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 »

We have gone back and forth with "gender testing". I think first, we should understand that gender and sex are different things. Maybe a moderator can change the title to something appropriate. "Sex determination"? See: Sex vs. Gender I believe IAAF and other sports bodies want to figure out how to define the sex of a person.

With respect to that debate, the IAAF has also gone back and forth and possibly we have not yet heard about what the settled definition should be. There is a working definition based on current research but we do not know a lot of things. For example, does the presence of high levels of testosterone give a significant advantage to an athlete? We do not know. If we can determine that, that would perhaps help the IAAF draw a better line. Some female athletes have gonads that release testosterone at male levels. But, should we draw the line based on testosterone alone? The answer is possibly not --- at least for now.

On that debate, here is the latest salvo fired by the IAAF. It may be useful reading for some of you who are interested in the ontological question: Who is a man? At least related to sports. IAAF New Female Classificaiton Rules. The new rules possibly will disqualify Caster Semenya Semenya has to undergo hormone therapy to reduce testosterone. Here is the IAAF's response to an article criticizing its new rule:IAAF Response to an article on the topic.
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 »

Here is an article on sex determination: Sex Determination Rules Without it, people who are externally women but have internal gonads will keep winning all the medals in at least middle distance. And, then men claiming to be of female gender will start winning. Reductio ad absurdum, nobody except the top few will be left to run in the "open" category :-)
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: Fri Jul 20, 2018 5:02 pm Without it, people who are externally women but have internal gonads will keep winning all the medals in at least middle distance.
Technically females also have gonads ! I remember a npr show where they talked about reclaiming gonads for female!
User avatar
Atithee
Member
Member
Posts: 5847
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:14 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by Atithee »

I don’t know about gonads, but Kumar, where have you been hiding?
ornatebrute
Member
Member
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Nov 24, 2017 5:34 am
Antispam: No
Please enter the middle number: 5

Re: Gender Testing in Sports

Post by ornatebrute »

Gonads(=internal genitalia) are the term used for primary reproductive organs. They are testes for (biological) males and ovaries for (biological) females. Every individual has them. True hermaphrodites are those who have both of these gonads within them irrespective of their external genitalia (and yes, they exist, and we do see them in hospital). Psuedohermaphrodites are those who have internal genitalia of one sex but external genitalia of another (and these are more common than true hermaphrodites). Other problems which are related to gonads could be: gonadal agenesis, gonadal dysgenesis, Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome (all are interesting reads, if you want).
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 »

Atithee wrote: Sat Jul 21, 2018 4:18 am I don’t know about gonads, but Kumar, where have you been hiding?
Atithee, I have been lurking! ! Too lazy to logon and when I do, no longer remember the pwd! So it is a while before i get it reset!
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 »

Sorry, I meant to say that externally females with two gonads (both male and female as in hermaphrodites). So, I used the plural term "gonads". I believe Semenya Kastor has that (both male and female gonads). Thanks for the clarifications above!
Post Reply