“Damned If You Do, Doomed If You Don’t”: A Socio-Medical Commentary on “Of Athletes, Bodies and Rules: Making Sense of Caster Semenya”

AbstractAs medical professionals, we outline the science underlying disorders or differences of sexual development (DSD), discuss the nuances of sex and gender and how terminology can differ based on medical vs. non-medical context, briefly review the evidence of the ergogenic effects of hyperandrogenism, and discuss the medical complications with the hormonal contraceptive use currently dictated by World Athletics to allow DSD athletes to compete in the female category.

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What Does it Mean to be a Woman in Sports? An Analysis of the Jurisprudence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Human Rights Law Review ◽

10.1093/hrlr/ngaa020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 387-411

Author(s):

Lena Holzer

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Structural Elements ◽

Sports Law ◽

Legal Studies ◽

Caster Semenya ◽

History Of ◽

Scientific Dispute ◽

And Gender ◽

Definition Of

ABSTRACT This article explores the definition of ‘sportswoman’ as put forward in the Caster Semenya case (2019) and the Dutee Chand case (2015) before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It analyses the structural and discursive factors that made it possible for the CAS to endorse a definition that reduces sex and gender to a matter concerning testosterone. By relying on the concept of intersectionality and analytical sensibilities from Critical Legal Studies, the article shows that framing the cases as a matter of scientific dispute, instead of as concerning human rights, significantly influenced the CAS decisions. Moreover, structural elements of international sports law, such as the lack of knowledge of human rights among CAS arbitrators and a history of institutionalising gendered and racialised body norms through sporting regulations, further aided the affirmation of the ‘testosterone rules’.

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Researching masculinities, narrating sexual difference

Qualitative Research Journal ◽

10.1108/qrj-03-2014-0004 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 50-63

Author(s):

Jennifer Germon

Keyword(s):

Sexual Development ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Sexual Difference ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Popular Discourse ◽

Content Type ◽

Sex Development ◽

Embodied Experiences ◽

And Gender ◽

Female Sexual Development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to engage with a foundational gendered imaginary in Western medical and popular discourse regarding fetal sexual development. It is an imaginary that consists of dual narratives that bolster an oppositional complementary model of sex-gender. By these accounts male sexual development results from complex and multi-faceted processes generated by the Y chromosome while female sexual development is straightforward, articulated through a discourse of “default sex” (Jost, 1953). Such apparent truths fit seamlessly with the timeworn notion of maleness and masculinity as always already active, and femaleness and femininity always and inevitably passive. In other words, he does and she is. Design/methodology/approach – Despite embryogenetic findings thoroughly debunking these ideas, contemporary medical and biological textbooks remain haunted by outdated androcentric models of sex development. This paper attends to biomedical and everyday understandings of sex and gender to demonstrate how fresh lines of inquiry produce conditions that enable new ways of understanding bodies and embodied experiences. Findings – This paper demonstrates how new ways of thinking can lead to a new understanding with regards to sex, gender, bodies, and experiences. Originality/value – This paper attends to biomedical and everyday understandings of sex and gender to demonstrate how fresh lines of inquiry produce conditions that enable new ways of understanding bodies and embodied experiences.

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Making Sense of the History of Sex and Gender in Early Modern Spain

History Compass ◽

10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00621.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 1303-1316

Author(s):

Edward Behrend-Martinez

Keyword(s):

Early Modern ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Early Modern Spain ◽

Making Sense ◽

History Of ◽

And Gender

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Book Review: Sex and Gender: A Reference Handbook

Reference & User Services Quarterly ◽

10.5860/rusq.57.2.6544 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 153

Author(s):

Robin Imhof

Keyword(s):

Science Education ◽

Gender Roles ◽

Gender Studies ◽

Sexual Development ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Introductory Courses ◽

Sixth Edition ◽

Current Content ◽

And Gender

One of the complaints this reviewer hears from instructors in Gender Studies programs is the dearth of current content related to transgender and intersex issues in general textbooks assigned for introductory courses. As far as a single volume text, Hilary Lips’ Sex and Gender (McGraw-Hill, 2007), now in its sixth edition, may likely be the standard in the field. Still, the emergence of new contentions and unresolved issues related to sexual development, identity, and gender roles in society during the interim ten years calls for a new resource. David E. Newton, a prolific freelance writer holding a doctorate in science education, addresses this need in Sex and Gender: A Reference Handbook.

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Caster Semenya, athlete classification, and fair equality of opportunity in sport

Journal of Medical Ethics ◽

10.1136/medethics-2019-105937 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (9) ◽

pp. 584-590 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sigmund Loland

Keyword(s):

International Association ◽

Equality Of Opportunity ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Sex Development ◽

Caster Semenya ◽

Differences Of Sex Development ◽

Fair Equality Of Opportunity ◽

Performance Development ◽

And Gender ◽

The Right

According to the Differences of Sex Development (DSD) Regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Caster Semenya and other athletes with heightened testosterone levels are considered non-eligible for middle distance running races in the women’s class. Based on an analysis of fair equality of opportunity in sport, I take a critical look at the Semenya case and at IAAF’s DSD Regulations. I distinguish between what I call stable and dynamic inequalities between athletes. Stable inequalities are those that athletes cannot impact or control in any significant way such as inequalities in biological sex, body size and chronological age. Dynamic inequalities, such as inequalities in strength, speed and endurance, or in technical and tactical skills, can be impacted and to a certain extent controlled by athletes. If stable inequalities exert significant and systematic impact on performance, they provide a rationale for classification. If high testosterone level is an inborn, strong and systemic driver of performance development, inequalities in such levels can provide a rationale for classification. As is emphasised by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), this leads to a dilemma of rights: the right of Semenya to compete in sport according to her legal sex and gender identity, and the right of other athletes within the average female testosterone range to compete under fair conditions. I conclude with providing conditional support of the CAS decision in the Semenya case and of IAAF’s DSD Regulations.

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