Caster Semenya: The Case Against the IAAF

The CAS rejected Caster Semenya’s appeal against a new IAAF regulation requiring competitors in the 400 and 800 meters disciplines to take medication to regulate their testosterone levels if they are classified as having hyperandrogenism. The ruling found that the regulation was reasonable and fair to protect the integrity of competition. When news of CAS’ ruling originally broke I instantly disagreed with it, considering it to not properly understand the nature of discrimination. My view was that if a person was legally recognised as a woman then no professional organisation had a right to limit their right to participate in any activities as a woman. However, I then read some material about the biological and physiological nature of the XY condition and felt I needed to give the matter more thought. I needed to explore whether the condition was a natural physical one or actually altered their gender at a more subliminal level.

CAS’ decision to include testosterone levels as a criterion in the definition of a woman feels fundamentally flawed. Testosterone is a naturally occurring hormone in human beings whose levels the individual cannot naturally alter. Therefore it isn’t within the individual’s purview to choose what level occurs in them. This would make it naturally occurring and reasonably permissible, as long as there has been no manual ingestion or physical manipulation. The definition fails to make a distinction between what is normal and what is natural. While the condition that has resulted in the higher levels of testosterone is not the norm amongst women it is perfectly naturally occurring in the women with the condition. They therefore should not be penalised or stigmatised because of it. To not  allow them to participate professionally would be unfair and directly discriminatory. Being exceptional is not an unusual thing in sports. Be it height, coordination, reflexes, speed, physicality; the history of sport is defined by individuals with exceptional characteristics.

The CAS ruling stipulated that any discrimination involved in the IAAF decision was reasonable and necessary to ensure the integrity of the sport. That doesn’t actually compute. The standard for performance in athletics is on a continuum between qualifying cut off and world record. The participation of these athletes has not prevented anyone from qualifying for an event. To the best of my knowledge none of the women with the targeted condition has broken a world record or actually been close to doing so. It would therefore stand to reason that if he world record was set by women with ‘normal’ levels of testosterone then they would not have been disadvantaged by the participation of the athletes currently being targeted. So it would appear that these athletes are being penalised because the rest of the current field are not able to perform to a higher level. This in effect saying that because the current crop aren’t good enough to beat these athletes then it can’t be fair.

It appears from the actions taken by the IAAF that it considers testosterone levels to be the single or overwhelming factor responsible for the performance of the female athletes with the condition. It isn’t clear what evidence it has to that effect. Certainly, there are other women with that condition who are not excelling over those distances in athletics. In fact, for all we know there might be women out whose athleticism is hindered by the condition. The IAAF decision suggests any woman with the condition would automatically have an unfair advantage over those distances. We do not know that is true to any degree. The women who are doing well have trained, applied themselves and developed skills to enable them to excel. That presumably doesn’t just come with higher testosterone levels.

Doriane Coleman wrote an article declaring the CAS ruling a victory for female athletes. Her position was that these women were to all intents and purposes male and their participation would deny ‘females’ the chance to win in competition. Her implication that these athletes are unbeatable is clearly erroneous. They have been beaten and would be beaten anyone running close to a world record. And the suggestion that if other athletes are not winning then it devalues the competition is just nonsense. When Ed Moses was on his winning streak he was lauded for it. And I thought the spirit of sport was in the dignity of competing and giving it your all. It shouldn’t be just about winning.

The IAAF requiring athletes to take medication to lower their testosterone levels is not only unfair but also unreasonable. Does it know what impact this might have on their personal and sporting lives? Denying them the opportunity to participate professionally unless they take medication is not too dissimilar to an employer refusing a woman a job unless she agrees to take contraception to avoid getting pregnant during the period of employment.

The IAAF has a duty of care to all athletes and is responsible for the regulation of the sport. However, it should not risk the health and wellbeing of a minority group of athletes to appease the sensitivities of a larger majority. There is no way that these athletes are destroying the integrity of the sport and they should not be subject to unverified medical procedures to satisfy some people’s notion of normality. In so much as this ruling appears to target a select group and seeks to prevent them from participation then it is unfair and discriminatory. Sport should never be about curtailing natural ability.