Tag Archive for 'gender testing'

Ms. blog Magazine – Curious Tension: Feminism and the Sporting Woman

By Susan J. Bandy
May 2nd, 2012

As a former athlete and a graduate student in sports studies, I embraced feminism in the 1970s. It seemed to be a natural alliance because I had experienced sports as personally liberating and felt that it offered females the possibility to become accomplished athletes, develop strong and healthy bodies and defy societal views of females as physically and psychologically unsuited for sport.

Simone de Beauvoir’s view of sport and physical activity in The Second Sex, which many consider the starting point of second-wave feminism, clarified what I felt. In 1949, she claimed that if a female could “swim, climb mountain peaks, pilot an airplane, battle against the elements, take risks, go out for adventure … she will not feel before the world … timidity.”

De Beauvoir shared similar views with earlier American feminists of the 19th century, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who understood the importance of educating and liberating the body as pivotal to some of the most basic concerns of early feminism.

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Published may 2nd, 2012

CFRB 1010 – Canada’s Talk Radio – Jim Richard’s Showgram

Ladies Professional Golf Association LPGA – Gender Controversy

October 14, 2010

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Ladies Professional Golf Association LPGA – Gender  Controversy
Kristen discusses with Jim in studio.

Relevant to ongoing discussions High Performance and International/Olympic Sport today.

LISTEN to Full Interview - “Click Here”

Republished April 27th, 2012
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The dark history of sex testing in international sport/

Dr. Ian Ritichies – Podcast Vancouver

Sex testing in international sporting events. What exactly is it? Where did it come from? The International Olympic Committee claims it was created out of a desire for “fair play.” The grim reality is that the testing is deeply rooted in sexist and imperialist attitudes. Dr. Ian Ritchie of Brock University helps the F Word expose the dark history of the testing.  Followed by a discussion between F Word host Ellie and Ashley McGhee, elite-level soccer player, feminist and critical thinker.

LISTEN to full interview with Dr. Ritchie – “Click Here”

Published April 24th, 2012

How a female athlete’s body became a battleground for gender assumptions (again).

April 23, 2012 | Posted by Ellie Gordon-Moershel

For those of you who follow women’s basketball you will have already heard of Brittney Griner. Though only 21 she has been making waves the past few years most recently having received Associate Press’ Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Like many elite level athletes Griner possesses some unusual physical traits (think swimmer Micheal Phelps with his wingspan as long as 26 monarch butterflies lined up in a row…or more simply, 6’7”). Standing 6’8″ tall, Griner wears a men’s US size 17 shoes.

The use of the word “unusual” over “unnatural” is an important distinction and kind of the crux of what this blog post will be about. I recently read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. It’s a young adult historical fiction novel about a upper class white girl who finds herself as the only female passenger on a voyage across the Atlantic in the 1800s. As she transitions into a competent member of the crew the antagonist Captain Jaggery attempts to squander any solidarity she builds with the other crew members. In a particularly memorable scene Jaggery accuses Charlotte of a crime using an argument about her “unnaturalness”:

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Published April 23rd, 2012

Questioning Griner’s gender? Please, just shut up and go away

By Ray Ratto | CBSSports.com National Columnist

I think we may be looking at this Brittney Griner thing all wrong. Not the playing thing — that we got all right. She’s a hell of a player, maybe unlike any other player in the history of women’s basketball.

But the insulting, offensive and retrograde remarks about her gender — I think we may be going about her defense all wrong by using persuasion and gentle chiding. We may want to simplify our argument to its essentials, to wit:

If you think Brittney Griner is something other than what she purports to be — that is, a woman — then you are an idiot and a coward.

There. That wasn’t so hard to read, was it?

But here I am taking her word on faith, and there’s always the possibility of being wrong, so let’s adjust our earlier assessment of her critics thus:

Unless you are a licensed gynecologist with access to her medical records or have examined her yourself, you don’t get to express a stupid opinion about her, because you know nothing. So shut the hell up.

