Female Hyperandrogenism In Athletes

The world of athletics has been built around a binary view of gender. The distinction between genders is obvious: there is women’s sport and there is men’s sport. However, in reality, gender biology is not black and white – there is a multitude of ways to be human. The separation of men’s and women’s sport leads to a large population of athletes getting stuck in the middle. There is a growing social acceptance of transgender and intersex individuals in society, however, when it comes to sport these individuals are often left isolated on an island of controversy. The majority of this controversy surrounds the debate of whether or not transgender and intersex females should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Society does not have a

The modern Olympic movement was shaped through the soaring advocation of women’s rights (2, 8). An anonymous photographer (#2), in the 1908 Olympic games held in Great Britain where only 2 percent of women participated in the games, presents a photograph of Sybil Newall, a female British competitor at the games, and advocates women participating in the games. This photographer might have this view because he or she is a feminist that took place in the women suffrage movement and is baffled that solely two percent of athletes were women, and is urging the Olympics to make a great change. Hassiva Boulmerka (#8), an Algerian competitor that engaged in the 1992 games held in Spain where 29 percent of the athletes were women, believes that every woman has the ability of becoming an athlete, and must strengthen their mind and conscious, not just their body, to overcome these social challenges. Boulmerka, as a woman participant, may have this belief because she has underwent these obstacles as well, and wishes to motivate women in Spain to have the will and determination to overcome them and become a female athlete like herself. A good additional document that would better our understanding of how this social

“It’s frustrating, but that’s just the way it is now,” Kate Hall said after losing to an opponent. Hall had just been stripped of her two-year reign as state champion to a transgender female (male-to-female) athlete in a high school track competition. Transgender women should not be allowed to compete with biological females. Every time a trans female makes the team a biological female is stripped of their chance to be on the team and every time a transgender female athlete places in an event another female loses the opportunity to achieve their goal of success. Recently, many transgender athletes have been competing alongside the gender with which they identify themselves, instead of competing with their biological equals. The differences in male and female physiology are the reasons why men and women compete in separate events in sports. If it is unfair for men to compete against women then how is it fair for men who identify as women to take on biological females.

Women have struggled for more than two centuries to be taken serious as professionals. There should not be a double standard in sports especially if it is loved and played by both genders. Over the years, females have competed against the stereotype of being too fragile both mentally and physically to play strenuous sports. The passion and work ethic of the female professional athletes is just as strong as the males and everyone should be treated equal and be able to have a chance at making a better living for themselves as well as their family. One area that still faces a continual struggle in sports is gender equality. Female

For example, according to Cassandra Meuret, author of “Co-ed Sports is Something That Should Not Be Considered” states “Imagine football being mixed with both men and women. A 250-pound linebacker charging at a 150-pound woman doesn’t exactly seem like the safest scenario.” (Meuret 1). Another example is strength. Stated in the article “Should sports be co-ed?” “strength is another big factor. The world’s strongest woman, who bench pressed 531 lbs, does not compare to the world’s strongest man, who bench pressed 1,008 lbs.” (S 1). We should not integrate men and women into the same team because with this difference in strength being as drastic as it is, that is not fair to the male or the female in the situation. Say the sport that is co-ed is football, someone who can press almost double as another person, is to tackle the smaller one, that could lead to a harmful injury. Strength and muscle capacity may be important to the difference in men and women, but height is another fatal factor. The article “Should sports be co-ed” provides another example of “NBA basketball player at 6’6.98” (2007-08 Player Survey: Height), which is well above the average height of a WNBA basketball player at 5’11.84” (2002-03 WNBA Player Survey Averages), the women would be at a disadvantage.”( S 2) With almost a foot difference, the male could reach the net a lot easier than the woman could. With this height difference, this causes the male to have naturally longer legs, with a longer stride. “The world record holder for the men’s 400m dash time is 43.18 seconds, which is 4.42 seconds faster than the world record holder for the women’s world record at 47.60 seconds (400 Metres).” (S 3). Say the world's fastest man, and the world's fastest women competed in a race. The male would win because of the difference in leg strength and

Sports have been a large part of society throughout history. They have brought out happiness, joy, hard work, determination, and teamwork in the individuals that have participated in them. However, there have been negatives involved with sports throughout history also, including gender roles, which are defined as the public image of being a particular gender that a person presents to others. These roles have been created by society and passed down from generation to generation, informing one another of false beliefs that say that one gender, usually males, are better than females. In sports, these often say that women have significantly lower performance levels, show less drive and that women see competition as unnecessary. In reviewing the initial beliefs and problems before Title IX, the role of Title IX, the problems still existing today, and the modern movement, it is seen that progress has been made, but also that there is also more to do.

