Oh yeah, this is going to end well.

[sabrarosa]

IOC Wants Gender Testing for 'Ambiguous' Athletes

Elite athletes like South African runner Semenya, who identifies as female but exhibits "male characteristics," soon may have to undergo gender testing and even treatment at special Olympic centers before they can compete. The International Olympic Committee wants to establish the centers to deal

Comments

[lookninjas]

So. Wait. How are they to determine what constitutes "gender ambiguity," exactly? Because as near as I can tell, the whole issue with Caster Semenya started because she was considered too fast and too muscular to be a woman. And I fucking resent that shit on a million goddamn levels.

[sabrarosa]

Considering that they started the investigation because other athletes complained about her, I'm kind of scared about what would cause them to do these investigations. I am also frightened by their proposal to do "treatment" for "disorders".

[linda_mah]

ugh the "treatment" for "disorders" thing bothers the hell out of me too. There is nothing with Semenya, she is perfectly healthy and in better shape that pretty much anyone. What exactly are they intending to treat?

I'm really against unnecessary surgeries, if her undescended testes aren't causing any health problems I don't see any reason to remove them. The whole idea of "you need to have surgery to meet my standards" is all kinds of fucked.

[danaelaurm]

Considering the terminology "disorders of sex development" comes from a non-intersex academic researcher who has regularly publish pretty disgusting pro-eugenics articles on intersex people, I'd be more than a bit scared that anyone uses that bullshit wording.

[danaelaurm]

They changed the rules midway, that's not a question of right, it's a question of stacking the deck against her, dusting off rules that were explicitly abolished 10 years ago because they made no sense.

[lookninjas]

Because there have never, ever, in history, been women with V-shaped torsos and deep voices. I'm also not certain what you mean by her "strident refusal" to cooperate, given that from what coverage I've read of the story, most of the resistance to IAAF demands has been on the part of the government of South Africa and the ASA

[darsynia]

This is a fantastic comment and you should feel great.