Becky Beaton

1
Gender Verification in Sport
XX??XY??
XXXY??XO/XY??

• Becky Beaton
• Melinda MacLean
• Paul Kovalske
• Crystal Kennedy
• Jen Hughes

2
Outline
Gender verification entering sport world
effected women
explanation on intersexuals
effected intersexuals
Explanation on "trans" terms
Transexuals enter the sport scene
Every sexuality is accepted
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History

• In the early days of the Modern Olympics,
  gender verification was not considered a pressing
  issue
• Males used to have to parade in the nude as a
  tradition, so there was no question of their
  gender
• However, when females began entering the sports
  world, gender issues came along with them

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Arising Suspicion...
Culturally constructed veiws of gender roles
1920's - Sex reasignment surgery
TOO
Look
Stella Walsh
Behave
Successfull
Mildred Ella Didrikson "Babe"
Helen Stephens
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• EVIDENCE

Was discovered to have male genitalia at autopsy
after she was killed in a shooting Was
discovered to have male genitalia after the
European Championships. The German Athletic
Federation then banned her from competing in
womens sports. Both underwent genital
surgery, and somehow one of them became a father.
1932- Stella Walsh
1938- Dora Retjen
1946 (shortly after) - Claire Bresolles and Lean
Caula
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History...

• 1948 Women Amateur Athletic Association
  required a doctors letter verifying their sex
  after a gynecological examination.
• 1966 the European Athletic Championships
  introduced the mandatory gender verification test
  on site
• 1968 IOC introduces the sex chromatin test at
  Mexico Olympic games

USED INVASIVE METHODS
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"The Sex Chromatin Test"

• AKA the Buccal Smear test taking samples from
  check to examine chromosome makeup
• These tests rely on fact that all cells of
  females contain two x chromosomes, where cells
  from the male have one x and one y
• Until 1991, each woman competing internationally
  needed a gender verification
• card which contained a
• photograph and statement that
• she had passed the
• chromosome sex test

Barr Bodies
XX
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PROBLEMS!!!

• The trouble with the Buccal smear test is that it
  does not detect certain hereditary disorders and
  genetic abnormalities.
• Caused many women with such disorders to be
  exposed as genetically male (had a Y chromosome).

INFURIATED!!!!
Gynecological exams and Buccal smear testing
Discriminating to Intersexuals
Awards
LIVES
Athlete
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An intersexual is a person (or individual of any
unisexual species) who is born with genitalia
and/or secondary sexual characteristics of
indeterminate sex, or which combine features of
both sexes
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In many cases individuals are neither XX (F) nor
XY (M)

• Possible Genetic Combos
• XO, XXY, XO/XY, XYY, XX male and XY Female.
• Klinefelter's syndrome The presence of one or
  two additional X chromosomes in a male (XXY or
  XXXY)
• Turner's syndrome Presence of only a single X
  chromosome (XO). It inhibits breast development,
  and also causes a range of medical problems.

Eva Klobukowska
Maria Jose Martinez Patino
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XY (Male) Intersexuality

• Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome
• develop either partially or fully as females,
  due to their bodies failing to respond to
  testosterone.
• Complete Androgen Insensitivity (CAIS)
• - Normal Female External Organs and breasts at
  puberty.
• - Will NOT develop a uterus or Fallopian Tubes.
• - NO Menstruation.
• Partial Androgen Insensitivity (PAIS)
• - Reduced sensitivity compared to male normal.
• - Individuals can develop male or female or a
  combination of both external anatomy.

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XY (Male) Intersexuality (Contd)

• 5-Alpha Reductase Deficiency
• Have Testes, Vagina, Labia and a small penis
  capable of ejaculation instead of a clitoris.
• Individuals normally raised as girls.
• At puberty, testes descend, voice deepens,
  limited facial hair
• At puberty, will often develop a male sexual
  identity.

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XX (Female) Intersexuality

• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
• - Female internal anatomy.
• - Male or ambiguous external anatomy
• - Will develop Male secondary sexual
  characteristics.
• Progestin-Induced Virilisation
• - Male hormones caused by use of drug Progestin.
• - Internal and External Female anatomy.
• - Will develop some Male secondary sexual
  characteristics.

