This topic has been a source of ongoing concern, particularly as the sports arena has increasingly become a battleground for the reintroduction and perpetuation of regressive, conservative notions of sex and gender. I would like to contribute two critical points to this discourse:
- The troubling history of sex “verification,” more accurately termed “gender testing” due to its disregard for the actual science of sex, has consistently been rooted in racism. The constructs of sex and gender binaries are inherently and explicitly racist, necessitating the racialized policing of bodies to enforce these categories.
- Discussions on this topic often neglect to address the absence of male athletes in the enforcement of these arbitrary sex standards. This omission raises important questions that must be explored.
From a scientific perspective, testosterone is not exclusively a “male hormone.” All humans require testosterone to survive, although the levels vary significantly across the spectrum of sex. If we are to argue that testosterone confers an unfair advantage, we must also critically examine the advantages that individuals identified as men may receive in this context.
It is also crucial to recognize that Imane’s gender identity may expose her to severe risks, particularly in cultural contexts where transgenderism can be life-threatening.
