Jake

Hearing commentators say that a couple of #Zambia players weren't eligible for the #WWC2023 due to failing "gender eligibility" criteria.

Are we at all surprised that this bullshit applies to a squad of primarily (or all) black women? Appalling #racism and #GenderExpectations from a major sporting body, yet again.

Jul 22, 2023 at 7:31amWeb
Show threadJakeJul 22, 2023
There is at least one out #NonBinary player at this #WWC2023 (for #Canada). They're white (or white-passing at least?) and there hasn't been similar speculation that I have heard. Because #racism and because #GenderExpectations.
Show threadridpJul 22, 2023

@Jforced

Well, it all depends on what those "gender eligibility criteria" are, and how objectively they can be measured.

From what I understand, eligibility is based on hormone levels, and not on subjective expectations such as looks, behaviour, or complexion.

Show threadJakeJul 22, 2023

@ridp they are usually an arbitrary measure of a hormone, which is not applied evenly, and the sporting benefits from a higher testosterone level are speculative at best.

I'm not an expert, but the measures themselves are problematic, not fully understood or studied, and applied in a problematic way (enforced by federations, which are themselves not always reputable nor address it in an equal way). Not to mention the morality, disapproval of gender presentation, and media coverage.