1. Olympics and Sex Testing

5. Update to Sex Testing in Olympic Sport
A 2016 article in The Star reported that in , 4 female Eastern European elite athletes were tested and found to have high natural testosterone levels and some “atypical” features
Testing also showed they were genetically male (XY) but anatomically female. They were diagnosed with 5-alpha reductase deficiency
In order to compete “fairly”, doctors recommended surgeries to “feminize” their vaginas and estrogen replacement therapy
In , all 4 women had the procedures done in Nice, France in order to be able to compete

6. Caster Semenya
The article in the Star raises the question, “why is natural genetic variation policed in female athletes, but celebrated in men, like freakishly tall basketball players?”
Blanket sex testing was banned by the IOC in 1999, but is still done in individual “suspicious” cases
South African runner Caster Semenya was forced to undergo testing and public humiliation until finally cleared in 2010

7. Dutee Chand
After 2010, if IOC found “female hyperandrogenism” which puts testosterone in male range, athlete can be barred from sport unless have drugs and surgery
Indian track and field athlete Dutee Chand found hyperandrogenic and was also barred
In 2015 court ruled evidence for higher testosterone levels giving an advantage is weak or inconclusive
Chand has taken her case to court: discrimination toward intersexed and transgendered women

8. Is Sex Testing Discriminatory?
Currently no sex testing and the IOC rule is suspended until Chand’s court ruling sometime in 2018.
IOC says wants to “level the playing field for women” but what about for men?
What about males who have higher levels of testosterone, or who are taller (Usain Bolt) or double jointed (Michael Phelps)?
What is fair?