Hyperandrogenism In The Olympics

Since the beginning of Olympic competitions, gender verification in women’s athletic events has been heavily criticized by many. In April 2011, new regulations were put in place before the 2012 Olympics in London. Though an improvement compared to past sex-based testing, in which the goal was to determine whether someone was “actually” a woman, the new policies remain far from being ideal. These policies focus on female athletes, particularly intersex women, with naturally elevated androgen levels, a phenomenon known as hyperandrogenism. While not disputing that women with hyperandrogenism are female, the new regulations aim to clarify whether women with this condition are “too masculine” to compete with other women (IOC Regulations on Female Hyperandrogenism, 1). This is impossible to do because biological parameters of sex are not separated into two, and only two, categories in the real world. The 2012 IOC criteria that regulate who can and cannot compete in the Women’s Olympic are unfair, unsubstantiated, and perhaps even illogical; therefore, these criteria should be receded (so that
Many athletes perform well because they have an exceptional talent, often due a biological or physical advantage. Indeed, it would not be any more unfair than any “other genetic traits that confer advantages to elite female athletes (height, number of red blood cells, etc.)”. It is like any other natural physical trait. All athletes, male or female, have varying levels of testosterone, just as they vary in height or muscular strength. A biological and endogenous hormone that is naturally produced by their bodies like “any of the complex ingredients that add up to athleticism” ( ) should not be a reason to keep women from competing with the rest of the female