The Origins of Gender Categorization in Sports

The idea of categorizing athletes based on gender emerged prominently with Pierre de Coubertin's vision of the Modern Olympics, which initially excluded women. Despite his opposition, women eventually gained entry into the Games, but only under the creation of a separate women's category, asserting a binary division in sports. This division resulted in the need for a means to determine who qualifies as a woman, leading to the development of various testing methods over the years. However, these methods have proven flawed, causing athletes to undergo invasive evaluations to meet the arbitrary standards set by sports authorities.