Athletics and gender discrimination : the case of Caster Semenya
03.07.2020
Written by Loïc Debard
Translated by Bianca Wiles
Hyperandrogenism and sporting competitions
Hyperandrogenism is the body’s over-production of male hormones, including testosterone. The latter is also used as a performance enhancing product. This was notably the case in the 1970s and 1980s as Eastern European countries, particularly the German Democratic Republic, set up State-run doping programs[1].
In 2011, faced with growing controversy as to the presence of hyperandrogenous female athletes, including the South African 800m champion Caster Semenya, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) issued a decision blocking any athletes with testosterone levels above 10nmol/L of blood from competing in the female category.
This decision was subsequently suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2015 after the Indian athlete Dutee Chand, also hyperandrogenous, appealed. The CAS then gave the IAAF two years to provide scientific proof of hyperandrogenous athletes’ advantage.
Consequently, in 2017, the British Journal of Medecine commissioned by the IAAF effectively proved that hyperandrogenous women performed better in some disciplines (notably for the 800m race which lasts around two minutes, the difference in time was of… 1.78%)[2]. The IAAF then updated its rules in 2018, imposing a maximum testosterone level of 5nmol/L of blood to athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD).
From track to court
It is precisely the latter rule that Caster Semenya is challenging in front of the CAS. On May 1st 2019, the Court confirmed the athlete’s obligation to comply with the IAAF’s regulation. In its report, the CAS estimated that the rules imposed on DSD athletes were in fact “discriminatory” but also considered that “such discrimination is necessary, reasonable, and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletes in the Restricted Events[3] ». This ambivalent decision gave the South African athlete two options. She could either take, against her will, medication in order to lower her testosterone levels under the imposed IAAF levels; or, she could compete in races unregulated by the latter rule (races under 400m or over a mile)[4]. Caster Semenya now competes in 1 600m races.
From doping to investigating gender
Since her first appearance in the public eye in 2009, Caster Semenya was at the center of controversy. After winning her world title, Western press casted doubt as to Semenya’s sexual identity[5]. The violence of these headlines managed nonetheless to open a debate on gender issues in sport.
Such issues, however, are not recent. In fact the female gender has been questioned and has created controversy since women were first allowed to compete in the Olympics in 1928. In the 1960s, there were so many suspicions that, in 1967, femininity tests (which essentially imposed ‘verification’ of the presence of female genitalia) were authorised and later, in 1996, abandoned, as they were judged to be discriminatory. Despite such tests, the masculinity of female athletes through the 1970s continues create controversy, especially against the backdrop of doping. As a result, doubts still subsist as to the validity of world records held by Marita Koch (for the 400m, in 1985), Florence Griffith Joyner (for the100m and 200m, in 1988) or yet, Jarmila Kratochvilova (for the 800m, in 1983), although they are all still valid[6]. This is a point important to acknowledge considering that the IAAF was viewed as lenient and was accused of turning a blind eye to the doping of certain athletes.
According to the IAAF there are only two categories of athletes: male and female. In order to compete, one must prove they belong in either one or the other. This logic entails the binary division of athletes. However, the different types of femininity tests imposed on female competitors yielded not so binary results and much more complex answers[7].
In fact, the first test was a gynaecological control (checking the presence of outer female genitalia). After this test was considered degrading, it was replaced with the “Barr body” test (looking for the present of a second X chromosome). As doubt arose as to the reliability of this test, since it excluded people with atypical chromosomes such as XXX or X, the latter was replaced with a genetic PCR/SRY test, seeking to establish the presence of a Y chromosome, and which was considered a reliable indicator of sexual identity[8].
Caster Semenya, the IAAF’s ethical scapegoat ?
Despite her hyperandrogenism which she accepts, Caster Semenya was born, raised and identifies herself as a woman. International institutions have made it clear that if she wants to compete in the female category she must comply with the newly established criteria and therefore artificially lower her testosterone levels.
It may seem counterintuitive that the IAAF would try to ban the use of doping products while simultaneously asking a female athlete to take such products do minimise her natural abilities. In these circumstances, one may only ask why was this decision made?
Could the Federation have based its conclusions in fear of the public’s confusion between doping and hyperandrogeny and, in some way, in order to cover their previous failures?