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Published April 4, 2012

Chasing the world’s fastest man/Chasing world’s fastest women are “Gender Tested

The Chronicle “Chasing the world’s fastest man” written by journalist Steve Connor writes today:

“HE IS the fastest man on two legs, the greatest sprinter of all time – and Usain Bolt can also claim another superlative. He alone has caused the other top athletes in the world to run faster.

Scientists are calling it the “Usain Bolt Effect” because he has significantly improved the average performance of the world’s top sprinters, who are now suddenly running about 1 per cent faster than they did prior to Bolt’s explosive appearance in 2008 – a significant margin at this distance.”

But when a woman does it, we don’t rejoice in her athleticism and call her the “worlds fastest woman on two legs” or “explosive” as Connor’s writes about Bolt- we instead, have policy specifically designed by the International Olympic Committee [IOC] in development partnership with the International Association of Athletics Federation [IAAF], to oppress women’s athletic performances, and going as far as history has shown over and over again, not based on science, but a social ideology, putting women in a box, their place in society literally dis-empowering and humiliating them. Going even as far to create policy to physically gain access and violate their bodies and feeling one they can do this, but in-fact have a right to do it, questioning their performances as being “unwomanly”. Men are rejoiced and brought to a hirer status amongst their peers within sport and fellow countrymen, endorsements, media and business opportunities fall literally out the sky overnight. But when a woman does as history has shown are and women are punished when performing well. As history has shown, physically and publicly violated, humiliated, isolated, left in poverty and in some cases attempted suicide.

This is the direct impact of gender verification testing of women.

This is a direct problem of policy created by the IOC, that is not reflective of society and of women, whom which the sport community  is to afraid to upset the apple cart, knowing what is going on, as everyone has their hands in the cookie jar.  If a person and or media takes the IOC to task, as has happened to several media outlets, the IOC’s lawyers send letters threatening access to future games for either the journalist of news outlet.  This  has happened on several occasions, afraid of the truth of the impact of gender verification of women getting into the public realm and the oppression and human rights violations it has created.

The athletes are not the problem, the IOC is!

Watching  journalists like Steve Connor has just written, calling it the “Usain Bolt Effect”, there are many women in many sports capable of the creating the same effect and even have done so on many occasions and growing, as greater opportunity for women in sport to participate.

Using Athletics as an example in par with Bolt, young Caster Semenya a brilliant and talented young woman was physically violated for being a talented female athlete.  The IOC and IAAF, with all their wisdom (NOT), in parallel to Bolt instead of celebrating her excellence as an athlete, as they do for Bolt the man, cast a cloud of judgement over her, because of her success.  Going as far, to question her very identity – As they found out, her gender was never in question, and in-fact the they had raped her for running fast, yes as a woman.  Suggesting, women cannot run this fast, where in-fact until Caster’s performance in Berlin, 13 athletes had run faster then her since 1983, over a 27 year period.  Important to note, were never gender tested.

Connor’s speaks of the effect Bolt has had on the men and their performance, stating; “…he has significantly improved the average performance of the world’s top sprinters, who are now suddenly running about 1 per cent faster than they did prior to Bolt’s explosive appearance in 2008″.

Caster has done the very same thing if not even higher level of improvement the women’s 800m event.  In Daegu, Korea this past September at the IAAF World Championships, won by Russian 800m specialists Mariya Savinova with a winning time of 1:55.87, who dominated the Diamond League all season long.  Young Caster placing second, almost a full second behind, with a time of 1:56.35, well behind Savinova.

Important to note, Savinova with the “Caster Semenya Effect” was 3/100′s of a second off of Caster’s time of Berlin 1:55.45. Savinova was not subjected to gender verification testing after her conclusive win in Daegu, as Caster was for her equal performance in Berlin two years prior.  The qualifications for the women’s 800m final was set 1:59:00, where just two years prior the majority of the women could not break 2:00.00.

Caster’s effect, far out ways Bolt’s, but yet as history has shown and noted by Canadian Olympian Dr. Bruce Kidd in a recent article in Canadian Running magazine this wanting to ban gender verification testing of women, led by Canada before the London games in July, Kidd states;

“But Kidd said women’s success in sports is too often seen as unnatural and a threat to male dominance.

