Upon reading the Jessica Findlay article about Caster Semenya and becoming more informed about how testosterone levels play a role in the development of female athletes, I have come to the conclusion that there should be no reason not to let a woman participate in sport solely because of a genetical difference that is unavoidable. Unlike the more common cases of athletes taking HGH and other forms of illegal supplements to improve recovery time and mass, women such as Semenya were dealt this excess of testosterone, also referred to as hyperandrogenism.
In cases such as Semenya, what is an Olympic committee or other ruling bodies really to do? Like we discussed in class, there is no heat held for the intersexed or those dealing with these elevated levels of testosterone, it is simply men and women. In no way would it be fair to rule out athletes such as Semenya, so long as they have indeed been proven female genetically, from competing. Semenya is a woman, and in no way would it be fair to rule that she could not compete solely because of a genetic disorder that she has no control over.
I do believe, however, that even though it is not unfair for these athletes to compete, efforts should be made to make the playing field as level as possible. Instances such as Semenya’s bring about the theory of hormone therapy, which I feel should be necessary to try to regulate the hormones and testosterone levels in the female athletes dealing with hyperandrogenism. Although it is not their fault that the levels are genetically higher than most women, other athletes should not have to suffer or feel as though they are at a disadvantage simply because they do not have this genetic disorder. If hormone therapy was not prescribed to athletes such as Semenya, we may see “normal” women look to bend the rules in ways to increase their own testosterone levels and later claim that they, too, suffer from a genetic disorder.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you. I agree that there has to be some form of regulating the testosterone levels. I do not feel as though anyone should be put through surgery over it, but if it can be taken care of in a non harmful manner than I feel that is the best situation. I do not feel as though extreme measures need to be taken over these disorders in sport. At some point professional sports careers are over and people move on to different things. Everyone should be able to have good experiences in sport, and making women go through surgery or any other traumatic experience because of the way they were born is not right.
ReplyDeleteSunny Marchand
If a female has higher levels of testosterone based on genetics and does not fail any drug tests, then there should be no problem. Yes they may have an advantage but I wouldn't deem it as unfair. There are a lot of males who may have more testosterone or are more muscular than other men. But no one questions them for having an unfair advantage. One athlete that comes to mind who had a big advantage over everyone else was Yao Ming. He was the tallest player in basketball but his height was not unfair. Players often took it as a challenge to try to shoot or dunk over him. It brought out more competition and no one had a problem with Yao playing. There will always be someone out there who is bigger, stronger, or faster than you are. Athletes need to take it as a challenge to try to beat the other person with the advantage and not waste their time complaining about it.
ReplyDelete