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Sex Verification testing of athletes
Go through the case studies of the swimmer and the sprinter. How would you categorize each of them in terms of whether they are “male” or “female”? Explain your answer.
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Sprinter: With the presence of female sex traits, I would possibly categorize the individual as female. However, the presence of SRY and a missing X chromosome could change my mind. If the individual is capable of giving birth, then I would say this person is sexually female. But, if they cannot, I would not say they are definitely male or female, do to the mix of traits found in mainly males and mainly females.
Swimmer: Every sign here except the missing Barr body would lead me to say this person is a female. Again, if this individual can give birth, then I would be more likely to say this person is female. Although, if this person cannot procreate due to their sex chromosome situation, then I believe we cannot say these people are completely male or completely female.
When comparing individuals who cannot procreate with the given set of genitalia they have, I would relate them to a giant cupcake. Cupcakes are made with the same ingredients as normal cakes. If I design a normal size cake like a cupcake, is it a really big cupcake? What if I make a really small cake, is that a cupcake? What if I wrap a big cake in paper, does that make it a cupcake or a cake? People can argue whether one thing is another, but there really isn’t a set of rules that defines what is a cake/ cupcake. The same thing with individuals with irregular sex chromosome patterns who can’t procreate. Unless we strictly define what is male and female, especially for cases like these, I believe there isn’t any way to determine true sex.
Possible exception: If an individual undergoes hormone therapy for male and female hormones separately, and their bodies react more positively towards one form than the other, then it is possible to identify the sex of that person as the respective therapy.
I like the cupcake analogy. I am not sure about the hormone therapy exception. For example people with CAIS (insensivity to androgens) will have varying responses to testosterone (from none to fairly weak). The ones that have no response to testosterone are likely to identify as female and may respond to estrogen more than testosterone. However, those with a weak response may identify as either male or female and their reactions to the hormones can be quite variable.
It is difficult to really make a definitive evaluation, sincet there was only two case studies based females. My question is why wasn’t there studies done on male subjects as well.
So to categorize according to whether being a maLe or female characteratics.In 1966 they had the swimmers and the sprinters paraded around naked in front of judges, this was not eactly genectically the right way to determine if the females were anatomical correct. It wasn’t 1968 through 2011 that came out with various blood tests to determine if someone is a potential female or male athlete. One is to qualify to complete if they had the Barr body is an inactive X chromosome can be clearly seen with a microscope as a dense, dark stain called Barr body..If they had Barr band athlete would be disqualified those with chromosome 46, xy or a 45, x. The ones who had no band and with chromosome 46, xx. Another test is called the SRY which is through the polymerase chain reaction (PRC) sample is analyzed by the gel electrophoresis. If there a presence of DNA band on the gel showing rhe SRY would disqualify a female from competing in sporting events. Finally the judges look at the amount of testosterone in the blood in the female athletes. The athletes must ha e least than 10 nmol of testosterone per liter of blood. If it’s higher than 10 nmol would be considered a male aaccording to their standings.
If a swimmer at the of age 17 has the correct anatomical female parts, has not have her menstrual cycle, which is called amenorrhea due to excessive exercise and possible stress. The blood work shows a abseng Barr body, and also absent SRY band on the SRYDNA an absent band on the gel electrophoresis. The testosterone was at 2 nmol. This individual would be conra female and so she would qualify for the sporting events.
Overall, the tests helped to show if person is genetic female and/or male. I do see that iit would be obsolete to have males tested except for anabolic steroids, which are not legal in any sporting events in either males or females.
One reason why most of the subjects are female is that it is much more common to have an XY “female” than an XX “male”.
Sprinter: I would consider this individual to be male for the sake of the events, but female in day to day life. They present with many biological signs of a male such as the absence of a Barr body, presence of the SRY gene (and lacking another active X), and abnormally high testosterone levels of that of a regular female. Although they have female primary and secondary reproductive characteristics, I think the biological characteristics outweigh them in this situation because it gives them an unfair advantage in physical activities. However, I would still consider them female outside of the activities as they present externally as a female and there is no need for change due to advantages.
Swimmer: I would consider this individual to be female during the event and throughout life. Although they are missing the Barr body, they present with many female physical and biological characteristics including primary sexual genitalia, absence of an SRY gene and low testosterone levels within range of a regular female. Although the absence of breasts could put them at a slight advantage in the pool with less drag, any swimmer could press down their breasts to a smaller size similar to the individual. There seems to be no extreme advantage for them to participate with other women.
I feel that a good indicator of sex is secondary sex characteristics and several other genetic factors. I don’t think there should be any one indicator as they may not always be accurate. Multiple indicators help to determine things better as there can be more evidence.
I would consider the sprinter male as there is high testosterone, no Barr body, and the SRY gene.