“When women get really, really good, their femaleness has tended to be challenged: they’re not really women, they’re dykes, they’re men pretending to be women. Something’s gotta be wrong because real women can’t be that good,” he said.

Instead, Kidd suggests sport stop separating women and men as two separate groups. He said “we need to think of humans as a spectrum of variation.”

Clearly working with experts in Canada and around the world, this is a social conditioning, and are waking up to the effect, we are not allowing women to be women, and or be strong bodied.  And that, the IOC through regressive and oppressive gender policy targeting women, unsupported by facts and or science, are illegally designing and using policy to oppress women and women’s gender.  Moreover, creating a two tier system for women and men sport, creating barriers that are socially driven NOT scientifically supported, creating barriers to not allow women to perform at their very best as top high performances athletes, and if you fall outside of the IOC’s “woman criteria”, solely based on the woman’s appearance, “we are going to get you…”.

We have no criteria for men (we don’t test for men’s high excessive serum testosterone levels – its a free ride…), moreover we do not gender test men and discuss (competitive performance advantage amongst men, that Bolt, Phelps and other distinctly have. As Connor’s article suggest, we in-fact celebrate it and relish in the fact, that such a fine specimen exists. In-fact we have a system in many sports searching for that next genetic anomaly to supersede in their sport), though it is men creating the criteria for women and how women should be and appear in sport. Gender verification testing and the IOC gender policies are clear violations of “Human Rights and of Women and Women’s Bodies”.

As a social science exercise, as the evidence and experts are showing, this is not an issue of athleticism, but a social one and determining in the “vision of men” how women should and will be perceived and acceptable visually in sport. Thus as science is showing and the evolution of women in sport and having greater opportunity, more and more women, are rapidly closing the gap between the sexes.  It is not so much physiology, as it about access and opportunity to participate and develop.

The IOC historically has royally screwed this up, as indicated by experts because of their complete and verified by experts, “incompetence” has led to the most catastrophic circumstances on female athletes over the last five decades, until now with very little accountability.  Georg Facius (Denmark) of the EAA spoke directly to the media and  international sport leaders, at the Playthegame conference in Cologne Germany, asking for the immediate resignation of Professor Anre Ljungqvist, IOC Medical Chair while reflecting as Georg stated to Ljungqvist “for 50 years of his incompetence”.  Further stating; “the medical blunder of the 20th century”.  Ljungqvist the father of gender testing with Dr. Myron Genel, Pediatrics at Yale University.

The incompetence is at the very top of the sports system, unfortunately women are the ones paying a dear price for it!

Let’s rejoice in the “Caster Semenya Effect” and women’s bodies and athleticism as we do men! Truly Awesome! Bolt, though a great athlete, Caster impact in the women’s 800m, far more impressive then the mens 100m by far, and she had to break through so many barriers to do it! That is a woman with great courage and internal strength, someone who is super human –  Something Usain Bolt never had to think about to do it and or experience being assumed Atypical male, which of course he is not as he is so exceptional physiologically, and treated as such.

Published March 28th, 2012

Canadian Sports Ministry Turns “Blind Eye” to Gender VerificationTesting at Vancouver Winter Olympics, violating Canada’s Charter of Rights and Human Rights Laws.

Canadian Sports Ministry Sport Canada, led by Director General Martin Boileau, knowingly turned a “blind eye” to gender testing of female athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.  Boileau, made an educated the choice to “COW TOW” and “OLD BOYS NETWORK” of the International Olympic Committee [IOC] not to rock the boat with IOC executives, of which they attempted to hide from the public knowing the scrutiny and impact that historically gender verification and gender policies has had on so many women over the last fifty years created and designed by Professor Arne Ljungqvist, IOC Medical Commission Chair designed to as “Tools of Oppression” designed by men to oppress women.

Bolieau, was leading up to the Vancouver games, was notified by several leading Canadian sports leaders and experts including the Canadian Centre of Ethics in Sport [CCES] Canada’s anti-doping regulatory body and Canadian Olympic Committee [COC] that gender testing of women athletes would not take place in Vancouver, as it is a clear violation of Canada’s Human Rights Code, which ensures the safety and rights of all Canadians and those visiting Canada.  The CCES’s CEO Paul Melia took it one step further, writing a letter to the the IOC, specifically Arne Ljungqvist, saying we do not support gender verification of female athletes.

