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Ethanol-fueled [soylentnews.org] writes:

Excerpts from the article, paraphrased,

In 2009, the South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya was barred from competition and obliged to undergo intrusive and humiliating "sex testing" after fellow athletes at the Berlin World Championships questioned her sex. Ms. Semenya was eventually allowed to compete again, but the incident opened the world's eyes to the process of sex testing and the distress it could bring to an athlete who had lived her whole life as a girl.

Rather than trying to decide whether an athlete is "really" female, as decades of mandatory sex tests did, the current policy targets women whose bodies produce more testosterone than is typical. If a female athlete's testosterone level is deemed too high, a medical team selected by the sport's governing bodies develops a "therapeutic proposal." This involves either surgery or drugs to lower the hormone level. If doctors can lower the athlete's testosterone to what the governing bodies consider an appropriate level, she may return to competition.

The article goes on to elaborate that any "intersex" traits are to be corrected with "drastic, unnecessary and irreversible medical interventions" including the use of surgery, before they can return to competition.

The article also concludes that, "Barring female athletes with high testosterone levels from competition is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Worse, it is pushing young women into a choice they shouldn't have to make: either to accept medically unnecessary interventions with harmful side effects or to give up their future in sports." What say you?

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