The Olympics have not only been a prized achievement for many athletes throughout the years, but have been a huge influence of societies all over the world through producing viewpoints, social roles, and societal hierarchies. Observing the continuities and discontinuities within the Olympic games one can gain clarity on how past events still shape the present. Recently new rules set by the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF) have declared that female athletes with abnormally high rates of testosterone must lower their hormone levels or be forced to compete with men. This rule amendment in women’s sports highlights only a small factor of how women have been segregated and discriminated against by a higher power. Through

Research produced from studies into biological effects of gender has been used in real life application. Until 1991 it was ruled that people with XX chromosomes had to compete in female events within the Olympics, and people with XY chromosomes had to compete in male events, but research into gender development changed the rules and now it genetic sex no longer determines entry into the Olympic; proving that research into this field has been most valuable for real life

According to Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in [the] Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Because of the establishment of this international document, much progression toward the equality of rights for all with inherited and acquired traits has been achieved over time. In particular, gender equality has made a great deal of headway since the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. Even though this may be the case, there is no doubt that female athletes are far from considered equal as compared to male athletes in modern sports. In today’s sports society, women athletes are still discriminated against based on lower salaries, less media coverage, and lack of opportunity.

The Olympics have been around since the late 19th century and have alternated between winter and summer games every two years. Constant changes have been made over the years resulting in better competition and sometimes worse. One of the most recent and biggest changes has to do with the athletes participating in the games and the rules for who is able to participate. Michelle Castillo’s article, “Why Transgender Athletes Should be Allowed to Compete as the Gender of Their Choice”, discusses the previous ruling for transgender athletes in the Olympics and what they were required to do in order to compete. She states, “...the International Olympic Committee in 2004 allowed transgender athletes to compete in the gender they transitioned to. The athletes are required to complete surgical reassignment surgery and undergo at least two years of

When it comes to physical activity women are seen as inferior to men. They lack the muscular physique and the lung capacity that men are naturally born with. Unfortunately, when a woman excels in sports it is assumed that she has cheated and is questioned about her performance. In Genel’s article, throughout the process of gender testing, a group of women were found to be genetically male. These women have what is called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS). Their outer appearance is that of a woman, but genetically they are made up of 46 XY chromosomes, which marks them genetically as males. These female athletes are “born with relatively rare genetic abnormalities that affect development of the gonads”. they are naturally resistant to the strength-promoting qualities of testosterone. When Skyes suggests that each athlete is unique and their circumstances need to be taken into consideration, this is one of those many circumstances.

The history of gender verification has cause a dramatic scene for accusing female athletes that have won countless of medals. In the 1890s when the modern Olympic Games was revised by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, he advocated to go against females competing in sports believing that they were not stronger than their male counterparts. However generalizing cultural views that females should not be compete in sports did not held on for too long. In the year 1900 Olympic Games held in capital city of Paris, France, it had about 19 women athletes who participated in the games. As the Olympics Games are held every four years consequently the number of women athletes have

Race, gender, history and sexual orientation play major roles in women's participation in sport. Through out the history of women in sport, opportunity has increased. Many athletes and coaches are presented with the issue of sexual orientation throughout their sporting career. Regardless of sexual orientation, all female athletes are affected by heterosexism. One's racial or ethnicity background greatly shapes the experience they may have in sport. This essay explores the many issues women in sport face today.

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

100 years ago, the question of whether someone was male or female was never controversial. Today, between transgenders, cross dressers, and steroid pumping athletes, the simple definition of male and female has begun to blur. New lines are being drawn to determine what classifies someone to a specific gender. Is it anatomy, or the gender one identifies as? Dutee Chand identifies as a women and possesses the body of a female. But inside, her body creates an excess of testosterone, a chemical specific primarily to men’s bodies. This wouldn’t be an issue, except Chand is a professional sprinter and the excess testosterone could give her a competitive advantage. It is moral to let Chand race because the purpose of competitive track and field is to determine who is naturally superior and to provide athletic activity for all and Aristotle would reason she should race because she is one of the best at her craft, and she shouldn’t be put at a disadvantage running against men just because she has a natural advantage over women. Chand is gifted at running, so she should be able to use her talent. She should be able to use her competitive advantage for her own gain because competition will never be fair.