Calling a male a male

Are we finally back on track after a decades-long detour through the fantasyland of self ID?

South African middle distance runner Caster Semenya is male with 5-ARD DSD (see Carole Hooven’s spanking explainer below, which should, by rights, be right here, but I felt the need to blather first). Not similar to male—she is male. Actually, we’ve known people with this type of Difference of Sex Development are male since 1974, Semenya is legally female due to a mistake by the attending birth physician, but biologically male. The media, the European Court of Human Rights, heck, even World Athletics up until this very moment are still calling her female and using the pronoun “she.” And so will I, so I don’t get my pants sued off (if someone has some legal advice on this, please spill), and that’s the problem. I am part of the problem. By using “she” I’m perpetuating the lie that Semenya is female. And when you start with a lie, everything that flows from that will be incorrect. Until we can all call a male a male, women’s sports will suffer.

Lack of courage to speak the truth, ignorance of science, and the strange power of self-ID got us into this mess. That, and a shocking willingness to throw 51% of the population under the bus rather than say NO to a teeny tiny number of males who demand to compete in the female category. These factors opened the door for Semenya to compete in women’s track back in 2009, and have now been adopted by trans-identifying men. The truth is not hateful or disrespectful—quite the opposite—but to do so, we need to be able to use accurate language. If we know, as we do, that 5-ARD DSD and trans-identified men are male, then it makes sense that those athletes should compete in the male category, regardless of gender identity.

But that’s not what has happened. Here’s how, in Semenya’s case, a simple mistake snowballed into a catastrophe that cost female athletes Olympic and World Championship medals, dreams and dollars, and World Athletics their very soul.

The doctor, if there was one at Semenya’s birth, observed external genitalia and said, “Congratulations! You have a girl!” And “female” was written on her birth certificate. Her parents knew something was off about their “daughter.” Semenya was allowed to wear a boy’s school uniform, play with boys, and do boys’ chores in their rigidly sex-roled society, but insists she was “raised as a girl.”

When the 18-year-old Semenya won gold in the women’s 800 meters at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships, there were immediately questions about her sex. A 2009 Guardian article wrote:

“The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday revealed that Semenya has been the subject of a gender verification process both in her native South Africa, and since she arrived in Berlin. The official investigation could take weeks to draw conclusions with an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist and a psychologist all involved. Director of Communications, Nick Davies, was unable to say whether any retrospective action could be taken should Semenya be revealed to have issues surrounding her gender. ‘I can't say that if X happens in the future that we will, for example, retroactively strip results. It's legally very complex.’”

The IAAF (now World Athletics) undoubtedly knew in 2009 that Semenya was male, but they continued to say that she was female with hyperandrogenism, and to allow her to race in the female category. It was indeed “legally very complex,” read: they were terrified of being sued. Which they practically guaranteed by allowing the “female with hyperandrogenism” lie to continue.

Imagine if the IAAF had quietly and respectfully explained the results of sex verification to Semenya (who may not have known the medical details at age 18), and how they disqualified her from competing in the female category. A firm but respectful NO. Imagine if the media had reported the science behind 5-ARD DSD, a disorder that affects males. But they didn’t. Semenya had every gold medal reason in the world to loudly insist she was the victim of hate, and she did—she was too fast, she didn’t look stereotypically feminine, because of racism (I’ve never quite gotten that one—Black Africans dominate track, particularly at the distances). Semenya was female because she said she was. Semenya is very savvy; she played the IAAF for fools. She knew she was male, they knew she was male—and women lost. A dude with a lot to lose insisting he’s female has proven almost impossible for sports organizations to deny.

And so this lie was repeated by the media for 14 years. “Naturally high testosterone,” instead of normal testosterone levels for a male; “banned from competition” instead of refused to lower her testosterone; “a woman who’s too fast” instead of a male competing in the female category. And always “she,” which confused innocent observers—why should a woman be banned from women’s athletics?

Tasked with proving that DSD athletes have an unfair advantage—nearly impossible—World Athletics found enough evidence to exclude DSD athletes from events ranging from 400 meters to the mile. Semenya lost a lawsuit to compete in the 800 meters at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and it seemed like that was going to be the end of it until Semenya filed another lawsuit saying she was discriminated against in the European Court of Human Rights. She recently prevailed, allowing her to return to CAS to again demand to compete at 800 meters in the women’s category.

But the ground underneath Semenya has changed since 2009. Scientists like Carole Hooven, a Harvard PhD who writes about hormones, evolution, and sex differences, have become vocal about male intrusion in female sports, countering years of poor reporting or outright misinformation. Here is her excellent explainer on Semenya’s 5-ARD DSD.

Caster has a Difference (or Disorder) of Sex Development (DSD), and the press has been misleading the public for a long time about athletes with DSDs. People with DSDs deserve compassion and to live their lives free of harassment, with access to appropriate healthcare, etc. But cases such as this force the issue of their specific, sex-based biology. Caster and others with her DSD are not females with "hyperandrogenism," i.e., abnormally high levels of testosterone. They are males with testosterone-producing testes and XY sex chromosomes, and normal levels of testosterone for their sex. They experience the physical benefits of this high testosterone during puberty, which translate into athletic advantages over females. The issue for sports is that athletes with the relevant condition, 5-alpha reductase deficiency (5-ARD), may be socialized as female and even be legally female.

