Yes, it is gender in sport time again. In the wake of the Caster Semenya scandal the IOC wants to test all women athletes for testosterone. They vaguely understand that there are a variety of intersex conditions that can result in people being otherwise biologically female to have elevated testosterone levels, and that not all of these people can actually process that testosterone in a way likely to enhance performance, but despite the uncertainty they argue that Something Must Be Done.

Over at Nature they take a look at some of the science involved and interview some scientists who work on this stuff, including an endocrinologist who advises the IOC. The conclusion the article is pretty stark: they don’t know whether the people banned under these tests would have any competitive advantage or not. They do, however, note that any athlete who fails the test would not be allowed to compete as a man either.

The real issue, however, is very clear. As the IOC adviser puts it: “It ought to at least eliminate the stigmatization of certain women who people feel ‘don’t look quite right'”. Unfortunately he doesn’t say how it will eliminate this stigmatization. Why is it that I suspect it will be by stopping them competing so they never come to the media’s attention. Because surely there will be complaints about “ugly” women being “really men”. There always are.

Given the lack of actual evidence to go on, I’m pretty sure this is more of a spin operation than an attempt to be fair to intersex athletes.