Review nº 7

Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date of publication: Wednesday July 30 2008


Review nº 7: Article ‘The gender trap’

Appearance will many times define a person, but the problem arises when gender and appearance do not match. Especially when you participate in single gender events like a sport competition and you have to submit yourself to testings in order to prove which is your sex. This topic is discussed in the article ‘The gender trap’ from The Guardian newspaper.
During this year, Beijing Olympics competitors whose sex is in doubt will be submited to examination. The sex of any athletes will be determined by a special laboratory which will undergo blood tests to examine their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes. The aim is to protect fairness at the games while also protecting the rights of people with abnormal sexual development. Sex testing was introduced in 1968 at the Olympic games in Mexico City, after the masculine appearance of some competitors in female events. However many geneticists criticised the tests because examining chromosomes is not always certain. It is thought that one in 1000 babies are born with an “intersex” condition, term for people with chromosomal abnormalities. It may be physically obvious from birth or it may remain unknown to people all their lives. Transexuals, who have had a sex change from male to female, can compete in women’s events in the Olympics, as long they wait two years after the operation.
The article exposes some sexual conditions which can put in doubt the danger of athletes in sports competitions and the testing proves that officials use to determine their sex. It also presents some particular cases of athletes who discovered their unusual sexual condition after the examinations or cases of fraud when men competed as women.
To sum up, even with advanced scientific examinations of genes, hormones and chromosomes gender is not certain to be determined. But for the fairness of the game, I think they sould be undergone.