Gender determination in sport

Abstract

Many sports distinguish between female and male disciplines. The key reason for such division stems from the physiological characteristics that might give men the advantage over women in specific sports disciplines. Various sex-verification procedures were introduced to ensure fair play, but these were invasive procedures resulting in social stigmatization, gender discrimination and psychological trauma for female athletes. Sex verification was also proven to be unsuitable in the case of deviations from the standard binary concept of gender (e.g., in the case of mutations). For those reasons, critical legal developments have been achieved in this complex field of law, medicine, and sports in recent years.