"The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes"
Title
"The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes"
Description
"The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes," written by Ruth Padawer, was published by the New York Times Magazine on June 28, 2016. Ruth Padawer is, notably, a cis woman. However, the article focuses largely on an interview with Dutee Chand, an Indian runner who challenged her ban from sports in court in 2014. Padawer's writing focuses on gender and social issues. As well as a degree in journalism, she has a BA in history from Tufts University and the University of Wisconsin.
The late 1800s and early twentieth century saw an increase in the number of women in sports, a traditionally male domain. The majority of men viewed female athletes as masculine and unattractive. Medical experts claimed exercise would be damaging to women's reproductive health and fragile mental state. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, argued that, because women were not athletic competitors by nature, proving that athletes were female was in their best interests. The Soviet Union joined the Olympics in 1952. Of the Soviet Union's 71 medals, 23 were won by women. In comparison, women accounted for only 8 of the US's 76 medals. Sex testing emerged in the 1960s out of rumors that the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries were dressing men as women to have them compete with an unfair advantage. In the mid-1940s, international sports administrators began requiring female competitors to bring "femininity certificates" to compete in international events. In 1966, the instigation of mandatory genital checks for all women competing at international games led to what became known as the "nude parade." A couple years later, the nude parade was replaced by the Buccal smear. A lab technician would scrape a few skin cells from the inside of a competitor's cheek, then stain the tissue sample and examine it under a high-powered microscope. They were searching for Barr bodies, cells that have mode than one X chromosome. Sex-testing was particularly harmful to the career of Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish runner who contributed to the Polish world record in the 4 X 100-meter relay in 1964. In 1967, Ewa was found to have XX/XXY chromosomes and was banned from competing. The Polish team's world record was discounted and the world record was given to the US. Had Ewa been tested one year later, in 1968, she would have been declared female by the Barr body test.
Intersex athletes like Ewa Klobukowska have been put through a lot of pain because of gender tests like the Barr Body test, chromosome tests and physical inspections. Sex-testing female athletes has roots in misogyny, and a fear of a world without gender roles. Both intersex athletes and trans athletes are excluded from competing as the gender they identify with because of these tests. The fear of men dressing as women appears in movies such as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Though sex testing was developed for sports, Republicans are now attempting to use it to deny trans people bathroom access. Furthermore, members of the LGBTQIA community too often remember intersex people only when making the argument that sex and gender are not binary. Acknowledging the pain caused to intersex people by sex testing is important to ending their exclusion.
The late 1800s and early twentieth century saw an increase in the number of women in sports, a traditionally male domain. The majority of men viewed female athletes as masculine and unattractive. Medical experts claimed exercise would be damaging to women's reproductive health and fragile mental state. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, argued that, because women were not athletic competitors by nature, proving that athletes were female was in their best interests. The Soviet Union joined the Olympics in 1952. Of the Soviet Union's 71 medals, 23 were won by women. In comparison, women accounted for only 8 of the US's 76 medals. Sex testing emerged in the 1960s out of rumors that the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries were dressing men as women to have them compete with an unfair advantage. In the mid-1940s, international sports administrators began requiring female competitors to bring "femininity certificates" to compete in international events. In 1966, the instigation of mandatory genital checks for all women competing at international games led to what became known as the "nude parade." A couple years later, the nude parade was replaced by the Buccal smear. A lab technician would scrape a few skin cells from the inside of a competitor's cheek, then stain the tissue sample and examine it under a high-powered microscope. They were searching for Barr bodies, cells that have mode than one X chromosome. Sex-testing was particularly harmful to the career of Ewa Klobukowska, a Polish runner who contributed to the Polish world record in the 4 X 100-meter relay in 1964. In 1967, Ewa was found to have XX/XXY chromosomes and was banned from competing. The Polish team's world record was discounted and the world record was given to the US. Had Ewa been tested one year later, in 1968, she would have been declared female by the Barr body test.
Intersex athletes like Ewa Klobukowska have been put through a lot of pain because of gender tests like the Barr Body test, chromosome tests and physical inspections. Sex-testing female athletes has roots in misogyny, and a fear of a world without gender roles. Both intersex athletes and trans athletes are excluded from competing as the gender they identify with because of these tests. The fear of men dressing as women appears in movies such as Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Though sex testing was developed for sports, Republicans are now attempting to use it to deny trans people bathroom access. Furthermore, members of the LGBTQIA community too often remember intersex people only when making the argument that sex and gender are not binary. Acknowledging the pain caused to intersex people by sex testing is important to ending their exclusion.
Creator
Padawer, Ruth (author)
Source
Date
June 28, 2016
Format
Text
Language
English
Type
Magazine article
Citation
Padawer, Ruth (author), “"The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes",” An Archive of Trans Culture, accessed October 28, 2026, https://transcultural.oberlincollegelibrary.org/items/show/12.