Defining a woman, who would have thought defining a woman, would be so difficult and contentious?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

To ask the right question is already half the solution to the problem. Carl Jung

All is fair in love and war and isn’t sports a form of war? Aren’t the Olympic Games a show of strength and superiority? Our best against your best? Women’s sports seem to be fraught with special problems, as we are dealing with women with XY chromosomes and high testosterone.

Why is it so hard to define what a woman is, and who qualifies to be one? Why if we think we see unfairness in the boxing ring are we considered anti-something for bringing it up?

The Olympics is highlighting problems we have and the fear many of us have is, can women without chromosome anomalies and regular testosterone levels compete with women with chromosome anomalies and high testosterone? Is it wrong to wonder if regular women will lose out on sports and the opportunities they offer? Do we need to muddy the water further by having a third category for the people who don’t neatly fit into either biological sex?

Men have chromosomal anomalies, and according to my research, men with XX chromosomes present as male. But, men with chromosomal anomalies probably don’t have advantages in sports, which is why we aren’t discussing them.

No question is so difficult to answer as one in which the answer is obvious. George Bernard Shaw

The more research I do the more confused I am about how we should handle this situation. I think of how I might feel if a granddaughter of mine is good at sports, wants to become a world-class athlete, and has the ability, but is found to have chromosomal or testosterone level anomalies, and is disqualified from competition. But, I also see the other side; what if my granddaughter has to compete against a woman where it is questionable whether she should be in the men’s category?

There are questions to be asked and answers to be given, and we won’t all agree on the answers about who should be included or excluded from the women’s category. Is it possible that the Paris Olympics is a gift that will help us sort out how to handle contentious issues in women’s sports? Is this a conversation we need to have without name-calling, as we wrestle with who is included in the women’s category in sports, and life?

The first key to wisdom is constant and frequent questioning… for by doubting we are led to questioning and by questioning we arrive at the truth. Peter Abelard

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge. Thomas Berger

The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss

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