‘Preserving la difference’: the elusiveness of sex-segregated sport

Abstract

Sport is founded upon a belief in dimorphic sex, dichotomous gender and segregated competition. To uphold these binaries, sport authorities repeatedly relied upon medico-scientific technologies to draw a line between men and women. However, all efforts to conclusively delineate sex failed. This paper details the IAAF’s and IOC’s use of anatomical examinations, chromatin assessments, DNA testing and hormonal analyses in their attempt to circumscribe womanhood. The history of these efforts illustrates the elusiveness of sex determination, as well an unwavering belief in its infallibility. All four approaches proved arbitrary, reaffirmed a false system of polarized sex/gender and discriminated against individuals who fell outside society’s two-sexed classification. By engaging gender, medical and sport scholarships, this paper shows how widespread social anxieties, medico-scientific ideologies and sporting norms coalesced, resulting in (unsuccessful) efforts to maintain separation. The history of sex/gender testing shows sex is indefinable, thereby suggesting sex segregation is impossible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Following a generally accepted feminist paradigm, this article uses ‘sex’ to indicate biology and physiology, and ‘gender’ to reflect socially constructed norms. Furthermore, many sport authorities regularly conflated sex and gender; therefore, ‘sex/gender’ is used to recognize the intertwined nature of the two ideologies.

2. Italian long jumper Maria Vittoria withdrew from competition due to the introduction of the exam. She cited religious beliefs as the reason.

3. Because the IAAF and IOC did not release the names of the women who ‘failed’ sex/gender testing, it is difficult to ascertain exactly how the individual athletes responded to the victimization. However, research into disorders of sex development (DSD) provides relatable insight. According to Karsten Schützmann et al. (2009), a person’s quality of life typically deteriorates after he/she is labeled as having a DSD. For these individuals, self-harming behaviors and suicidal tendencies occur at rates comparable to women with histories of physical or sexual abuse.