wtfunny wrote:
Dutee Brand wrote:The difference is that women are a protected class and have their own event.
There are no separate events for hand-eye coordination or height or what have you. It's not like any other trait that could give you a natural advantage or disadvantage.
There are weight classes in some events and then you have to stick with your weight class and there has to be a line drawn. Same with male/female.
The alternative is no categories and a free for al but then we wouldn't see any women in sport any more.
I appreciate the post above ... fair comment. But I disagree with the conflation of women with a given testosterone level. The line drawn isn't simply nanomoles per liter. Or is it?
No, but it's one factor. In this case she has high testosterone AND testicles, no uterus, male bone structure, lung capacity etc. Is most likely XY and was simply assigned female at birth incorrectly due to the testicles being internal and no obvious external male genitalia.
The testosterone level was used as a marker to reduce to allow her (and similar women) to continue to compete as a compromise, now even that limit has gone.
Each situation is different and hers is different from the other 800m runners, Dutee Chand etc as the conditions are not all the same.
As I believe drawing a line is the only way to protect the integrity of women's sport, I don't think it should be testosterone levels alone but a combination of factors ie chromosomes, reproductive organs, hormone level etc.