Gender Verification: A Term Whose Time has Come and Gone |
| |
Authors: | Laura Hercher |
| |
Institution: | (1) Sarah Lawrence College Joan H. Marks Human Genetics Program, Bronxville, NY 10708, USA |
| |
Abstract: | The process of testing to determine gender in putatively female athletes was developed in order to prevent cheating, but has
devolved instead into a clumsy mechanism for detecting disorders of sexual development (DSD’s). In over thirty years of compulsory
testing, individuals with DSD’s have been stigmatized and some have been denied the right to compete, although frequently
their condition provided no competitive advantage. More recent guidelines require testing only on a case-by-case basis; the
South African runner Caster Semenya was the first major test of this policy, and her experience points to the need for a more
sensitive and confidential process. In addition, her case dramatizes the inadequacy of the term “gender verification.” Gender
identity is a complex entity and resists simple classification. Sports authorities may set guidelines for who can compete,
but they should refrain from taking on themselves the authority to decide who is and who is not a female. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|