Posts
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What can we learn from the Paralympics about the future of sports?
The Paralympics just ended, and if you’re didn’t watch you missed out on some really amazing sporting performances. Blind soccer! Incredible powerlifts (if you’re not a lifter, being able to move that much weight without any leg stabilization and drive is WILDLY impressive)! Archery without arms! Goalball! Murderball! Truly an embarrassment of athletic riches. And…
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Nature Analogies: Helpful or Harmful?
The animal world is full of absolutely bizarre and eye opening configurations. There are millipedes with 1,300 legs; fish with transparent heads and bright green orbs for eyes; birds with claws on their wings who climb trees; and whatever the hell a sea pig is. It is tempting, as someone who finds the richness and complexity of the natural world awe…
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Citational chains and claims of African intersex with Amanda Lock Swarr
Over ten years ago (around 2012) when I first started researching sex testing I encountered something that vexed me. A specific claim made over and over again in scientific papers: the “fact” that black people are more likely to be intersex than white people. Or, sometimes, more specifically, the claim that black Africans were more…
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Resisting Gender Verification from the Inside (aka what Jake Elsas did on his summer vacation)
In the summer of 1996, Jake Elsas didn’t try to hide the fact that he was volunteering at the Atlanta Olympics. But when people asked him what exactly his job was, Jake purposely kept the answer vague. “I was very cryptic most of the time, because I didn’t want to admit that there was a…
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EPISODE SIX: LUMPERS AND SPLITTERS
Christine and Max are some of the most recent female athletes in this century-long history to face tests, stigma, and restrictions. But they are unlikely to be the last. In this episode, we find out whether Christine qualifies for the Paris Olympics, as well as the fate of Max’s court case. And we explore the…
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EPISODE FIVE: UNFAIR ADVANTAGE?
A battle over science and ethics unfolds. World Athletics releases and then tweaks multiple policies impacting DSD athletes, while critics cry foul. In this episode, World Athletics doubles down on its claims, Caster Semenya challenges the rules again, and we dig deep on a big question: what constitutes an “unfair” advantage on the track? LISTEN…
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EPISODE FOUR: RUNNING IN CIRCLES
In 2009, South African sprinter Caster Semenya won gold at the World Championships. But instead of a celebration, she endured endless speculation about her body, her biology, and her gender. And soon, sports organizations would launch a new round of regulations, lead to multiple court cases, and require sporting organizations to justify their claim that…
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EPISODE THREE: CARD CARRYING FEMALES
We meet Kenyan sprinter Maximila Imali, who—like Christine—has been sidelined by DSD policies. She makes a different choice from Christine: to fight the regulations in court. And we learn about an earlier fight, when scientists, athletes, and journalists spent thirty years trying to end an earlier version of sex testing. LISTEN VOICES TRANSCRIPT Rose Eveleth:…
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Shake That Barr Body
One of Murray Barr’s contemporaries composed music based on genetics. We had hoped to use it, but couldn’t. Here’s why.
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Ann Simonton and the Original Meat Dress
Would it surprise you to learn that Lady Gaga’s meat dress has a connection to sex testing? It definitely surprised me! That link exists by way of a former Sports Illustrated cover model named Ann Simonton. You’ll hear Ann in the third episode of TESTED, talking about Maria José Martínez-Patiño’s activism. Ann is a dedicated…