It is mind-boggling the knots people will tie themselves into in order not to face something staring them in the face. How long will it be until we grow out of the notion that anyone whose particular biology does not clearly put them in the category of “male” or “female” is a freak with a condition that must be corrected?
According to The New York Times last week, the International Olympics Committee‘s medical experts have recommended “that the issue of athletes whose sex seems ambiguous be treated as a medical concern and not one of fairness in competition.”
How depressing that smart people, experts in the field of sexual development, can’t find any way to understand these individuals’ sexual characteristics than by describing them as disordered:
Members of the panel said that their concern was with sports federations’ responsibility for athletes with medical disorders. Athletes’ health might be endangered if their disorders are not diagnosed and treated, they said.
“Those who agree to be treated will be permitted to participate,” said Dr. Maria New, a panel participant and an expert on sexual development disorders. “Those who do not agree to be treated on a case-by-case basis will not be permitted.”
How long do we have to keep trying to hammer the square peg into the round hole?
This article appears in January 22 • 2010.