Before we dive into this course, let's start with a set of goals:
Taken together, each of the following lessons will help you achieve these goals. For now, let's go ahead and start with the first one:
Before we dive into gender diversity as it relates to sports, we should define a few necessary terms, beginning with sex and gender.
We'll start with sex. Importantly, sex does not equate with sexuality, which is a term used to describe romantic and erotic preference (ie: sexual orientation). Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century, sexuality has increasingly been understood as a function of desire, situated on a spectrum, and not necessarily in conjunction with sexual reproduction. (Hodson et al., 2019) Sex, on the other hand, is primarily associated with reproduction, and the characteristics which most often entail reproduction within a species. Therefore, it's important to recognize that sex might more accurately be considered as a system, or a series of systems that occur differently across species. In humans, sex is more difficult to untangle because it is closely associated with gender and sexuality.
Which leads to the question posed by Hodson et al. (2019): "Where, then, should one begin when defining sex? To start to see the contours of sex as a biological classification, we will commence with some basics. Any complex organism, or collection of organisms, situated within a given physical and social environment or ecological niche has many potentially salient features. There are, in principle, myriad ways to classify such an organism based on its features, either alone or in relation to its environment, and which features are most appropriate (eg useful) for grounding a given classification depends on the purpose(s) of the classification. Biological classifications of sexually—as opposed to asexually—reproducing organisms tend to be concerned with a certain kind of explanation: specifically, a physical or functional explanation of how sexual reproduction causally occurs, primarily at the level of cells, anatomy, and behaviour. Accordingly, the features or attributes of a sexually reproducing organism that are most salient to biologists—and judged to be most useful for grounding classifications for the purposes of biological research—are those that, among other things, appear to best explain the phenomenon of interest at the desired level of abstraction."
To summarize, sex is properly understood by biologists as the system which affects reproduction, and in humans (and other mammals), that means differentiating between individuals who (most often) produce eggs and individuals who (most often) produce sperm. As Hodson et al. (2019) also make clear, there are individuals who do not explicitly fit these criteria, particularly when it comes to diverse sex development. Sometimes, these individuals identify as intersex, though not always. Sex is also mutable, and can be altered through medical mechanisms (one example being gender confirmation surgery).
Unlike sexuality and gender, current biological knowledge leads us to assume that sex does not exist on a spectrum. (Hodson et al., 2019) This is because, as a biological term, sex is understood primarily as an observable phenomenon that expresses that statistical likelihood that a human body will (likely) produce eggs (~50% of the species) while another human body will (likely) produce sperm (~50% of the species), with about 1-2% odds of variation. (Hodson et al., 2019)
Athletic competition is generally divided in accordance with sex. However, the "boundaries" used to divide sexes are always in flux. That's because biological criteria for defining sex have changed over time. Most often, sex is determined by the presence of reproductive organs (genitals). However, genitals are themselves manifestations of genetic and chemical activity. Relying on chromosome testing helps in some cases, though as we shall see in later lessons, it has resulted in the exclusion and stigmatization of female athletes, some of whom have a 46, XY karyotype but due to factors like androgen insensitivity, are born with a "blind" vagina while lacking a uterus. (Jung et al., 2017)
Indian sprinter, Dutee Chand, an Olympian and world renowned runner who was born with intersex traits resulting in hyperandrogeny. Insider.com, 2018.
Unsurprisingly, this complicates our ability to easily divide athletes by sex. The issue is further problematized by societal expectations related to gender.
The WHO (2020) defines gender as referring "to the roles, behaviors, activities, attributes and opportunities that any society considers appropriate for girls and boys, and women and men. Gender interacts with, but is different from, the binary categories of biological sex." While gender operates in conjunction with sex, it is constructed through social phenomena, whereas sex is more often recognized as a biological construct. However, because sex and gender are often inextricably associated with one another, it is nearly impossible to talk about a body's sex without also making assumptions about gender (and vice versa). Add to this mix the way human societies place values and moral constraints on the performance of gender, and it becomes very difficult to parse scientific "hard facts" about sex from social norms pertaining to gender.
Unsurprisingly, this has implications for sports. For the most part, athletic competition is divided up between men and women in accordance with binary assumptions about sex. Broadly speaking, it is assumed that pubescent and post-pubescent male athletes are larger, stronger, and faster than pubescent and post-pubescent female athletes. Undoubtedly, many female athletes are larger, faster, and stronger than many male athletes, but when divided up by ability, age, and other corresponding factors, males will often have a leg-up. Difficulties arise, however, when societal and scientific knowledge reach a point that traditionally defined male and female categories begin to shift. As scientists have discovered new insights into the complexities of the human genome, sex chromosomes, and the lived experiences of transgender people, it has become more clear that there are many athletes who just do not fit easily into strictly female or male categories.
Team USA duathlete, Chris Mosier, is the founder of transathlete.com. He is an out transgender male who was the first out trans athlete to compete in a men's category on the world stage. Mashable.com, 2016.
Because athletic competition generally relies on shared expectations for fairness, the question then becomes, how do we make room for athletes for whom historical systems of separation do not work, while also preserving opportunities for athletes who might experience disadvantages in light of changes to these systems?
Sure, we could choose not to change anything, but doing so does a disservice to gender diverse (in this context, meaning: intersex, transgender, and/or nonbinary) athletes across the world. All gender diverse people are already at risk of oppression and exclusion, and statistically, are more likely to experience economic, legal, educational, and health disparities when compared to the rest of the population. (James et al., 2016; UN Human Rights Office, 2016) Additionally, as scientific knowledge about athletic ability, sex determination, and gender identity develops further, there is potential for more athletes to be excluded and/or challenged due to shifting definitions and boundaries. Rather than wait for that to happen, and in an effort to make space for athletes who have already been harmed by exclusionary standards, the following lessons on gender diversity in and around sports will help us better understand the complexities of gendered participation in sports, the challenges faced by gender diverse athletes, and the changes that we can make in order to create more just and equitable athletic competition.
To develop a more thorough understanding of the ideas presented in this episode, check out Joanna's book, Sporting Gender, and read through the following articles by both Joanna and Sid:
Sporting Gender by