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Gender Diversity in Sports

An online learning environment for learning about gender diversity as it pertains to sports, physical fitness, and athletic participation.

Introduction

 Intersex traits 

According to Interact.org (2020), "Intersex is an umbrella term for differences in sex traits or reproductive anatomy. Intersex people are born with these differences or develop them in childhood. There are many possible differences in genitalia, hormones, internal anatomy, or chromosomes, compared to the usual two ways that human bodies develop."
 
Historically, people with intersex traits have been stigmatized and pathologized for sexual development that occurs outside the "typical" expected range for sex characteristics. This has resulted in a history of unnecessary medical procedures being performed, at times without consent, on individuals ranging from infancy to adulthood. If we think about it from the perspective of a society that resists sexual and gender difference, it is unsurprising that healthcare, legal, political, and educational systems would attempt to force people into a male - female sex binary, even though it is increasingly clear that a strict sex binary is not scientifically accurate. 
 
For instance, consider the possible allosome (sex chromosome) combinations that make us human. Most people know about XX and XY, but the range of possible karyotypes go far beyond that, to include combinations such as 47XXX, 47XYY, or 47XXY, among others. (WHO, 2020) In fact, more possible combinations are discovered as we learn more about the complexity of the human genetic code. We have also learned that the genetic traits which result in sex development go beyond two single chromosomes, and in addition, the X and Y chromosomes do more than assist in gonadal sex determination. For a more in-depth look, check out the following 15 minute TEDTalk by Radiolab reporter, Molly Webster.
 

Intersex athletes

It is unsurprising that individuals with intersex traits have experienced erasure and discrimination in sports. Historically, athletic competition has been divided in accordance with the male - female sex binary. This is still the case today, which causes individuals who do not fit strict sexual criteria to fall through the cracks. Due in part to the ways that our society polices female bodies, women with diverse sex traits risk exposure, harassment, and bans simply by participating. Athletes who experience hyperandrogeny are one example. Two world-renowned athletes today, Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand, both have high androgen levels, and both have had their female identities critiqued as a result. Both of these women have reached the pinnacles of their sport, but because their bodies function "outside" the assumed female range, they are treated as cheaters.
 
As we will see in this chapter, both have pushed back against the limits imposed upon them by athletic governing bodies, and in doing so, they are showing us that the limitations we place upon women in sport are there not to protect women, but to create an enforceable barrier, one which holds women back, and punishes them for achieving their goals.

A quick note about identification

As mentioned in the previous section, athletes like Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand have intersex traits. However, neither Semenya nor Chand identify as intersex. Both have identified as female since childhood, and both were socialized as young girls. It was not until they began to excel in competition that their identities were placed under a microscope. 

Many individuals with intersex traits opt to identify in ways similar to Semenya and Chand. It is an important reminder that all persons have a gender identity that may or may not align with sex characteristics normally attributed to gender. Just like individuals who are not intersex may ascribe to a range of gender identities, persons who are intersex can identify as intersex, nonbinary, cisgender, transgender, etc.