Yes, the history of sex testing in female sport has dark chapters, as does the history of female people in general — a group that constitutes over half of the humans on this planet and has historically faced oppression because of our sex. Female sport at the elite level has existed for a vanishingly short amount of time when compared to male sports. It behooves us to honor the women who fought for our rights to compete as females and stop confusing the issue by claiming male people with differences of sexual development (or DSD’s) are women with naturally high testosterone levels. Modern day sex testing need not be invasive or humiliating. A simple cheek swab would suffice in 99.9% of cases. Such a system would work to protect and honor female excellence at the Olympics.
It's essential for female athletes to be able to advocate for themselves without being accused of hatred or bigotry.
Yes, the history of sex testing in female sport has dark chapters, as does the history of female people in general — a group that constitutes over half of the humans on this planet and has historically faced oppression because of our sex. Female sport at the elite level has existed for a vanishingly short amount of time when compared to male sports. It behooves us to honor the women who fought for our rights to compete as females and stop confusing the issue by claiming male people with differences of sexual development (or DSD’s) are women with naturally high testosterone levels. Modern day sex testing need not be invasive or humiliating. A simple cheek swab would suffice in 99.9% of cases. Such a system would work to protect and honor female excellence at the Olympics.
It's essential for female athletes to be able to advocate for themselves without being accused of hatred or bigotry.