SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the just-testosterone-for-now...-but-in-100-years...? dept.
What exactly makes a woman? Track and field's world governing body thinks the answer has to do with levels of serum testosterone, at least when it comes to female runners competing in middle-distance races.
The International Association of Athletics Federation announced a new set of rules Thursday that will ban women who naturally produce higher-than-normal levels of testosterone from participating in races ranging from 400 meters to the mile, unless they agree to take medication. Athletes with the condition, called hyperandrogenism, would be eligible to compete at the international level only if they reduced blood testosterone levels through the use of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills. The rule will go into effect on Nov. 1.
"Our evidence and data show that testosterone, either naturally produced or artificially inserted into the body, provides significant performance advantages in female athletes," said IAAF President Sebastian Coe in a statement. "The revised rules are not about cheating, no athlete with a [difference of sexual development] has cheated, they are about levelling the playing field to ensure fair and meaningful competition in the sport of athletics where success is determined by talent, dedication and hard work rather than other contributing factors," he added.
The new stipulations are stricter than those established by the IAAF in 2011, which limited women's testosterone levels to 10 nanomoles per liter of blood. The new requirements reduce the limit by half to 5 nanomoles per liter. That is still far above levels in most women, including elite female athletes, whose levels range from 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per liter, states a 22-page IAAF document [auto-download PDF] defending the organization's decision. Meanwhile, the normal male range after puberty is much higher, from 7.7 to 29.4 nanomoles.
Previously, the Court of Arbitration for Sport struck down the IAAF's hyperandrogenism regulations in response to a challenge by sprinter Dutee Chand.
Related: The Caster Semenya Debate
The Olympics, Science and Intersex
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday April 28 2018, @12:47PM (4 children)
You noticed that, did you? The subject doesn't hold enough interest for me to bother with anything more than some passing snark.
Incorrect. I don't really care about them at all beyond what I care about any other arbitrary group of people. Now the white college chicks with blue hair and their beta male minions that stir up shit over irrelevancies like this? Those I have a problem with.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 28 2018, @01:41PM (3 children)
Allow me to propose a possible solution. Let's look at boxing. There are all kinds of weight classes. My stepdad was welter weight champion of the Pacific fleet when he was in the Navy. I couldn't imagine him as a welterweight, but he had the certificate to show for it. Weight separates the classes of boxers, right?
So, set up a few classes for women - and maybe men too - based on their hormone levels. At one end of the spectrum, you have the girly-girls, and at the other end of the spectrum, the manly-men. Test hormone levels to determine which class you compete in. Male or female doesn't really matter, it's the hormone levels that count.
If the child is born with a vagina and a uterus, it's pretty definitely a woman. She may not be especially girly-girl, but she's a woman. Check those hormones, and assign her class based on those hormones. Job done. Run fast, baby, and good luck!!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 28 2018, @01:49PM
That might work.
Alternatively, we could have gladiatorial blood sports where skilled women could possibly use speed and weapons to their advantage, and overcome bulkier opponents. And if they don't measure up, that will be reflected in the betting odds (usually bigger payout when a woman wins).
Add cryptocurrency and dark streaming and we'll have a new global pastime.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @03:54PM
We would also need sub categories for length of legs, since it would be unfair for a short person to compete against a tall one in a sprint... etc.
Agree with the intent (esp. using hormone levels instead of genitalia to classify competitors), but, if the goal is to level the playing field between groups of competitors, things could get messy really fast.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @11:21PM
It's not just hormonal though, it's skeletal also, especially when it comes to running.
Women have wider hips, this means that they have to expend more energy compensating for the extra torque from having the leg hip joint even further from the center of the body.