Article ID: CBB001250798

Genitals to Genes: The History and Biology of Gender Verification in the Olympics (2011)

unapi

From 1968 to 1998, female Olympic athletes were expected to prove their femininity, ostensibly to stop male ringers from passing themselves off as female competitors. Rumours that men were competing in drag had been around since at least the 1936 games. The sex tests started out as simple anatomical examinations---the nude parade, but rapidly progressed to cellular-based tests (the presence of a Barr body), and eventually to molecular-based tests (the absence of the SRY gene). Women went from being defined by genitalia to cellular characteristics, and finally, by genotype but ironically, as the tests become more sophisticated, both sensitivity and specificity suffered. This paper reviews the science underlying the sex tests, their history, and the controversy that accompanied them. Résumé. De 1968 à 1998, les femmes athlètes olympiques devaient prouver leur féminité , soi-disant pour arrêter leurs sosies masculins de se faire passer pour des concurrentes féminines. Les rumeurs selon lesquelles des hommes travestis compétitionnaient avec des femmes remontent aux Jeux de 1936. Les premiers examens sur l'identité sexuelle des athlètes étaient basés sur de simples observations anatomiques. Ils ont rapidement évolué pour ensuite reposer sur une analyse des cellules (la présence d'un corpuscule de Barr), puis sur des analyses moléculaires (l'absence du gène SRY). Les femmes ont donc été définies d'abord par leurs organes génitaux, puis par des caractéristiques cellulaires et enfin par un génotype . Cet article présente l'évolution de la science en ce qui a trait aux tests d'identité sexuelle ainsi qu'à toutes les controverses qu'ils engendrèrent.

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Authors & Contributors
Eder, Sandra
Reis, Elizabeth
Darina Volf
Masha Raskolnikov
Anna Kłosowska
Lu Zhouxiang
Concepts
Medicine and gender
Gender identity
Contests; competitions
Human genetics
Androgyny; hermaphroditism
Medicine
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
19th century
20th century
Ancient
18th century
Places
United States
Spain
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Americas
Argentina
Soviet Union
Institutions
Johns Hopkins University
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