A blanket ban on transgender athletes and DSD athletes from women's sport will be welcomed by many who have long felt that such a move is essential if fairness and safety in the female category is to be preserved. In a reflection of just how sensitive an area of policy this has become, the IOC has traditionally left it to international sports to decide on eligibility criteria for female competition. This is a hugely significant decision by the IOC following years of controversy over the participation of transgender and DSD athletes in female competition, and intense debate over how sports should balance fairness and safety with inclusion. Previously, DSD athletes who had not been through male puberty could compete in women's sport, provided they kept their testosterone within certain levels. While the Paris Olympic and Paralympics may be celebrated as the first "gender equitable" games, with 50% female participation, the abuse faced by Khelif and Yu-Ting highlight the challenges many women still face in sport. Beyond the ethics of the tests being used, the extreme levels of online abuse directed to sportswomen such as Khelif and Lin reveal new ways in which women’s bodies are being policed and regulated. Mandated by the IOC, "gender verification" tests were then implemented by international sports organisations.
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone. But it does mean the conversation is legitimate, the problem is real, and understanding what testosterone actually does and how to know if yours is low is worth your time. That doesn’t mean every man who feels tired needs testosterone injections. A man born in 1970 has significantly lower testosterone at 35 than a man born in 1940 had at 35. Testosterone levels in men have been declining for decades.
In a sport where two people are trying to hurt each other, those advantages are dangerous and constitute cheating. The men on social media who look enormous and credit "TRT" are usually taking bodybuilding doses, which is a different thing entirely. Therapeutic doses bring you to normal levels — not supraphysiological levels. TRT will not turn you into a bodybuilder. Men with genuinely low T who go on TRT typically report significant improvements in energy, mood, motivation, libido, body composition, and mental clarity. Monitor estrogen levels if you take this. More commonly recommended for men over 40 whose DHEA levels have declined.
Opinions about Khelif's presence in Paris have ranged widely, often directly correlated with awareness of the news cycle raging outside the athletes' village. Khelif is a medal contender in a sport where the Olympic draw can often determine the semifinal field by randomly pitting top fighters against each other too early in the competition. Carini's unusual actions aside, it's highly unlikely anyone else in the women's 66-kilogram division thinks Khelif is unfightable. The IOC insisted this week that no scientific or political consensus exists on gender and fairness issues. Meloni, who met Friday with IOC President Thomas Bach, warned "ideology" taken to extremes can discriminate and harm women's rights. For the political far-right in Italy, which has been targeting issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, Khelif's participation was just the latest evidence of "woke" culture infecting sport. The IOC noted Thursday that the boxing association's own documents say the decision was made unilaterally by the IBA's secretary general.
The governing body has revealed little about the nature of the tests, including what was tested and who tested it. Khelif reached the final of the 2023 world championships before she was abruptly disqualified by the IBA, which cited high levels of testosterone in her system. Khelif was one of Algeria's first three Olympic women's boxers sent to Tokyo three years ago.

Gender: Female

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