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Dora Retjen
All Ineligible were Intersexuals!!!..... in
fact...
Results of Sex Verification Testing...
Only male individual in history to pass off as
female
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It is outrageous on so many levels, I hardly
know where to begin. First there is the tacit
sexism that implies no woman would ever try to
pass her self off as a man but a men would try to
pass themselves off as women, because the
competition would be so much easier. Second, its
very presence suggests that if a woman is a great
athlete, she may not really be a woman. Her
femininity is suspect. And last, there is the
incorrect scientific assumption that having a Y
chromosome is and off itself, gives a person
athletic advantage.
Alison Carlson -member of the IAAF work group
on gender verification
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New testing procedures

• 1992 the IOC decided to move on to more
  sophisticated tests
• These tests looked even more closely at the
  genetic makeup of the y chromosome
• This test still did not eliminate all the issues
  surrounding the accuracy of the gender
  verification process
• At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games, officials
  again reverted to the buccal smear test
• 1 in 400 females in Atlanta tested male but all
  were cleared after further physical examination

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• In late 1999, the IOC medical commission reviewed
  its medical code and agreed to change the
  requirement for gender verification tests from
  mandatory for all female athletes to random
• Resultantly, intersexuals were more accepted in
  sports, which enticed transsexuals to try and
  follow their lead

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Transexuals Entering the Sporting Scene

• The 1998 Amsterdam Games required competitors who
  had changed their birth gender to the opposite
  gender to provide proof
• The 2000 Sydney Games tried dividing
  competitions into 2 divisions male or
  female. Where everyone including transgender
  and intersex athletes had to choose a category to
  compete in, based on the passport or birth
  certificate gender

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Clearing up some gender related terms...

• a person who establishes a permanent identity
  with the opposite gender to their assigned sex.
• -Desire to make a transition from birth sex to
  that of opposite sex
• a person who derives pleasure, esp. sexual
  pleasure, from dressing in clothing and assuming
  behavior specifically associated with the
  opposite sex.
• Gender identifies primarily as the opposite sex,
  and in most cases cross-lives as the opposite sex
  on a full-time basis.  This person may alter
  physical appearance by the intake of hormones of
  the opposite sex, but has no intention of
  altering the genitalia. (Also known as non-op
  transsexual)

Transexual
Transvestite
Transgenderist
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Terms con'd...
Transgender
Transsexual
Personal Identity NOT Sexual Desire
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Transsexual golfer allowed to play in women's
British Open

• It has taken a considerable amount of time to
  finalize the gender policy document and we are
  convinced that we have a document that is fair to
  all- Andy Salmon, chief executive of the LGU

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Transexual Golfer

• Mianne Bagger, is a transsexual golfer who is
  playing this season on the Ladies European Tour
  and is expected to enter the womens British
  Open.

Identity Genetics
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• Bagger has become the first male-born golfer to
  play in a professional womens tournament.
• Bagger had a sex-change in 1995.
• Video Clip

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Renee Richards
Transexual Tennis Player

• Formerly known a Richard Rashind
• Had SRS in 1975
• Began playing in Womens Tennis Tournaments
• 1976- The U.S. Tennis Association denied her
  entry into the U.S. Open
• Took it to court

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Michelle Dumaresq
Transexual Mountain Biker

• Had a SRS in 1997
• Began racing in the womens circuit in 2001

• License was suspended later that year, but was
  reissued in April 2002
• Is it fair???
• Won the National Series in 2002 and
  2003. In 2003 she dominated by a
• 2.62 s lead.
• AUDIO CLIP

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May 18, 2004 IOC Announcement

• IOC approved consensus proposed by the IOC
  Medical Commission with regard to athletes who
  have changed their sex.
• Stated that if sex reassignment before puberty
• -Male to Female Girls or Women (Female)
• -Female to Male Boys or Men (Male)

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May 18, 2004 IOC Announcement (Contd)

• Stated that if sex reassignment after puberty
• May participate in reassigned sex category
  
• IF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE MET
• Surgical anatomical changes have been completed,
  including external genitalia changes and removal
  of gonads.
• Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been
  conferred by the appropriate official
  authorities.
• Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned
  sex has been administered for long enough to
  minimize any gender-related advantages in sport
  competitions, a period that must be at least 2
  years after removal of gonads.

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Transsexuals in Sport Today

• -Now the International Olympics Committee has
  approved a rule change that allows transsexuals
  to compete under their assigned sex, - first in
  the Summer Olympics held in Athens Greece.
• Only if they are legally their new gender and
  have undergone postoperative hormone therapy for
  at least two years . This covering both male
  to female and female to male cases
• Although men have higher levels of testosterone,
  greater muscle to- fat ratio and heart and lung
  capacity testosterone levels and muscle mass
  drop after hormone therapy and sex change
  surgery

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It is important that all society, including
sports organizations, recognize that gender
development is not always clear cut. The only
appropriate way to assign to one or the other sex
is to allow them to choose for themselves. It is
equally important that this minority not be
discriminated against. It is possible of course
(but not established) that the accompanying
hormonal imbalances in some of these
disorders might prove athletic advantage.
However, people are not equal in athletic prowess
in regard to height, weight, coordination, or any
other parameters, and it follows that this is
just another way in which athletes will not be
equal.
Jean Wilson
- cheif editor of the Harrison's Principle of
internal Medicine (1992)
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Discussion Time!!!

• Do you think it is fair to include
  intersexuals and transsexuals in athletic
  competition???

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Jaime Lee Curtis
Intersexuals????
QUESTIONS???