The Inner Circle of the Winner's Circle: Exclusionary Treatment of Transgender and Gender Diverse Athletes in Elite Sports
Abstract
Transgender and gender diverse athletes’ participation in elite sports has been a controversial topic of debate in mainstream media following several high-profile cases. Testosterone testing for female athletes can be discriminatory and exclusionary, particularly for transgender and gender diverse athletes, and is an area of ambiguity given the lack of consensus internationally on accepted testosterone levels for female athletes. This article intends to examine this issue from a social and theoretical perspective and use this to analyse the relevant Australian legislation governing the issue. An examination of the cases of Caster Semenya, Hannan Mouncey and Laurel Hubbard will be used to demonstrate the current attitude towards transgender and gender-diverse athletes in elite sports, and of the use of queer and gender theories will aid in analysis of the law and policy on gender diversity in elite sports in Australia.
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