5-ARD is caused by a mutation in the gene that codes for the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, which converts testosterone into a more potent androgen, DHT. This androgen interacts with the androgen receptor, like testosterone, and is necessary for the typical development of male external genitalia (penis and scrotum) and the prostate. Without DHT, female-typical external genitalia develop. DHT is also responsible for male-pattern baldness and dark, coarse facial hair, which is why people with the condition have smooth skin that can give a feminine appearance. Here's relevant bit on DSDs from the most recent Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification for Athletes with Differences of Sex Development, linked to below (pg 2): "Some individuals have congenital conditions that cause atypical sex development (known as “Differences of Sex Development”, or “DSDs”). In certain cases, this may lead to an individual being assigned at birth a legal sex of female and/or having a female gender identity, notwithstanding that the individual has fully functioning (internal) testes rather than ovaries." https://worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=2ffb8b1a-59e3-4cea-bb0c-5af8b690d089.pdf&urlslug=C3.6A%20%E2%80%93%20Eligibility%20Regulations%20for%20the%20Female%20Classification%20%E2%80%93%20effective%2031%20March%202023… So the “decision makers” are aware that athletes affected 5-ARD are male, and that they experience the benefits of male puberty. The requirement to reduce T to typical female levels isn’t discriminatory, since these are males who are asking to compete in the female category. But more significantly, all the relevant scientific evidence shows that reducing male T in adulthood does not undo the physical benefits of male puberty.

For 14 years, Semenya has been portrayed by the media as a victim of bigotry, an image she encourages. Would she receive the same support if it was correctly reported that she is male demanding to compete in women’s athletics? Doubtful.

All of the factors that opened the door for Semenya to compete in women’s athletics have been adopted by trans-identified men, especially loud and emphatic self-ID. I am a woman because I say so. How dare you question my deeply held belief.

Though DSD and gender ideology are unrelated, Carole Hooven saw cross-over between the two as they are reported by the media and understood by the public.

As far as participation in the women’s category in sports, authorities have made exceptions for males who have certain DSDs, like 5-alpha reductase deficiency (5-ARD), in addition to those who identify as transgender. Such males are generally required to suppress their naturally high T (which may already be suppressed in trans-identifying males) in order to qualify for the right to compete in the female category in elite sports. If males have experienced a high testosterone puberty, then they have developed as typical males, at least as far as experiencing testosterone’s sports-enhancing effects on size, strength, power and speed. How a male identifies has no impact on that advantage over women, and reducing testosterone in adulthood has a minimal impact.

The mainstream media tends to describe males who have the relevant DSDs, and those who simply identify as female using language that conveys the idea that they are not really male, or are actually female. The language used to describe Caster Semenya, who publicly identifies as female and is also legally female, is such an example. Caster has a male DSD, with testes, XY sex chromosomes, and male-levels of testosterone. Yet Caster is widely described in the media using language such as “a female athlete with high testosterone.” This language is sensitive and considerate of Caster, but does a disservice to the truth, to the public who may want to form an opinion based on the facts, and to the women who lose because Caster has been allowed to compete in their category. Here I’d normally refer to Caster as “she.” But in these situations, while it may seem innocuous, simply using female pronouns obscures the facts, suggesting that the individual is not actually male. So in some situations in which understanding sex-based biology is crucial, it should be permissible to use sex-based pronouns.

The same principle applies to descriptions of males who identify as female. They are generally referred to as “trans women,” (a kind of woman) or even simply “women.” Female names, and female pronouns are used. If biological words are used, they may appear in terms like “assigned male at birth,” which hints at the idea that this “assignment” may have been in error, is a superficial description of biology, or is a temporary state. This too obscures the fact that in both cases of males with DSDs (who identify as female), and males who identify as transgender, we are talking about males asking to compete against females. But the reason for the existence of the female category is to exclude males, in order to give women a chance to shine. We should be able to have the facts and clear words to describe them.

As with Semenya, imagine the years and dollars and blatant unfairness to women that would have been spared if, back in 2003, the International Olympic Committee had had the courage to make the imminently sensible decision that trans-identified males should compete in the male category. If people they knew to be male had received a firm but respectful NO when they asked to compete as women. Trans-identified men, just like Semenya, have played sports organizations and the media for fools. Biology has been well understood for decades—sports organizations simply lacked the will to say NO to men. Imagine if the media, since 2003, had been clear that trans-identifying men are male who, for whatever reason, want to present as female, that they are a subset of males. Imagine if the media used sex-based language, including pronouns, to describe the biological difference between males and females as it relates to sports.

Your mom was right—the truth is always the best policy. Reality as described using language that was not made up 15 minutes ago is a win for everyone—men, women, even the IOC, who is still of the embarrassing opinion that males can have no “presumed advantage” over women. With the recent and long overdue decision by UCI to protect the female category from male competitors, it seems we’re slowly coming to the point where we can call males males, regardless of gender identity.