Competition in sports is about one’s skills and abilities compared to others to determine the champion. Throughout history, sports were primarily a male activity to show dominance against other males. Once females were able to compete, gender segregation became noticeable from the predetermined idea that males and females have unequal abilities. In this reflection paper, I will examine the discriminatory experiences of the Olympic athletes Maria Jose Martinez-Patiño and Caster Semenya through the arguments of Anne Fausto-Sterling. This argument will reflect the questionable actions made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) using chromosome testing, which shapes a wrongful
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The complication that suggested unfair competition was because she had three times the testosterone than a normal female. The IAAF forced medical attention and therapy on Semenya in order to compete at the Olympics. Semenya’s abnormality should not be discriminated against, as the IAAF is only basing their decision of her sex through scientific testing rather than her physical attributes. In Greenfield’s article, another athlete, Elisa Cusma is quoted as saying, "These kind of people should not run with us. For me, she 's not a woman. She 's a man.” (Cusma). Based on society’s preconceived ideas of characteristics that comprise a male or female, individuals such as Cusma, discriminate against intersex people. They reject them from competition because they do not fit into the specific gender binary. Semenya did not genetically modify her body to gain an advantage over her competitors, instead she was born with these biological advantages. These biological advantages unfortunately did not work in her favour, as the IAAF forcefully requested modification to enhance more female characteristics. Fausto-Sterling states, “The more we look for a simple physical basis for “sex,” the more it becomes clear that “sex” is not a pure physical category. What bodily signals and functions we define as a male or a female come already entangled in our ideas about gender.” (4). Fausto-Sterling makes a compelling argument that society should not be looking for certain characteristics to qualify who is a male or female, as our bodies are too complex to do so. It reflects the entanglement between physical sex and gender because the IAAF has preconceived ideas of what male and females should be due to what society has deemed them as. Those ideas have been shaped also by the most common gender that generally identifies
The complication that suggested unfair competition was because she had three times the testosterone than a normal female. The IAAF forced medical attention and therapy on Semenya in order to compete at the Olympics. Semenya’s abnormality should not be discriminated against, as the IAAF is only basing their decision of her sex through scientific testing rather than her physical attributes. In Greenfield’s article, another athlete, Elisa Cusma is quoted as saying, "These kind of people should not run with us. For me, she 's not a woman. She 's a man.” (Cusma). Based on society’s preconceived ideas of characteristics that comprise a male or female, individuals such as Cusma, discriminate against intersex people. They reject them from competition because they do not fit into the specific gender binary. Semenya did not genetically modify her body to gain an advantage over her competitors, instead she was born with these biological advantages. These biological advantages unfortunately did not work in her favour, as the IAAF forcefully requested modification to enhance more female characteristics. Fausto-Sterling states, “The more we look for a simple physical basis for “sex,” the more it becomes clear that “sex” is not a pure physical category. What bodily signals and functions we define as a male or a female come already entangled in our ideas about gender.” (4). Fausto-Sterling makes a compelling argument that society should not be looking for certain characteristics to qualify who is a male or female, as our bodies are too complex to do so. It reflects the entanglement between physical sex and gender because the IAAF has preconceived ideas of what male and females should be due to what society has deemed them as. Those ideas have been shaped also by the most common gender that generally identifies