Is Caster Semenya the victim of a new transparency policy that IAAF wishes to display? Following Lamine Diack’s criticised term as president of the Federation and its related scandals, his British successor Sebastian Coe (ex 800m athlete) aimed to improve athletics’ image, especially in terms of fairness and ethics. However, the obstinacy and violence of the new provisions taken against Caster Semenya strongly contrast with the leniency British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe was met with by the IAAF, as she was cleared of all doping charges despite questionable blood tests[9].
This line of thought can be extended to other sporting fields. Take the case of American, multiple Olympic medal-winner, Michael Phelps: he produces less lactic acid than other swimmers, allowing him to achieve exceptional performances. This natural advantage has never lead to the questioning of Phelps’s achievements. Therefore why should Semenya’s accomplishments be placed under more scrutiny?
She may be victim to power plays and influences taking place within the IAAF. This could be the case as the realm of high performance sports is a particularly powerful and widely used instrument of soft power. The geopolitical influence of Olympic games has been extensively proven. Athletics, notably, is the top sport during the Olympics. The 100m male final is one of the most watched sporting events worldwide. The IAAF has been able to demonstrate its modernity for a long time now. Also, to the contrary to other large sporting federations all headed by occidental presidents, the IAAF had Lamine Diack, a Senegalese president, at its head until 2015.
The federation gave more international exposure to countries that had been in the background of simply absent (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Jamaica are examples of this). Nonetheless, Diack’s term was also marked with numerous corruption scandals and doping cover-ups (particularly by Russian athletes). The Federation’s new president, Sebastian Coe, introduced himself as the one that was going to remedy the situation. He must however take into account the importance that had been given to some regional federations under Diack’s presiden
cy, notably the East African one (Kenya and Ethiopia). It is therefore under the guise of better equality, that an athlete belonging to an internationally less influential federations was singled out in order to uphold the IAAF’s newly alleged values without affecting the fragile geopolitical equilibrium.
Overall, Caster Semenya’s case raises questions surrounding the domination held by those running the sporting federations, mainly men, over women’s bodies. Equally, we must question the men’s over-representation within international sporting federations. It is also likely that the IAAF will have to, in a foreseeable future, reposition itself and decide whether to makes space of transgender and intersex people.
References
[1] Spitzer Giselher, Treutlein Gerhard, Pigeassou Charles, « Approche historique du dopage en République démocratique allemande : description et analyse d’un système de contraintes étatiques », Staps, 2005/4 (no 70), p. 49-58. DOI : 10.3917/sta.070.0049. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-staps-2005-4-page-49.htm
[2] AFP, « L’hyperandrogénie : la question qui dérange l’Athlétisme », 17/02/2019 , AFP , Available at : https://www.lepoint.fr/sport/l-hyperandrogenie-la-question-qui-derange-l-athletisme-17-02-2019-2294035_26.php
[3] CAS, « Cas arbitration : Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) : Decision », 01/05/2019, Available at : www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Release_Semenya_ASA_IAAF_decision.pdf
[4] The IAAF only considers these races to create an advantage for hyperandrogenous athletes.
[5] For example, l’Équipe on the 20/08/2009 published : « Le cas Semenya : la nouvelle championne du monde est-elle une femme ? »
[6] Related to this : Marie-Josée Perec considered herself as the true world record holder ; See also, Florence Griffith Joyner’s suspicious physical transformation between 1984 and 1988.
[7] This also speaks volumes on gender-based inequality of treatment : there is no Masculinity test
[8] B.Dingeon, A. Lacoste, « Le contrôle de genre (féminité) des sportives de haut niveau: point de repères et méthodologie officielle (pcr/sry) », Avril-Juin 1997, Science and Sport vol 12, issue 2, P115-122, Available at : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0765159797806922?via%3Dihub
[9] Ouest France, « Dopage. Athlétisme. L’IAAF disculpe la marathonienne Paula Radcliffe », 27/11/2015, Ouestt France, Available at : https://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/dopage/dopage-athletisme-liaaf-disculpe-la-marathonienne-paula-radcliffe-3872606
To quote this article : Loïc Debard, « Athletics and gender discrimination : the case of Caster Semenya», 03.07.2020, Gender in Geopolitics Institute.