RacingtheCanteloupe wrote:
The Sports Gene has a great section on this.
There are multiple genetic pathways for females to end up with high testosterone levels. Most famous is the XXY, but there are other additional ways that are much more genetically subtle and difficult to test for. Ban those women too? This is such a mess. There is no question high testosterone levels give certain females an advantage over "regular" ones. But isn't that just another form of being a genetic outlier, like Kevin Durant's freakishly long arms and tall height or Asbel Kiprop's picture-perfect running physique?
There is a girl at the high school where I coach who is a perfect example. She DOMINATES basketball based on physique alone. She does things other girls simply cannot do. She can toss them around like rag dolls, and despite not being much of a lifter, has muscle definition you just usually don't see on women (and has since she was a kid). She is on the genetic version of testosterone therapy--it is plain to see for anyone with eyeballs.
Don't lose sight of the fact that testosterone levels are highly variable in males, too. There is high selection for high production of testosterone in any sport that requires strength or quick muscle recovery for training (so, all of them).
There is simply no question that a critical question for women who compete clean is: how much testosterone does your body produce? It's the ultimate performance enhancer. There is no way to make something so highly genetically variable fair.