Jock Talk: Speaking up for intersex inclusion
Published 11/03/2011
by Roger Brigham
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=6196 (http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=6196)
Hysterical outbursts of ignorance and outrage can generate headlines and sensational news stories, but they seldom do much to advance humanity. Perhaps it was fitting, then, that a document recently released by the Women's Sports Foundation that may have long ranging impact on the inclusiveness of mainstream sports received little media fanfare.
WSF issued its "Participation of Intersex Athletes in Women's Sports" position paper in late September. It is a short document, just five pages, and a thing of beauty in its simplicity, clarity, and compassion.
Citing the manhandled controversy that surrounded intersex track athlete Caster Semenya in 2009, WSF's paper opens with a bold statement that "intersex athletes are vulnerable to exclusion from women's sports, as well as ridicule and invasion of privacy."