The CCES, was the doping control body for the games, as being the host country. Arne Ljungqvist, knowing Canada’s leadership role and stopping gender verification and gender polices, that are inaccurate, unethical and in the case of Ljungqvist, medical/policy fraud and brand abuse by Ljungqvist of which the facts and science and collaborated expertise indicates.  That in-fact, the IOC has been committing human rights violations towards women over the last 50 years. Of which this past October in Cologne Germany at the Play the Game Conference, Georg Facius of Denmark during his presentation with Ljungqvist present and Dr. Bruce Kidd of Canada as a third panelist said, “has only had catastrophic impact on female athletes”.

Facius asked Ljungqvist to step down from the IOC immediately, for the (50) years of incompetence and the gross impact this has had on women.  There very identities taken away from them. Moreover these  women that were virtually socially and physically raped because of his social and medical incompetence of the actual facts of around human physiology and gender.

Facius described it as; “The Major Medical Blunder of the 20^th Century”

Leading world experts in bio-science now clearly stating with the science in hand as the IOC never did develop their polices on gender, only hypothothetical. “The science does not match the policies”.  In-fact what the IOC is doing is and has been doing  in-fact unethical, a fraud and are using these policies to gain access solely to women, “claiming them as unwell and wanting to support women’s health”, of which they do not offer to me.  It is a legal tactic to construe the issues to ensure continued access, and lesson their liability.

The women are healthy young women as high performance athletes (race horses), only to be “claimed” falsely unwell when they meet Arne  Ljungqvist and through policy (keeping the public and sport ignorant) justifying  these grotesques actions and – “RAPING THEM”.

As history has shown sadly the last 50 years, own has only led to catastrophic outcomes for individual women, and sadly, the IOC violating their own policies.  So very sad!

Boileau prior to new very clearly all this was going on. Prior to this, several Canadian sport leaders including myself, had correspondence and conference all with him, including Sport Canada president Dan Smith.  This ongoing pressure leading up to the games and with media awareness Sport Canada turned a “blind eye”.  Moreover when Ljungqvist [IOC] was told by Canadian leaders, that gender verification testing would not take place in Canada during the games, Ljungqvist [IOC] ignored Canada’s request and violated and disrespected Canadian law.  Four Vancouver hospitals, when Ljungqvist [IOC] tried to secure a testing location told him, “to get lost and this is not happening in our hospital and or in Canada.” Ljungqvist [IOC] still did not get the message, and bombastically pursued a location, with a Catholic hospital using “religion” as a tool to eventually solidify a clinic location to setup testing.

This could not be more unethical, let alone corrupt on so many levels.

Matthew Fedorek Ph.D now Science Director of the US Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] a pathology graduate from the University of British Columbia [UBC], and once employee of the CCES, setup ran and broke down the gender testing during the Vancouver games. What make this worse, Fedorek has NO expertise on gender let alone association and or academic writing. How insane is this….?  Again, men doing this to women. Sic.

Fedorek, certainly well aware of Canada’s as  well the CCES engagement over the last 8 years and most recently to prevent and stop these horrific practices and misleading, unethical and now noted by leading experts fraudulent by the IOC, which has only had “catastrophic outcomes” as noted by Bruce Kidd in Cologne this past October.

What is very clear, Sport Canada led by Martin Boileau and Matthew Fedorek, engaged in unethical and illegal practices of gender verification which by all extents of medical practices and knowledge by top experts if medical fraud, moreover a series of “tools of oppression” that only physically, socially and violates women.

In the case of the Vancouver Olympics, as I was asked personally by the Canadian Olympic Committee to help educate games “Mission Staff” team on these issues, as seen as an athlete and expert. I graciously declined the COC’s invitation to do so citing, “I can’t tell people how to be human.”

On December 22nd, 2011. We had a conference call with Martin Boileau, Dan Smith, David McCrindle (Sport Canada – policy), Rosemary Pitfield [CCES], myself  and John Dalla-Costa, one of of Canada’s leading ethics specialists.  John said to Boileau during the call; “With all the data collected this past year, to suggest not knowing is no longer a viable answer!”

