilian, maybe he had some Telugu ancestors???
Saandeep wrote:
As Santhi is Tamilian, Santi Soundarajan should be the right way. Soundarajan I think is her father's name and is not a family name.
I think you are right about the father's name part, but don't they write the obtained name first too?

-pm
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

Kumar wrote, "I was just listening to NPR (public broadcasting station in US) and they were talking about PGD. Pre Implantation Genetic Diagnosis. They were talking about how PGD is used to check the embryo for any genetic disorders . And they also went on to talk about gender screening."

Gender selection of the embryo is usually considered unethical except under special circumstances.  X-linked genetic disorders are usually seen in males while females are usually carriers of the gene and do not manifest the disease. 
User avatar
Kumar
Authors
Authors
Posts: 7093
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2003 12:59 am
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by Kumar »

prasen9 wrote:
Saandeep wrote:
As far as I know, this is done only in Andhra Pradesh (family name comes first and is initialized and the first name follows). Prasen, may be your south Indian friend is a telugu guy :)
Thanks Sandeep, yes he is.  Although, I had a friend P. Shivakumar who was Tamilian, maybe he had some Telugu ancestors???

Tamilians generally write their father's name first (using the father's initial). So she would addressed as S.Santhi.
Last edited by Kumar on Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

I had asked the following questions in Part II of “Gender Testing in Sports”

1.  Do people with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) have the SRY gene? 

The answer is that people with AIS have XY chromosome and also have the SRY gene that determines the maleness of the fertilized embryo. 

2.  Does the presence of SRY gene mandate that the athlete should participate in events for men? 

Not always.  This is what I wrote in Part I – History of Gender Testing.

“Eight of 3,387 female athletes had positive test results with the new DNA-based test for SRY gene at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.  Of these, seven had androgen (testosterone) resistance and were classified as varying forms of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, and the eighth athlete had previously undergone surgical removal of the testes because of presumed deficiency of an enzyme necessary to activate testosterone in responsive tissues.  All eight athletes were allowed to compete as women.”

So are people with AIS males or females?  Have I confused you enough?  :tomato: Please don’t give up.  I love to get people bewildered and then make things clear for them until they shout, “Eureka!”  :D
Last edited by BSharma on Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
jaydeep
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 23792
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 8:59 am
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: India

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by jaydeep »

BSharma wrote:So are people with AIS males or females?  Have I confused you enough?  Please don’t give up.  I love to get people bewildered and then make things clear for them until they shout, “Eureka!” 
And I m waiting for that golden moment ... :devil:

Its really interesting topic and posts r very educational.

Jaydeep.
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

Gender Testing in Sports

Part III - Human Embryology
The How and Why of Genetic Mutation that leads to Ambiguous Gender

My previous post had described the changes that take place in the embryo at seven weeks after conception and this post is a continuation of it.

Until seven weeks after fertilization, the embryo is neither a male nor a female; it is considered “bipotential” because the gonads have not become testes or ovaries.  The embryo waits for signals from its DNA to start it on its path to become a male.  If no signal is received the embryo becomes a female and if a signal is received from the Y chromosome, a male will be formed.  A gene known as SRY found on the Y chromosome turns the bipotential gonads into testes.  The testes produce specific male hormones that influence the completion of the male gender.  The SRY gene could have a mutation that makes it inoperative, or it may be deleted, but the process of male development cannot occur without a functional SRY gene.

The SRY gene sets off a series of events that take place in the embryo and continues through adolescence of the child.  This cascade depends on activation of many different genes and proteins for completion and this multi-step process of sexual development can be interrupted at many places along the way resulting in ambiguity of gender of the affected person.  These genes are just as important as the SRY gene and hence testing for SRY gene alone does not help us to know if a person is a male or a female. 

A person with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) starts off on a path of becoming a male activated by a functional SRY gene; however, somewhere along the sexual developmental process things go wrong.  A genetic mutation in the androgen receptor (AR) gene results in defective cell receptors and these receptors fail to recognize androgens (male hormones, such as testosterone) that are responsible for the proper development of primary and secondary sex characteristics.  The androgens are present in the body, but because of defective receptors the cells behave as if there were no male hormones (similar to normal women).  Consequently, the testes remain inside the abdomen and the normal male external genitalia are not formed.  When the sex-determining cells do not receive androgen signals, there is a switch to development of some female features.  Patients with AIS do not have uterus and ovaries hence they cannot have menstruations after puberty, but they develop external genitalia somewhat similar to those of normal women. 

