The case of Imane Khelif revives the debate and the necessary reflection on sex, or the alleged biological sex and its “game” in sports.
I start with a premise and a reality: “There is no equal playing field for all people.”. All bodies are different. Although some differences do matter, while others are indifferent.
The famous case of Caster Semenya, the intersex South African athlete who was the first black woman to win a gold medal in athletics, It is a clear example that the debate is not only not new, but has intensified in its levels of unjustified denial.
Already in April 2016, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for health, Dainius Pūras, pointed out that sex segregation policies have led to multiple violations of rights in the field of sport. Sex segregation has historically been justified for the sake of safety and equality, based on the “assumption of male physical superiority”
It should be noted that today there is no test that serves on its own to “determine” sex.. In the recent past, Some athletes have been subjected to chromosome tests that have only revealed that they do not have two X chromosomes.. This has led to the stigmatization and spurious exclusion of some people from competitive sport..
Although some national and international sports federations have introduced policies under which women whose testosterone levels exceed a certain threshold are excluded from participation in sports competitions, The truth is that there is not enough clinical evidence to establish that these women have a “substantial performance advantage” that justifies their exclusion..
Without going any further, Michael Phelps, the hyper famous and award-winning swimmer, has Marfan syndrome, which causes him to have a body especially gifted for swimming; for instance, among other things, Phelps has very long arms, “beyond the normal.” Have you ever been judged or required to modify your physicality that deviates from the average?? No. Precisely because their “outside the average” is heteronormative or unrelated to “sex.”.
That is why, instead of baselessly excluding, Sports organizations must implement policies compatible with human rights standards and refrain from formulating policies that force, coerce or otherwise pressure female athletes to undergo unnecessary medical procedures, irreversible and harmful to be able to participate as women in sports competitions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ACNUDH) He also expressed concern about the regulations, Discriminatory norms and practices that may require women and girl athletes who have differences in sexual development, androgen sensitivity and testosterone levels medically reduce your blood testosterone levels, stated that this contravenes international human rights standards and principles, including the right to equality and non-discrimination, to the enjoyment of the highest possible level of physical and mental health, to sexual and reproductive health, to work and enjoy equitable and satisfactory working conditions, to privacy, not to be subjected to torture or other cruel treatment, inhuman or degrading practices or other harmful practices, and full respect for dignity, the physical integrity and bodily autonomy of the person.
These norms also reinforce harmful gender stereotypes, racism, sexism and stigmatization.
For your part, the Yogyakarta Principles + 10 state in their additional recommendations that “Sports organizations should encourage the general public to respect diversity based on sexual orientation.”, gender identity, gender expression and sexual characteristics in sports, including measures to eliminate hate speech, harassment and violence at sporting events.” Something absolutely essential in the case discussed...
From science, Testosterone is the hormone generally identified with masculinity, but it is also present in cis women. It is necessary for liver function, bone development, and many other processes in the body.
Nevertheless, Most people just assume that “testosterone is for boys and estrogen is for girls.”. The truth is that testosterone is not the only factor that is important for a person's athletic performance.. There are other physiological factors such as VO2 max, heart size and many other things. But there are also factors that have nothing to do with physiology., like nutrition, training and equipment.
In short, Women with high testosterone levels are more common than you think, and so are men with low testosterone. Both groups excel in their sports. Recognize that, It would be admitting how complicated it is to regulate, define or determine sex.
Define sex through its chromosomal elements, gonadales, hormonal is a position rooted in the traditional nature/culture formula; involves placing sex, on a pre-discursive plane, attribute an ontological character, immutable and unmodifiable, circumstance that is reinforced by categorizing gender as a “political condition, historically constructed social and cultural, that is to say, assign to it a cultural dimension.
The problem raised by the nature/culture pair lies in ignoring the normative nature by which all subjectivity is specified in advance., and the hierarchization that certain sexes and genders suppose in the sociopolitical framework.
Sex is not determined except on the basis of categories and categories are social constructions, therefore also purely political. Otherwise, what do we define or consider in a body to “classify” it as feminine or masculine?? What part of the body do we select for the purposes of dividing bodies into male and female?? Who decides this choice? But also, sex is not static, is not invariant over time.
Analyze the case of Imane Khelif, as well as in general the logics that have dominated the rules, divisions, and decisions in the field of professional sports allows us to infer that the classification of bodies into two sexes, as if biology could be cataloged, It's arbitrary, unfounded, and lacking scientific rigor.
To which is added that trying to square the bodies in it violates the right to health – or what is the same, It is done at the expense of the right to health – and many other fundamental human rights, among them the dignity, autonomy, freedom, physical and mental integrity, etc.
As Anne Fausto-Sterling says, “It doesn't matter what category we want to put people in., there is always great variability, both cultural and biological within those categories, Why not admit that things are more complicated.” That's the challenge.
