In the context of this thesis the topic of the gender construction is taken up. Subject areas of the social and natural sciences try to find the causes of the gender-specific differences with the aid of various theories. At first, an analysis of the relationship
between society, gender and sport should make it clear how the social subsystem Sport was influenced and structured by everyday theory. Using the example of the controversial phenomenon of sex tests in sport, it should be shown that the gender
of a person cannot be measured using biological-medical criteria only. This thesis is contrary to the widespread opinion in medicine and biology that sex can be clearly determined based on five criteria. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the
procedure and basics of gender testing should be created by summarizing these criteria. In a second step, it is shown that it is possible by a social-scientific point of view to question hypotheses of a purely biological, pre-social nature of man. A basic insight is that the society in which we live is a result of our own actions.
At first glance, the question of a person’s gender acts as if the answer is obvious. Gender is one of the central structural principles of our society. The population consists of women and men, girls and boys. There is a social system of the two sexes
and sex seems to be given by nature. In everyday life it is associated with the idea of a recognizable and invariable distinction between woman and man. This is closely linked to the assumption of gender polarity. Thus, there are assumptions of different
characteristics and behaviors, as well as a natural gender hierarchy and performance.
Girls play with dolls, put on make-up, wear pink clothes and are especially tender and sensitive. Boys, however, are ambitious and self-reliant, playing with toy cars and crafts. But the fact that this societal system received such great social significance
for the two sexes is not based solely on the natural conditions. Rather, it is a social order that has developed in our society since the eighteenth century and has been proven by biology and medicine since the nineteenth century. An understanding
was developed by supposedly scientifically precise facts of the natural sexual characteristics of women and men.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.0 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Examines Caster Semenya’s case and the 2011 IOC and IAAF gender statutes
- Traces gender verification from the 1966 European Championships to later genetic testing
- 22 sources in the bibliography
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Relationship between society, gender and sport
3. Gender verification in sports
3.1 Socio-historical background
3.2 The genesis of the biological sex
3.3 The genesis of the social sex
3.4 Procedures in sports
4. The challenge of intersexuality
5. Summary
Objectives and Topics
This work examines the construction of gender through the history and practice of gender verification in elite sport. It asks how biological criteria and social processes shape gender classification, and whether a person’s sex can be determined solely through biological and medical tests.
- The relationship between society, gender and sport
- The historical development of gender verification
- Biological criteria and social theories of gender
- Testing procedures used in international sport
- Intersex athletes and eligibility rules
- The case of Caster Semenya
Excerpt from the Book
3.4 Procedures in sports
The IAAF and the IOC arranged gender tests for female athletes to prevent cases such as those of Dora Ratjen and to expose disguised women as men. For men, the risk of fraud did not seem to exist, and they were eventually credited with a general performance advantage over women. Meanwhile, all non-stereotypical-feminine women came under general suspicion. The first sex tests were carried out in 1966 at the European Championships in Hungary. By a visual examination of the external sexual characteristics, the femininity of the athletes should be confirmed. Criteria of femininity were the primary and secondary sexual characteristics vagina and breasts. All athletes had to be examined by the doctors naked, as it should be ensured that they have the same physical conditions. This procedure was perceived by the participants as humiliating. At the Commonwealth Games in Kingston in 1966, the examination included visual and gynecological control. This included a manual examination of the external genitalia by a gynecologist (Conradi & Wiesemann, 2009; Ferguson-Smith & Ferris, 1991). Later on, the IOC responded to the allegation of the humiliating nature of the visual and gynecological testing procedures. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a genetic test was first carried out: the sex chromatin test. This can be used to determine whether a person is chromosomally attributable to the female or male gender. In this control procedure, the athlete is removed only a cell sample from the cheek mucosa by a cheek swab and examined in a biotechnology laboratory using a microscope. The base of this method is the assumption that female individuals have two X chromosomes and one male X and one Y chromosome. A negative result did not end up in a disqualification, because this athlete was not automatically considered male yet. In such cases, the IOC provided further examinations such as blood tests, primarily focusing on hormones (Müller, 2006). With the advancing development of biotechnology and its methods, as well as the criticism of the sex chromatin test, a new test method for gender verification was introduced at the 1992 Winter Olympics in France: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to detect a specific gene section of the Y chromosome, the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome (SRY), thus proving the presence of the Y chromosome. Again, this method could not make accurate statements about the sexuality of a person (Müller, 2006).
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The work introduces gender construction through the public scrutiny of Caster Semenya and sets out its examination of biological and social approaches to gender.
2. Relationship between society, gender and sport: This chapter traces how assumptions about sex differences have influenced women’s access to sport and their participation in competition.
3. Gender verification in sports: The chapter discusses the history of sex testing, biological criteria, social constructions of gender and changes in verification procedures.
4. The challenge of intersexuality: The author considers the position of intersex athletes within binary competition categories and discusses eligibility rules and medical interventions.
5. Summary: The final chapter brings together the arguments about gender construction and sporting classification and considers directions for further research.
Keywords
gender construction, elite athletics, gender verification, sex testing, intersex athletes, biological sex, social gender, sex and gender, sports history, sports sociology, gender classification, Caster Semenya, testosterone regulations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It examines the construction and verification of gender in elite sport, with particular attention to women’s competitions and intersex athletes.
What are its central topics?
The main topics are the relationship between sport and society, biological and social approaches to gender, the history of sex testing and eligibility rules for athletes.
What is the main research question?
The work asks how gender is constructed and classified in sport and whether biological and medical criteria alone can determine a person’s sex.
What research method does the author use?
The author develops a literature-based discussion of historical, biological and social-scientific perspectives, drawing on published scholarship and accounts of sporting policies.
What does the main body cover?
It examines gender and sport, the historical background of verification, biological and social concepts of sex and gender, testing procedures and the challenges faced by intersex athletes.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include gender construction, gender verification, elite athletics, biological sex, social gender, intersex athletes and testosterone regulations.
Why is Caster Semenya’s case discussed?
Her experience introduces the public scrutiny of athletes’ gender and provides context for the discussion of subsequent international sporting regulations.
Which gender verification procedures are examined?
The work discusses visual and gynecological examinations, sex chromatin testing and polymerase chain reaction testing for the SRY region of the Y chromosome.
How does the work distinguish sex from gender?
It presents sex as a biological category and gender as a social and cultural category, then considers how social processes produce and reproduce gender distinctions.
- Quote paper
- Christoph Niemann (Author), 2019, Construction of Gender, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1168763
