A Sex Test for Olympic Competitors Harms All Women

This week we joined forces with interACT to publish an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times about the harms of the new International Olympic Committee policy on gender eligibility.

Read it here: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-04-27/olympics-women-genetic-testing

Here's a high-level overview from the LA Times page (without putting it all here, which is against the rules!)

Perspectives

The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.

Ideas expressed in the piece

• The article argues that mandatory genetic sex testing for all female Olympic athletes represents a harmful policy that puts every woman’s body under scrutiny and allows officials to determine who is “woman enough” to compete, creating an invasive system that disproportionately affects women rather than protecting them^[1].

• The piece contends that sex testing has a documented history of causing harm, with women athletes previously forced to undergo humiliating physical examinations that targeted Black and brown women based on narrow, Eurocentric standards of femininity and often excluded intersex women^[2].

• The article suggests that genetic testing has been scientifically discredited, noting that the SRY gene test relied upon by the new policy was discovered by a scientist who explicitly opposed its use for determining sex eligibility, and these tests were abandoned decades ago due to their unreliability and harmful consequences^[3].

• The piece argues that approximately 1 in 50 people are born with natural variations in sex traits, and many young women will discover they are intersex for the first time through mandatory testing without warning, support, or privacy protections, derailing athletic careers based on previously unknown biological traits that do not confer athletic advantages^[3].

• The article contends that transgender participation in Olympic women’s competition is extremely rare, with only one openly transgender woman competing since the mid-2000s, making the sweeping ban unjustified given its real costs to all women athletes^[2].

• The piece argues that the policy creates additional barriers for women’s sports through expensive genetic testing requirements, unequal access across countries where genetic testing may be banned, and diversion of resources away from meaningful support like better funding, facilities, and media coverage^[2].

• The article raises concerns about privacy violations and data security, questioning who will store genetic information, who will access it, and what protections exist against leaks or misuse of sensitive medical data^[2].

Read the full piece here: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-04-27/olympics-women-genetic-testing