Sex testing: gender policing in women’s sports

Women’s sexuality continues to be policed in the twenty-first century; for every interview Abby Wambach or Brittney Griner gives in which they mention their sexuality, there are dozens of comments on social media directing homophobic abuse towards them. Of course, there have always been champions of women’s sport, and trailblazers ready to compete to the very best of their abilities. Kahn chronicles their contributions too, outlining the arguments they made about the positive effect athleticism could have on womanhood – some veering towards the disturbing rhetoric of eugenics, suggesting that strong women would build equally strong future generations and guarantee the future of the country (p. 77). There are tributes paid to the women who worked for equality, with a concise account of the campaign led by Billie Jean King for equal pay in tennis, connecting it with the surge in feminism during the 1970s and the activism across the country which eventually led to the instigation of Title IX, ensuring equal funding for girls’ sports (p. 251 fn). There have also been great social advances made through women’s sport, not least the development of racial integration; Kahn quotes athletes who lived alongside people of a different skin colour for the first time at international competition (p. 125). There are also the inspiring stories of women who overcame adversity thanks to the spur of their sport, and Kahn finishes on an uplifting note about the sisterhood, solidarity and strength that can be cultivated through sporting activity. But it also makes one wonder how many talented women were – and continue to be lost to sporting history because of the obstacles placed in their way.