Some women athletes must now medically lower their testosterone levels to compete

somethinglikesanity:

yolowoho:

yolowoho:

Rules will force some women to undergo hormone therapy that could adversely affect their health; will disproportionately affect women from developing nations who do not conform to Western standards of femininity; and will ultimately lead to some elite women quitting the sport.

So here’s newest in transphobia, misogynoir, & just overall awfulness in sports.

This is directed at Caster Semenya. She is a cis black woman, (who has naturally highish levels of testosterone) and she is an incredible athlete. This is misogynoir and transphobia all wrapped up in one shitty package backed up by shitty science and nowhere near enough data. It is a moral and ethical failure by the IOC, and it cannot go uncontested.

Further reading: 

• How Cultural Perceptions About Testosterone Rig Sports Against Trans Athletes 
• The Opposite of Fair Play: A three-part series that explores the history of gender testing in sports and how it affects the modern sporting climate
• Waiting Doesn’t Work: Transphobia in Sports 

Let’s not forget that Caster Semenya is intersex and how these rules target intersex athletes who already face a lot of push back in competitive sports.

Some women athletes must now medically lower their testosterone levels to compete