Testosterone is a big factor. A common agreement in sports seems to be that testosterone is a huge factor in physiological and psychological advantage. For decades, it's been against the rules in most sports to inject testosterone. Many agree that too much testosterone for women might be between 5 and 10 nmol/L. That seems generous since that measurement is between 2 to 5 times the typical natural testosterone levels in the overwhelming majority of women. It's difficult to name, measure, assess, and accommodate for each and every possible advantage in atheletics, body type, biology and training, but most agree that testosterone is an important factor and, thus, a reasonable starting point. Chromosomes are really only relevant because they may point to a significant difference in testosterone production among athletes since the presence of a Y chromosome usually means the presence of testosterone producing gonads, albiet somewhat rare exceptions do exist. All thay said, it's a more than fair point of reference when discussing fairness in sports. And in my opinion, there is no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater - meaning why forsake what we do know in light of all that we cannot know?
I agree that testosterone plays a role in physiological advantage, but what do you mean by it's benefit psychologically? Regarding testosterone, I do think it is important to try to understand what advantage it creates, because I'm not sure how a body that develops as intersex processes and uses it. Although many of the women who have higher T run fast, most do not run fast enough to qualify for men's track. So it brings me back to how much advantage is too much? I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Personally, I think it is going to take more than one person to come up with the answer, so the more conversations we have about this, the more it helps all of us become clearer, so thank you. I am inviting us to 1. consider multiple factors that we believe are advantages, 2. differentiate what is an association and what is a direct cause for advantage 3. Use the associations as a guide for further investigation 4. Determine what is "too much" of an advantage, because people biologically will have an advantage. 5. Consider why we treat advantages differently in men's sports than we do in women's.
I heard that this advantage that say male ( i use that in general terms ) has is 1. Testicles 2. Testicles that produce testosterone and 3. Your body receives that Testosterone. If you have ALL 3 of those. You wouldn't qualify for the Female ( Again i use that in general terms.) category. I believe xy chromosome isn't where the advantage is. The question on fairness and advantage has to be defined. Thoughts ?
I think another interesting concept is athletic performance relative to menstrual cycles! That is an advantage/disadvantage that no one argues about disqualifying people for. Biological inequities happen, people just don’t seem to get worked up about it when it presents as “normal.” As a side note, I don’t ever remember learning about how physical energy ebbs and flows with one’s cycle throughout the month. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve learned a lot from TikTok people talking about luteal phase, etc! Now I’m fascinated. Do one’s hormones still follow those patterns if a person is on contraceptives and doesn’t menstruate? Just curious, because I’ve heard conflicting answers. Loving the nuanced and informative info 😊
Testosterone is a big factor. A common agreement in sports seems to be that testosterone is a huge factor in physiological and psychological advantage. For decades, it's been against the rules in most sports to inject testosterone. Many agree that too much testosterone for women might be between 5 and 10 nmol/L. That seems generous since that measurement is between 2 to 5 times the typical natural testosterone levels in the overwhelming majority of women. It's difficult to name, measure, assess, and accommodate for each and every possible advantage in atheletics, body type, biology and training, but most agree that testosterone is an important factor and, thus, a reasonable starting point. Chromosomes are really only relevant because they may point to a significant difference in testosterone production among athletes since the presence of a Y chromosome usually means the presence of testosterone producing gonads, albiet somewhat rare exceptions do exist. All thay said, it's a more than fair point of reference when discussing fairness in sports. And in my opinion, there is no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater - meaning why forsake what we do know in light of all that we cannot know?
I agree that testosterone plays a role in physiological advantage, but what do you mean by it's benefit psychologically?
Regarding testosterone, I do think it is important to try to understand what advantage it creates, because I'm not sure how a body that develops as intersex processes and uses it. Although many of the women who have higher T run fast, most do not run fast enough to qualify for men's track.
So it brings me back to how much advantage is too much?
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Personally, I think it is going to take more than one person to come up with the answer, so the more conversations we have about this, the more it helps all of us become clearer, so thank you.
I am inviting us to
1. consider multiple factors that we believe are advantages,
2. differentiate what is an association and what is a direct cause for advantage
3. Use the associations as a guide for further investigation
4. Determine what is "too much" of an advantage, because people biologically will have an advantage.
5. Consider why we treat advantages differently in men's sports than we do in women's.
I heard that this advantage that say male ( i use that in general terms ) has is 1. Testicles 2. Testicles that produce testosterone and 3. Your body receives that Testosterone.
If you have ALL 3 of those. You wouldn't qualify for the Female ( Again i use that in general terms.) category. I believe xy chromosome isn't where the advantage is.
The question on fairness and advantage has to be defined.
Thoughts ?
I think another interesting concept is athletic performance relative to menstrual cycles! That is an advantage/disadvantage that no one argues about disqualifying people for. Biological inequities happen, people just don’t seem to get worked up about it when it presents as “normal.”
As a side note, I don’t ever remember learning about how physical energy ebbs and flows with one’s cycle throughout the month. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve learned a lot from TikTok people talking about luteal phase, etc! Now I’m fascinated. Do one’s hormones still follow those patterns if a person is on contraceptives and doesn’t menstruate? Just curious, because I’ve heard conflicting answers.
Loving the nuanced and informative info 😊
Thank you.
The hormone pattern is different on oral contraceptive than when not on oral contraceptives.