IOC's new genetic testing policy for women's Olympic events risks excluding intersex athletes assigned female at birth
By
Ari Berkowitz
If you only eat one bagel today, this is the bagel.
Summary
The International Olympic Committee announced a new policy requiring genetic testing (specifically for the SRY gene on the Y chromosome) for all athletes in women's competitions, set to take effect ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The article argues that this policy oversimplifies biological sex, ignores the complexity of intersex conditions, and risks discriminating against intersex women who were assigned female at birth. It traces the IOC's long history of inconsistent and scientifically unsound sex-testing policies, noting that the new rule could exclude athletes who have lived their entire lives as women but happen to have certain genetic variations.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe IOC statement hides the complexity of biological sex and continues the organization's century of what the record shows is inconsistent and biologically unsound sport policy.
Every athlete must be tested for a gene called SRY, usually found on the Y chromosome.
This requirement will exclude 'biological males.'
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