Sexing the Athletes

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Abstract
Sociologists, like the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have believed that the guarantor of sexual division lies in the natural differences of the human body. The key sociological problematic that has dominated discussion in this area for over 20 years turns on a distinction between “sex,” which is conceived of as natural, and “gender,” which is conceived of as constructed. But it is argued in this article that sex is no less a discursive construct than gender. Modern discussions of sex derive from a two-sex model of the body that is no more (and no less) “true” than the preceding monomorphic model. The article discusses the claims of the sex/gender problematic, presents arguments that demonstrate the existence of a one-sex model, and examines recent claims of geneticists. It is argued that such claims are tautological and that there never will be a true sign of a true sex, whatever the hopes of the IOC.

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