Bolieau, ignored warning and concerns from IOC Women’s Executive Anita de Frantz, of which she spoke to me and to Sport Canada in fall of 2007, of which leading up to to this time, Canadian sport leaders led by the CCES including the COC, engaged with the IOC to stop these horrific practices and policies towards women.  Which just prior to that led to the social and physical raping of India 800m Santhi Soundarajan which she tried to commit suicide.

The IOC announced prior to the 2000 Sumer Olympics in Sydney Australia, they had discontinued gender testing of women.  This is not so, and is in-fact false.  Historically since 2000 and now 1012, led to more then 8 women being impacted, and the most horrific outcomes.  Boileau knows this but still he let it happen in Canada in Vancouver and still today in domestic policy.

Even though, the CCES and Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine [CASM] have clearly stated publicly and in academic review, as being unethical, false and illegal in Canada.

Still Boileau let it happen and continues today.

John’s comment made very clear to Boileau, and Sport Canada senior staff Smith and McCrindle of which Boileau only backtracked and had no answer when asked the hard questions during the  45min. conversation, knowing where we were going with this. Thus Sport Canada under Boileau’s leadership, of which he has been clearly educated, of which in-fact I have given several presentations in Hull to Sport Canada personally,  Boileau chose  to “COW TOWED to the IOC”, throwing to the wind, all he new and the collaborated information from experts from all over the world in-fact, knowing that women have been getting VIOLATED and RAPED under Arne Ljungqvist.

It has been brought to my attention from the Canadian Olympic Committee as well Sport Canada, the IOC was upset at Canada’s engagement and supporting the women’s ski jumping issue, citing “they were embarrassed”.

We award bad behavior…

Just recently and to make a point, at the 5th World Women’s conference in Las Angeles, IOC President Jacques Rogge made the opening presentation to delegates attending the conference, starting off with a 10 minute video of (34) high performance athletes to get delegates engaged. Of the (34) athletes in the video, (4) were women.  We can only assume, Rogge didn’t get the memo, “Women’s Conference Jacques!”

The IOC as corrupt as they are, seeing themselves above the law, international law and in this case, violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Human Rights Laws.  Of which, Canada’s Sports Ministry turned a “blind eye” too, and intern did the very same thing to oblige the IOC when the rest of Canada’s experts, sport leaders and Vancouver hospitals said “NO”, and for very good reasons to say “NO”, to protect women from harmful and unlawful and fraudulent practices that have only RAPED, VIOLATED  AND HUMILIATED SO MANY WOMEN TO THEIR VERY CORE.

What makes this worse, a Canadian Ministry, Sport Canada made great attempts to hide  and oppress it from the public and media, knowing that these violations were being committed and the pressure out there to ensure this did not happen in Canada.  Sport Canada – the Canadian Government, chose to violate Canadian law to NOT upset the IOC and knowingly knowing making that distinct educated choice  - and that a women’s rights were being violated.

Young high performance women athletes around the world and women I compete with, see this as a direct threat to ALL women, and gender verification testing and gender policy put upon women, as “symbols” and “Tools of Oppression” designed by dated old men, who are well beyond their best before date, like Ljungqvist wanting to oppress female athletes which we do NOT do to men.  Women are forced socially to fit into a box, to which they cannot be women and be allowed to b strong bodied, let alone be the very best they can be as athletes.  Continuing to fight the stereotypes, and as the IOC has proven over and over again, if you fall outside of that A typical stereotype, we are “going to get you, humiliate and rape you to teach you a lesson.” – and because we have a policy [IOC] as noted by IOC Medical Commission President Patrick Schamasch, in a conference call September 18th 2006, with Canadian Sport leaders, from Sport Canada, the CCES and COC, when asked this – Schamasch abruptly responded when he admitted to not have done the science to support IOC gender policy and had been lying to the public and global sports system said, “I can do anything I want”.  Jaw dropping response, and leaving everyone dumb founded to hear coming out out the mouth of a leading IOC medical executive. STUNNING!

