The Physiology of Gender Variance in Relation to Sports

Something unknown to many people in society, are the numerous natural biological variations in humans that come under the heading, or description, of 'gender variance' which encompasses a number of different conditions. As the sporting world became aware of the diversity of gender through various intersexed women competing in sporting events, it was actually thought that these women were in fact men who had disguised their identities to compete in women's sports. The fear of a man masquerading as a women to compete in women's sports is something that has been a concern for many years in sports, which led to 'sex testing' of athletes that came into question. These testing procedures comprised physical genital examinations and hormonal, genetic and chromosomal tests which were thought to conclusively define whether a person was male or female. The limitations of these tests are that they set very definite criteria for what is thought only to be consistent with females, and anything falling outside of that is deemed to be male. On the other hand, there is no distinction, or definition exactly, of what is 'male'. Gender verification methods have not been used to determine whether a person is male or female, but whether a person is female, or not.

After decades of carrying out regular gender testing, the IOC became very aware of the numerous biological variations that exist amongst people and realised that there was no test that could conclusively show whether a person was in fact male or female. They stopped doing gender testing at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. However, gender testing does still happen and as recently as December 2006, an error in interpretation of test results of an athlete competing in the Asian Games distroyed another athletes sporting career. She was stripped of her medal and barred from competing in sports because she was seen to have 'failed' the gender test. It was soon shown that she was in fact was born with a condition called 'Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome' (AIS).

Acceptable results were generally quite limited, or narrow, in their definitions (as this was an issue usually only applied to female athletes) and were really used to prove or disprove, a woman's 'femaleness'. As opposed to proving and athletes 'maleness'. If she didn't meet strict definitions of how a female was defined, she was seen to have failed a gender test and subsequently believed to be male.

For decades, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and other National Sporting Organisations (NSO's) conducted 'gender tests' for the purposes of determining the 'true' sex of an athlete that may have come into question. In recent times it is something that has been receiving greater focus because of the numerous occurrences when these test procedures resulted in incorrectly identifying some female athletes as male. As a result, these athletes were publicly stripped of their medals, banned from competing in future events, and publicly disgraced. The later retractment of such findings did little to undo the irreperable damage that had already been done.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the IOC stopped carrying out gender testing of individuals due to too many inconsistencies in the testing procedures, and too many occurrences of incorrect test restults. They realised that the gender of a person is not something that can merely be tested, or defined, through simple medical testing procedures and that there are numerous biological human variations that don't adhere to the existing definitions of gender. It highlighted the fact that a simple definition of what it means to be male or female, cannot be determined by any medical tests.

The main issue of concern when the issue of gender variant conditions come in sports, is that of a 'man' competing in women's sports and the obvious unfair advantage that would exist. As much as this is of course possible, the reality of such a scenario is extremely rare, and highly unlikely.

For me, being a sports woman, the issue of strength and perceived unfair advantage has been (and is) my biggest hurdle. Understandibly so I guess. I'll do my best to explain why this isn't the issue that it's thought to be.

The information I provide is based on my own experience, what I have read in recent times and what has been told to me by doctors experienced in treatment of post-menopausal women and gender variant conditions.

• The main reason for the difference in strength between men and women is that men have the 'male' hormone testosterone. Men have much higher levels than women and it's what enables them to build up much larger amounts of muscle mass and strength. Without testosterone, increasing muscle mass and strength becomes impossible (naturally).
• Through the usual course of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for transitioning women, basically, our level of estrogen (female hormone) is increased and our production of testosterone is reduced. These hormones are responsible for significant changes to our mental, emotional and physical state. Although the mental and emotional changes affect the way we approach daily tasks (and possibly sport), I will focus on the physical as this is the main issue of contention. Speaking from my own experience, when I started HRT my doctor told me that I would notice emotional changes as well as a loss in strength. This is something that didn't become evident until some time had past. What I'm saying is that it's not like we wake up one morning feeling suddenly weaker. The changes our bodies go through can be likened to that of going through puberty. As an example, for me it meant that, after time, I wasn't able to lift things I was once able to lift, and with my golf, it means that I don't hit the ball as far as I used to. It's hard to say exactly what the difference is as equipment has changed so much. Clubs have been improved and balls also fly further. My game needs only to be compared to that of the other girls to see there's no difference and more to the point, compare it with guys of the same standard .....there just is no comparison!
• After we have had surgery there is nothing left in our bodies producing testosterone and drugs required to halt it's production are no longer required. Typically our levels of testosterone are lower than the average levels for women and recent information indicates that we are basically left at a disadvantage compared to other competitors. After surgery, changes to our bodies with regard to strength are permanent and irreversible. The Australian Sports Commission has a page highlighting some of the issues involved with transitioned men and women in sport and some of the assumptions and misconceptions:
  Australian Sports Commission
• One of the most common suggestions I hear is "what's to stop any guy (maybe struggling to make it on the men's tour) having a 'sex change' and then playing on the women's tour". This suggestion is not only offensive, but really goes to show the lack of understanding that does exist. It's also why more women like myself are standing forward and telling our story. We can't really expect society to think any different if there isn't someone to stand forward and speak from experience, and tell it as it is. We are born with physical sexual characteristics that are incongruous with our brain sex. We don't go through a sex'change', but rather a sex 'correction' to bring our physical sex inline with our brain sex. We have a profound sense of who we are from an early age and this isn't something we 'decide' to do. In fact, I dare any man to go through a 'sex change' and I take no responsibility for the outcome. I don't think people really think about what's involved in getting treatment, and going through transition, and seem to suggest it's no different than going out and getting a haircut, or having a mole removed. Just think about it guys.... what you're suggesting involves years of counselling and hormone replacement therapy. During this time you have to live as a woman in your everyday life, for a period where you would most likely look quite adrogynous and attract strange looks, and occassional abuse from people in the street. You would need to go through this period for a minimum of 1 year (usually longer) with an associated cost of thousands of dollars (not to mention the pain) on such things as removal of facial hair and eventual surgery. Have a think about that for a sec ...SURGERY! This is a procedure to remove what men hold most dear to them! For some reason, people that suggest this would never consider having this done themselves just to play sport for a few years ....but somehow think that someone else will!? Then, after surgery, you live the rest of your life without it. Remember, you can't just decide to have it all undone when you find out it was the wrong thing to do, or when you don't want to 'play' anymore! This isn't a game and this isn't done for fun! On the physical side of things, because of the treatment, he will lose muscle mass and strength and his sporting abilities won't be what they once would have been. He would basically need to 're-train' the body to adjust for this change. The guys personal life would likely become a disaster, because he is exactly that ....a man! Besides the physical changes to his body, chances are he will become an emotional wreck. So much so I doubt he would even have the mental and emotional capacity, or ability, to function in society, let alone play a game of golf ...and a tournament one at that.