I consider the swimmer female as the only “female” indicator that they were missing was the Barr body.
Ambiguous sex characteristics can be complicated in deciding sex, but androgen and SRY genes should be able to direct the geneticists to find the biological sex easier. But if the individual is transgender, it may be easier to use testosterone levels rather than genetic markers. Again, I believe that there should be multiple tests done to determine sex for athletes because there are several different methods and standard that change with time. It would be awful to be considered a female athlete until they change the determination standard change a year later and you were no longer able to compete. It is also easier to explain reasoning if there is more than one test. Telling an XX female that they are considered male because of testosterone levels, makes it easier to challenge the decision. If one’s body produces a hormone naturally, they shouldn’t have to change their body’s chemistry to compete. Usually, taking hormone related drugs disqualifies athletes. More tests make for better test results that are not so easily challenged.
An important issue here is that definitions were based on what we knew at the time. We keep finding more information about the pathway for sex determination, giving more exceptions and making definitions more difficult.
I feel like this is a pretty complicated subject that does not have easy answers. I don’t know that any of the tests that have been used necessarily completely determine whether someone is male or female. This discussion starts to become even more complicated in the context of transgender athletes. I would personally classify both the sprinter and the swimmer as being female, even though they both appear to have a Y chromosome.
In the context of athletic performance, I don’t know that either athlete even has a significant advantage as a result of her genetic variation. The world of athletics is full of individuals with “unfair” advantages that predispose them for their sport. The sprinter does have higher than normal testosterone levels for a woman, although there are several medical conditions that result in high testosterone levels in females. to isolate one characteristic that is associated with men and use that to determine gender is short sighted. Should female basketball players be barred for being “too tall”? Should female weight lifters be barred for being “too muscular”?
Sprinter: I would consider this individual to be a female because they have female genitalia and female secondary sex characteristics. It doesn’t matter that this individual makes more testosterone than the average female, she was born as a female and is likely designated as such according to her birth certificate due to having female genitalia. Even if her increased levels of testosterone give her some form of an advantage against other female competitors, she should not be discriminated against because of it. This sprinter has increased athletic ability due to a natural genetic condition.
Swimmer: I would consider this individual to be a female based on the same reasons listed above. You cannot determine the sex of an individual based on levels of hormones. Everyone is different and there are multiple naturally occurring reasons why an individual would have hormone levels outside of the average range for their sex. People are threatened by those that are better than them. This has become so much of a problem that people will literally tell a female that she has to take drugs to reduce her hormone levels just so they can feel better about themselves when they lose to her. I understand that some form of testing needs to exist in order to ensure no one is using illegal injections, but there is no reason to make females prove they are female with testing. A valid birth certificate should more than suffice.
I feel that determining the sex of an individual is very complicated and involves many factors. I did not think that this was a controversial topic and that the most important indicators of sex were the biological primary and secondary characteristics of reproduction where if you have ovaries you were a female and if you have testes you were a male. I think this topic is getting more important and needs to be discussed with the new generation of identification differences beginning to transpire. I thought it was interesting navigating the case studies to see the time period and how they considered an individual female or male. In the first case study, the sprinter had fully formed breasts and female genitalia but had never had a period, an absent Barr body, has the SRY gene, but had a higher level of testosterone. I would consider this individual as male because of the combination of high testosterone and the SRY gene. In the second case study , the swimmer had fully formed female genitalia but no breasts and never had a period, an absent Barr body and SRY gene, with low testosterone. I would consider this individual as a female because with the combination of no Barr body and no SRY gene. This is because without a Barr body, both X chromosomes are active and with the absence of the SRY gene it could lead to the possibility that the Y chromosome does not exist. I don’t think one test weighs more than others, but at first glance I would have considered both of the individuals as female because of the fully developed sex characteristics. However, the combination of these tests changed my mind and should be used to determine the identity to minimize discrimination.
The sprinter is a female despite having the genotype of 46XY. In 1966 she would have been considered an eligible participant for athletics given her female physical appearance and secondary sex characteristics. Once sport teams decided to test for physiological/biological makeup of the athletes however, she was no longer considered a female in the eyes of the athletics departments. She was found to have no Barr body, have a functioning SRY gene, and high testosterone. She did not have a functioning androgen receptor though, resulting in testosterone not affecting her cells. This would have disqualified her from competition for decades, but some more recent regulations would allow her to compete because of her female reproductive anatomy, and rightfully so.
The swimmer is a female. Despite having the genotype of 46XY, the individual has a mutation in the SRY gene. Since the SRY gene is not normal, testes were not able to develop. This athlete would have passed all but the Barr body test.
Both of these athletes should be allowed to participate in their sports as female athletes.