Suggesting by the IOC, very clearly “Not so much we feel we can, but we have a RIGHT to violate you.” MONSTERS!

But made very clear, if you have a “PENIS” you are good to go…. with NO boundaries and or barriers.

A Canadian Conservative Ministry (Sport Canada) has violated Canadian law. In-fact, when reviewed by lawyers, is of criminal consequences and succumbing to the “OLD BOYS CLUB” to serve personal interests, then to protect the rights of women under Canadian Law as stated under Human Rights Code of Canada.

Upon conclusion, with all the data and facts great effort was taken by Sport Canada, COC and VANOC, to oppress any knowledge of a gender verification testing centre in Vancouver, as fellow colleagues from several national sport, medical and academic institutions including the CCES over the last several years, have been key players to speaking out and challenging the IOC which has led to so many catastrophic outcomes towards women. Sport Canada, the COC specifically have been in these presetations, meetings and conference calls with the IOC, there is NO EXCUSE!

Many efforts have been clearly made by sport leaders, medical, academics, journalists from around the world as well (4) Vancouver hospitals denying the IOC access and clearly stating this is not going to happen here or in Canada. Great steps were made to ensure this did NOT happen, and they knowingly chose to ignore the warning and the human rights violations that the IOC was already under scrutiny with the IAAF leading up to the game , thus choosing to violate Canada’s Human Rights Code to “COW TOW” and self-serve to the International Olympic Committee, knowingly the violations the IOC was and has been up against, that has unethically, violated and oppressed so many women and that these polices and and practices had NO basis of actual science, and has only led to solely “catastrophic outcomes of female athletes”. Sport Canada, COC and VANOC were prepared to role the dice when so many warning signs had been given, knowingly going outside of Canadian law, to impress the IOC. Just Sic!

Published March 18th, 2012

Inside The Games (UK) Reports today on Facebook – Gender Testing/76′ Olympics in Montreal.

The only female competitor not to have to submit to a sex test at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal was Princess Anne, who was competing as a member of Britain’s equestrian team. As the daughter Queen Elizabeth II, such a test was seen as “inappropriate”.

Goto Statement on Facebook - “Click Here”

Published March 2nd, 2012

USA TODAY

IOC still drags its feet on female equality

By Christine Brennan
Published February 22nd, 2012

LOS ANGELES – The hundreds of women from around the world who gathered last week for the start of the International Olympic Committee‘s fifth Women and Sport Conference had just settled into their seats in the Nokia Theatre when an opening video flickered before them. It was an IOC highlight reel of Olympic performances, but something was wrong with it. It included footage of one great male athlete after another. There were almost no women in it.

Out of 34 athletes who appeared in that film, there were the recognizable images of just four women, and they went by so quickly that many conference attendees didn’t think there were any at all.

When you watch footage like that, as I did as a speaker at the conference, you have to give the IOC credit for honesty: It didn’t even try to fake its concern for the achievements of women in sport. Or perhaps it is simply cluelessness; the IOC doesn’t know, or perhaps doesn’t care, about how awful that opening video looked.

Goto Full Article: “Click Here”

Published February 2012

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Dr. Claire Sullivan – Nov. 2011 – Gender Verification and Gender Policies in Elite Sport : Eligibility and ”Fair Play”.
November 2011
Journal of Sport and Social Issues 2011 35: 400 originally published online 15
Claire F. Sullivan

Abstract
Sex-segregated sports require governing bodies to clearly and accurately place
athletes in two categories, one labeled “men” and the other labeled “women.”
Sports governing bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and
International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) used sex testing procedures
to attempt to verify the sex of athletes competing in women’s events. In 2004, the IOC introduced the Stockholm Consensus to regulate the inclusion of, primarily, male-to-female transsexual athletes, to compete at the Olympic Games. These governing bodies, and others, are dealing with society’s basic categorization of humans and thus are entangled in attempts to scientifically and medically define sex. This article will focus on the history and implications of gender-verification testing and gender policy on notions of “fair play” and athlete eligibility.

