Sex Change for sports players

Observer

New York 1960-1977

When Renee Richards stepped on to court to play Virginia Wade at the 1977 US Open she was making her debut in the women's singles - 17 years after she, or rather he, had made his debut in the men's singles. In 1975, Richards had a sex-change operation and the Richard H. Raskind who competed at the 1960 US Open became Renee Richards, who, after a ruling by the New York State Superior Court, took part in the same tournament - but different singles - in 1977. One thing remained unaltered though - the American transsexual's tennis playing ability. Raskind lost his first-round match in straight sets, and so did Richards.


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sacstonewall.org

The Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento today congratulated to IOC in its landmark decision Monday to allow transsexuals to compete in the Olympics for the first time.

Under a proposal approved by the IOC executive board, athletes who have undergone sex-change surgery will be eligible for the Olympics if their new gender has been legally recognized and they have gone through a minimum two-year period of postoperative hormone therapy.

The decision, which covers both male-to-female and female-to-male cases, goes into effect starting with the Athens Olympics in August.

"Today's decision invokes the memory of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics', when he said, 'All sports for all people'," said Daniel Roth, President of the Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento. "All too often transgender Americans are left behind in our fight for equal rights. The IOC's decision today made sure that transgender athletes from around the world can share equally in the Olympic dream."

IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said no specific sports had been singled out by the ruling. "Until now, we didn't have any rules or regulations," he said. "We needed to establish some sort of policy." "Stonewall, as well as athletes around the world, praise the IOC for embracing the Olympic tradition of providing equal rights for all athletes and not allowing discrimination to sneak into the Olympic Games," Roth concluded.



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transolympics

On May 17th, the long fought transsexual battle to compete in the Olympics appreciated a sweet victory. The International Olympic Committee, after long consideration of medical issues, ruled that as long as an athlete's gender is legally recognized and s/he has completed at least two years of post-op hormone therapy, s/he can legally compete in the games. The ruling takes effect immediately, though it's still unclear if any transsexuals will compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics this August.

Gender separation, ambiguity and verification have long been debated when it comes to Olympic participation. This recent decision is obviously controversial, not so much due to overt discrimination, but based on the undisputable physical differences between men and women, including lung capacity, heart capacity and muscle-to-fat ratio.

Doctors have concluded, however, that postoperative hormone therapy effectively alters testosterone levels and muscle mass. IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch stated, "We will have no discrimination. The IOC will respect human rights." The IOC ruling does not, however, mean that this will be the first time a transsexual competes in the Olympics. Several historical Olympians have had their gender questioned after the fact. In 1932, Polish-American runner Stella Walsh sprinted her way to the gold in the 100-meter dash. In 1975, Walsh was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame. After her death by a stray bullet in Cleveland, her autopsy shocked the world by revealing that she had male genitals and both female and male chromosomes (a condition known as mosaicism).



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