I have written about the debate over Caster Semenya, the chromosomal male who claims that she has a right to run in the Olympics as a female, because that is her gender identity. She has shown that she can run 800 meters faster than any woman in the world. But the question is whether this is a fair competition, given that she is a 46-chromosome male (XY), which gives her the advantage that comes from the typically high male testosterone.
I have argued that Semenya is probably an XY male born with 5-alpha reductase deficiency, so that she is a chromosomal male who was born with sexually ambiguous sex organs who was raised as a girl. She identifies her gender identity as female, but she is biologically male, with testes producing testosterone, which gives her an unfair athletic advantage in the 800-meter women's race.
In response to complaints from female athletes who said that she should not be permitted to compete as a woman, the International Association of Athletic Federations in 2018 issued new regulations saying that genetic males with some disorder of sex development would be permitted to compete as women in middle-distance races (400 meters to one mile) only if they lower the level of testosterone in their blood down to the highest possible level for a healthy woman with ovaries. Otherwise, they can run in the men's events.
Semenya refused to do this. She has attempted to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics by competing in the 5,000 meters race for women, which favors female stamina rather than male strength. As indicated in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Semenya has failed to qualify for this event, and so she will not be in the Tokyo Olympics.
What is most interesting here is that Semenya has said in court documents that she is a 46 XY male with female features, probably indicating 5-alpha reductase deficiency at birth, which confirms my suspicions.
Semenya believes it is unfair to force her to compete with men in Olympic running events. Why isn't it unfair for her as a chromosomal male to compete with chromosomal females?
2 comments:
“…. which gives her an unfair athletic advantage…”
Hey, you’re muscles twitch faster than mine. That gives you an unfair advantage.
Hey, you’re muscles are bigger than mine. That gives you an unfair advantage.
Hey, you’re taller than me. That gives you an unfair advantage.
Hey, you’re eyesight is than mine. That gives you an unfair advantage.
Hey, you’re brain is better developed than mine. That gives you an unfair advantage.
Hey, you’re better looking than me. That gives you an unfair advantage.
I suppose you have to draw the line somewhere.
Yes, in the Olympics, we draw a line between men's and women's events, because we have decided that it would be unfair for women to compete with men. To enforce that line, we have to define what counts as male and female identity.
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