Femininity Control at the Olympic Games

Abstract

In 1968, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced gender verification testing. The intent was to prevent men from masquerading as a woman in order to gain an unfair gender-related advantage in women-only sports events. Initially female Olympians endured embarrassing and degrading gynaecological exams in order to prove their femininity, however as time passed, these invasive exams were replaced by arguably less invasive testing measures. However, the IOC and the international sport community refused to acknowledge that the tests in fact reinforced the belief that sport is an arena for men and when women excel in this arena they are thought to be men.