When a female athlete is deemed 'not feminine enough' and thereby could gain an unfair advantage, can a sports governing body force her to be 'less masculine'? Caster Semenya doesn't think so.
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Caster Semenya
In an article about Daphne Schippers, I briefly mentioned Caster Semenya. 'If you succeed in sports, suspicions will quickly follow.' That was more or less the gist of the story. However, Caster Semenya's story is not the usual 'must-have-used-doping' story. Caster hasn't drunk the magic potion; she fell into the cauldron as a baby. Caster Semenya was born with a condition that causes her to produce three times as much testosterone as other women. The sex test enforced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has shown that she is indeed a woman. However, her testosterone levels are more comparable to those of a man. Woman or not, that could provide an unfair advantage.Forced to Reduce Testosterone
Recently, an article in the Volkskrant was dedicated to the South African athlete whose performances and personality have been controversial since her rapid rise to fame. Erik van Lakerveld describes the debate that has been held about the added value of such a high testosterone level [1]. An earlier rule regarding the maximum amount of testosterone was contested and withdrawn. Based on the latest findings, the IAAF now wants to impose an upper limit on testosterone for women.The global athletics federation wants to reintroduce a testosterone limit. According to the IAAF, too much testosterone leads to unfair competition, even if athletes naturally produce a lot of it. In women, the testosterone level averages between 0.5 and 2.5 nanomoles per liter of blood, in men between 7.7 and 29.4 nanomoles. The IAAF wants to set the testosterone limit at 5 nanomoles. The requirement will apply to races from 400 meters to 1,500 meters. Women who naturally exceed the limit will be forced to take medication to lower their testosterone levels. - Volkskrant
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Human Rights Violation
Van Lakerveld then discusses the potential implications for the rest of the sports world and the resistance against the planned rules. 'Human rights violation.' It is argued, among other things, that 'the rules confirm negative stereotypes and stigmas that the women concerned would not be women' [2]. Caster Semenya herself defends (according to the article) mainly because she and others still assume an advantage gained from the high testosterone levels. She doesn't want to give up those estimated 5 to 7 seconds in the 800m.What is Unfair?
Personally, I find it a very difficult matter. It is understandable that opinions on this will strongly differ because the underlying question itself is subjective: What is unfair? In every sport, there are inherent differences. Which differences we accept and which we find unfair are not consistently determined. We find the difference between men and women in most sports too great to let them compete against each other. We find it unfair to have someone weighing 120kg boxing against someone weighing 60kg. But we don't mind having someone 1.70m play basketball against someone 2.31m tall. We also don't find it unfair that sprinters can sprint so well because they have exceptionally fast muscle fibers in their legs. If a swimmer turns out to have the perfect proportions for swimming, we don't hold it against them. We admire it instead. As you can see in the above-mentioned testosterone levels of men, there can also be large differences here. But we accept that as genetic luck or misfortune. Not as an unfair distinction.What is Fair?
Fair in its purest form would be if we all came into the world as equal clones in an equal environment. If we all had access to the same facilities. When success would only be determined by effort, motivation, discipline, etc. It would also become boring. We are fascinated by the 'freaks of nature,' the people who stand head and shoulders above the rest. But if such a genetic advantage causes you to resemble a man too much as a woman, then some people think that's 'unfair.' I don't know what to make of that.References
- volkskrant.nl/sport/is-olympisch-kampioen-caster-semenya-vrouw-genoeg-een-juridisch-gevecht-over-testosteron-en-gouden-medailles~b67c211a/
- theguardian.com/sport/2018/jul/26/human-rights-watch-iaaf-testosterone-limit-discrimination
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