All humans produce both male and female sex hormones.  Women have androgens and men have estrogen (female hormone), but the amount is small enough so as not to confuse the body’s development.  Normal men and people with AIS have equal amounts of estrogen, but the higher amounts of androgens cancel out the effects of the estrogen in men whereas in AIS who are unresponsive to androgens go on to develop breasts like women because the estrogen effect is not cancelled.  Facial and chest hair are dependent on testosterone and since people with AIS cannot process testosterone, they do not have beard and chest hair.  The growth plates in long bones (arms and legs) of people with AIS fuse later in life and hence they continue to grow in height for a longer period than normal children thus resulting in them being tall. 

Over 200 genetic mutations have been described and the mutation result in various subtypes of AIS.  The primary and secondary sexual characteristics differ in the subtypes of AIS and are dependent on the increasing amount of tissue responsiveness to androgens.  People with complete AIS have external features of normal women.  The testes are in the abdomen, there is a small vagina and no penis or scrotum, and they have sparse pubic and axillary hair at puberty.  Partial AIS results in female body, slightly virilized (maleness) genitalia and increasing amounts of axillary and pubic hair.  People with Reifenstein Syndrome (a form of AIS) have tissues that respond to some extent to androgens and it results in ambiguous genitalia, small testes in abdomen or in a small scrotum, and small breasts after puberty.  Surgical removal of testes and waiting for a couple of years will result in effect of androgenic-developed muscles to go away, and muscle mass and strength become similar to normal women.  As tissues become more and more responsive to androgens in minor forms of AIS, the external features become more male-like and problems may be seen in only decreased sperm counts or breasts larger than seen in normal men.

People with complete AIS are assigned a female gender at birth and their upbringing and gender role are thus that of a girl/woman. Diagnosis is usually made by finding testes in inguinal canal or hernia.  Menstruation does not occur at puberty, but in case of an elite athlete it is often attributed to intense athletic training.  Testes are surgically removed since testes located in abdomen are at a higher risk for developing cancer.  Female hormones are given once children reach adolescence and adulthood.  Psychological counseling is paramount for the person with AIS.

People with partial AIS have greater problems because the genitalia is somewhat virilized (male-like) and the child may have been raised as a male or a female.  They require reconstructive surgery of the genital area and will need to take male or female hormones after puberty depending on the gender chosen.  Psychological trauma is great in them. 

Coming up next:
1.  Other forms of conditions where there is an ambiguous genitalia and assigning of gender is problematic.
2.  Gender assignment in sports
3.  How sports officials cheat; make life more difficult for athletes, and is there a conspiracy in athletics? (And you thought that only a very respectable Sports-India member can see conspiracy when other members don’t!  :D)
Last edited by BSharma on Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
sameerph
Moderators
Moderators
Posts: 32794
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:26 pm
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5
Location: MUMBAI
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by sameerph »

Thanks Bhushan for the informative posts on the subject .

I feel IOA must support Santhi if it is proven that her default was not intentional  as they had supported Sunitha Rani last time on doping issue.  
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

Gender Testing in Sports
Part IV - Disorders of Sex Development in Sports

The Pediatric Endocrine Society in USA and also in Europe decided that the terms “hermaphrodite”, “pseudohermaphrodite” and “intersex” are antiquated, misleading and result in shame and dishonor to the affected individuals, and the two societies adopted a term “disorders of sex development" (DSD) to define congenital conditions in which the development of chromosomal, anatomical,  and gonadal sex is not normal.  Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) is one such DSD, but there are many more.  About 1 in about 1,500 people has sexual ambiguity severe enough to require specialist medical care. 

The most common cause of sexual ambiguity in people with XX chromosome is Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), a disorder of the endocrine system in which adrenal glands (located above the kidneys) while making cortisone produce high level of hormones that are virilizing.  CAH individuals with XX chromosomes have larger than average clitorises, or even a clitoris that looks like a penis, or labia that look like a scrotum.  Since the virilization originates metabolically, masculinizing effects continue after birth so CAH can cause the person to develop masculine-typical characteristics like dense body hair, deep masculine voice, and big strong muscles.  Affected individuals are short and stocky, and not tall and thin.  CAH affected women could have an undue advantage over normal women in some sports requiring physical strength.  Gender testing in sports that required analysis of the chromosomes and SRY gene would not have picked up this condition in women. 