Download Complete Document – “Click Here”

Published February 12, 2012

THE “PROPER” GENDER OF ATHLETES – Presentation at “Play the Game” conference 2011

By GEORG FACIUS – DENMARK

Gender verification is a serious issue, actually a dead serious issue, and is has a long and sad history within sport.

But let me start by mentioning two very recent initiatives related to the gender issue in sport.

Earlier this year the “Court of Arbitration for Sport” has approved jurisdiction to take on a legal case against the International Olympic Committee, under the headline: “Human Rights and the Oppression of Women´s Gender in International Sport”. The outcome of this may very well bring about one of the biggest changes of all times in international sport.

A “Gender Pin Badge” has been designed for London 2012 and was unveiled on September 15th in the presence of London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton, and the minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson, and the deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio.

Mr. Deighton stated: “Our vision is as bold as it is simple – to use the power of the Games to inspire change, and one way of showing our support for a sporting environment built upon equality and inclusion”

Facius calls it, “The Major Medical Blunder of the 20^th Century” continuing to state, ” All along through most of these 50 years Arne Ljungquist has been the man with the overall and main responsibility for gender testing, firstly within IAAF and now within the IOC, and it is beyond me how he himself, with his history, can continue in charge of this, and as chairman of the IOC medical commission, and how on top of 50 years of failure, he can be allowed to do so, by the responsible bodies. I can only urge him to have the decency to step down.”

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Published – January 19th 2012

Play the Game 2011 – Gender Session – IOC Medical Chair deemed “Incompetent” after 50 years of the “failure” of gender testing and policy. Asked to step down immediately!

Monday October 3rd, 2011 organizers of Play the Game during a week long conference  titled; “Bring Change to the heart of Sport” with leading delegates and experts converging on Cologne Germany, at the University of Cologne to discuss issues impacting international and Olympic sport programming. From issues of anti-doping, sport gambling, organizational corruption and issues of gender and human rights.

On Wednesday, the session titled; “Little Difference, Huge Impact: The Gender Challenge to Sport” began the day. Led by a joint key note presentation from Prof. Arne Ljungqvist, International Olympic Committee [IOC] Chairman – father of gender testing and policy. Presenting in direct parallel with Ljungqvist was Danish Georg Facius, IAAF Technical Official and key official and expert of both the EAA’s Anti-doping and Competition Committees.

Upon conclusion of Facius ground breaking presentation which he states; “All along through most of these 50 years Arne Ljungquist has been the man with the overall and main responsibility for gender testing, firstly within IAAF and now within the IOC, and it is beyond me how he himself, with his history, can continue in charge of this, and as chairman of the IOC medical commission, and how on top of 50 years of failure, he can be allowed to do so, by the responsible bodies. I can only urge him to have the decency to step down.”

Georg Facius complete  presentation titled; “Trying to Verify The “Proper” Gender of Athletes”

Later that afternoon, Canadian Dr. Bruce Kidd, O.C., PhD. and Olympian in mens athletics presented in parallel to Georg Facius earlier keynote presentation with Ljungqvist, titled; “For gender self-declaration”. Kidd, speaks about “Misdiagnosis”, saying; “The Challenge is NOT “intersex” or atypically athletes. But a social problem resulting from reassertion of moral physiology, fear/demonization of difference and patriarchal control of sport.”
Going further to suggest that there is “so much variation among humans” from “body composition and biochemistry, household and community resources, especially access to bio-medical technology and sport sciences, cultural norms of which are all related to competitive performance.”

Kidd suggests, “The Olympic Movement “celebrates humanity” in all its diversity, why single out this area of difference?” And that, “Self-identify is fundamental to human rights and the ideal of self-expression that is the basis of Olympic sport.” Then asking the fundamental question, “How can the Olympic Movement, which encourages and affirms the right of self-expression through sport, deny the right of self-identity to some humans?”

Upon conclusion, Dr. Kidd profoundly states; “By elevating the results of performance to be the determining metric of the Olympic Movement, the new gender verification requirements further marginalize the educational and intercultural goals of Coubertin, ” the “chill of surveillance culture is heightened.”