People with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency have testes and a small penis as well as vagina and labia.  Since the penis looks like clitoris at birth, these children are raised as girls until the testes descend at birth and the voice becomes deeper.  After puberty, they have minimal facial hair and the appearance of external genitalia can vary from normal male genitalia, to ambiguous genitalia, to normal female genitalia with a tendency towards an enlarged clitoris. They have XY chromosome and lack a uterus and ovaries.  People with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency will have muscle mass and strength similar to those of normal women if they undergo surgical removal of the testes.

I do not know the exact reasons that resulted in S. Santhi being disqualified from the Asian Games in Doha and the official report from the medical committee that examined Santhi should clarify the reason(s) for disqualification.  It is quite likely that Santhi is not a normal man masquerading as a woman, and it is possible that the 800m race silver medalist has a disorder of sex development.

This concludes my posts on medical information that would help people to understand why gender testing should or should not be done in sports.

Coming next:

1.  Gender assignment in sports
2.  How sports officials cheat; make life more difficult for athletes, and is there a conspiracy in athletics?
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

Gender Testing in Sports
Part V - Gender Assignment in Sports

There are some sports such as shooting and billiards in which the natural-androgen-influenced muscle mass and strength of men do not offer a significant advantage over less muscularly developed women.  In fact, some years back a woman beat the men at an international shooting tournament that was open to the top men and women shooters in the world, and this tournament was later scrapped for an unknown reason.  Big powerful muscles and strong bones do give an advantage to men in sports that require physical strength such as athletics, swimming, basketball, cricket, hockey, volleyball, gymnastics and soccer. 

Cheating occurs in all walks of life and sports are not an exception.  Men masquerading as women have been caught participating in women’s athletic events, but this type of cheating is less common than sportsperson taking performance enhancing drugs illegally.  One in about 1,500 humans has some sort of disorder of sex development that could make the gender assignment problematic for sports officials.  Eight of 3,387 female athletes at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 tested positive for the SRY gene thus implying that they have the male type XY chromosomes and have or had testes, yet they were cleared to participate in the Olympic Games as women.

So how should sports officials define a woman?  Should they check for XX chromosomes or look for primary and secondary female sex characteristics or use other criteria?  Society uses different set of rules for different purposes to define a particular gender. 

Gender testing of all athletes participating in women’s events came into existence in 1966 and these athletes were paraded in front of judges to check for “feminity”.  Later it was replaced by checking for Barr bodies in cells obtained from mucosa in the cheeks, and by 1990 the presence of SRY gene became the gold standard to define gender in sports.

A committee comprising of physicians and commissioned by International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) recommended in 1990 that routine tests for gender in all female athletes should be abolished because the wearing of tight fitting garments by female athletes in competition and the manner in which urine drug test is conducted would pick out the female impersonators and those suspected of having disorder of sex development.  Athletes suspected to not have the normal female genitalia would be examined by an expert panel.

Physicians who were experts in Sports Medicine, Gynecology, Endocrinology, Genetics, Psychology and other fields of medicine made an important recommendation – female gender in sports was not based on the presence of XX chromosome or absence of SRY gene, but athletes having muscle mass and strength based on non-androgen- hormone (male hormone)-stimulated muscles and other tissues in the body similar to normal women.  Seven athletes with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and one athlete with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency were thus cleared to participate as women in 1996 Olympic Games.  Athletes suspected of having disorder of sex development at sporting events were to be checked by an expert panel of physicians and notified privately and counseled for appropriate medical care if they were found to have such a medical condition. 

The emphasis on keeping the information about disorder of sex development in athletes private and confined to a few relevant people was to protect the shame and public ridicule that often follows publication of such news by the media.

Coming next:
How sports officials cheat; make life more difficult for athletes, and is there a conspiracy in athletics?
User avatar
BSharma
Authors
Authors
Posts: 12076
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:51 pm
Please enter the middle number: 1
Location: USA

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by BSharma »

Mr KP Mohan has written an article in The Hindu about S. Santhi and he is bringing up some points that I was going to raise in my next and last post about Gender Testing in Sports.  Read Mr Mohan’s article -- it is a good one, but I have some more conspiracy angles to write about than the one that is mentioned in The Hindu.  When I did my research for this series of articles, I found out where the Doha Asiad people sent the specimens for testing, how long it takes for the results to become available to the medical board in Doha, etc.  What is amazing about this unfortunate episode is that none of the officials care about it, or at least this is what appears to me.  Prasenjit questioned the story from the beginning and there is a lot more than it meets the eye. 

I do not know what kind of medical condition Santhi has, but I have a good guess about it.  I hope that all appropriate tests have been ordered by the Doha people and it is best to wait for them to come back before commenting on her actual diagnosis. 

Did OCA exclude all possibilities?
Post Reply