Thus stating, as did Facius in his earlier presentation stated; “The IOC must abolish the targeted ‘gender investigation’ once and for all.” Going one step further giving recommendations as next steps, removing the IOC from making such decisions that effect all sport as it pertains to gender, and that; “Academics, policy makers and journalists contribute to this effort, especially the deconstruction of gender and the furtherance of inclusive language.” and move towards; “The Olympic Movement and the broad sport community re-invigorate their efforts to empower women, especially at the level of leadership.” and; “As much as possible, school and community sport be re-organized on the basis of athletic ability, rather than gender.”

Published October 2011

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(6) Key Supporting References -
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NYTimes – April 24th, 2011 – Redefining the Sexes in Unequal Terms

Author: Prof. Alice Dreger, clinical medical humanities and bioethics.

Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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Transgender Student-Athletes and Sex-Segregated Sport: Developing Policies of Inclusion for Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Athletics

Erin Buzuvis
Western New England College School of Law – July 20, 2010

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Volume 9 Issue 6 – June 2011 World Sports Law Report
Eligibility: The IAAF hyperandrogenism regulations and discrimination
Author: Shawn Crincoli – Associate Professor of Law

Touro College, New York, USA.
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Volume 9 Issue 4 – April 2011 World Sports Law Report
IAAF: hyperandrogenism rules are challenge proof
Author: Andy Brown [WSLR], UK.
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Lancet 2005; 366: S38 María José Martínez-Patiño
Personal Account A woman tried and tested

“As I was about to enter the January, 1986, national championships, I was
told to feign an injury and to withdraw from racing quietly, graciously, and
permanently. I refused. When I crossed the line first in the 60m hurdles, my
story was leaked to the press. I was expelled from our athletes’ residence, my
sports scholarship was revoked, and my running times were erased from my
country’s athletics records. I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I lost friends, my
fiancé, hope, and energy. But I knew that I was a woman, and that my genetic
difference gave me no unfair physical advantage. I could hardly pretend to be
a man; I have breasts and a vagina. I never cheated. I fought my
disqualification.”

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An approach to the biological, historical and psychological repercussions of gender verification in top level competitions

Martínez-Patiño et al. / Gender verification in top level competitions JOURNAL OF HUMAN SPORT & EXERCISE – VOLUME 5 | ISSUE 3 | 2010 |

MARÍA JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ-PATIÑO1, COVADONGA MATEOS-PADORNO2, AURORA MARTÍNEZ-VIDAL3, ANA MARÍA SÁNCHEZ MOSQUERA1, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA SOIDÁN1, MARÍA DEL PINO DÍAZ PEREIRA3, CARLOS FRANCISCO TOURIÑO GONZÁLEZ1
1Faculty of Science Education and Sport, University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain.
2Department of Physical Education, University of Las Palmas, Campus Universitario de Tafira, Spain
3Special Didactics Department. Faculty of Science Education. University of Vigo. Orense, Spain

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Published September 2011

CIS in no rush to mirror NCAA transgender policy
Canadian athletic community meets NCAA policy with mixed responses

By Kevin Menz — The Sheaf (University of Saskatchewan)

SASKATOON (CUP) — The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently adopted a new policy for transgender athletes, but Canadian Interuniversity Sport and many other Canadian athletic associations are in no rush to do the same.

The NCAA’s policy states that any athlete who has testosterone in their system as the result of medical treatment cannot compete on a women’s team. If a male is transitioning or has transitioned to a female, the athlete can compete on a women’s team if they provide documentation showing that they have undergone testosterone suppression treatment for one full year.

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Published September 2011

Inside The Games – London 2012 unveil design for gender pin badge
Thursday, 15 September 2011
By Tom Degun at the Handball Arena in London

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September 15 – London 2012 have this evening revealed the design for the new gender pin badge here at the Handball Arena at the Olympic Park.

The unveiling ceremony was designed to coincide with the opening reception for the 2011 European Women and Sport conference, which will take place in the capital over the next three days.

Dignitaries in attendance included London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, while London 2012′s director of human resources Jean Tomlin unveiled the new gender pin badge.

This latest badge is the fourth to have been issued in celebration of London 2012′s six strands of diversity, engaging all communities to support London 2012.

The first of the six pin badges was launched last year in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

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Published September 2011