“Fearfully and wonderfully made, why the Olympic gender debate matters for Christians”

A recent decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) means that women applying to compete in the Olympics will have to take a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ sex test to determine whether they are biologically female and therefore eligible to compete in the next Olympic Games (Los Angeles, 2028.)

Pushback on this decision claims this new criterion is unfair because it will mean transgender women who have gone through male puberty won’t be able to compete.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry said the policy was the result of an external review ‘led by medical experts.’

‘At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,’ she said. ‘So it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.’

The sex test includes a screening via salvia, cheek swab, or blood test to check for the SRY gene- the sex-determining region Y gene - which is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics to develop. If athletes do not pass this test, they will still be eligible to compete in any male categories, mixed category events, or events that don’t require sex categorization, but they won’t be permitted to compete in women-only events.

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Many welcome the new rule, as it will preserve fairness and safety in women’s sports. 

Many welcome the new rule, as it will preserve fairness and safety in women’s sports. Advocates also point out that this approach is reliable and confidential, backed by sports scientists, and that it’s already worked effectively in sports like athletics and boxing. It also avoids the public scrutiny and invasion of privacy suffered by transgender or DSD athletes in the past who had to suppress their natural testosterone levels.

On the other hand, others have called the test unnecessary, invasive, and costly, and it was even labelled as a ‘backwards step and a harmful anachronism’ by academics in a report submitted to the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They claimed that testing violates the human rights of athletes and could create stigma and psychological distress.

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One spokesperson from World Athletics spoke out in favour of the decision: ‘We have led the way in protecting women’s sport over the last decade. Attracting and retaining more girls and women in sport requires a fair and level playing field where there is no biological glass ceiling. This means that gender cannot trump biology. A consistent approach across all sport has to be a good thing.’

As a Christian woman, I agree. God made us wonderfully and fearfully as male or female at birth, and the Supreme Court judgment states that the sex recorded at birth is the definition of ‘biological sex’. 

As a Christian woman, I agree. God made us wonderfully and fearfully as male or female at birth, and the Supreme Court judgment states that the sex recorded at birth is the definition of ‘biological sex’. I think the new test supports this definition, and that finding a gentle way to uphold biological binary genders (male and female) is a huge step forward in ensuring fairness in sports (just as we want fairness and equality across all areas of life for women).

Even if we’re not sportswomen ourselves or don’t really care about the Olympics, we should care about this decision, as it could have a ripple effect on future policies on gender and human rights. This new sex test decision is gently pushing back on just what counts as a ‘human right’, by questioning: ‘Is competing in the Olympics a ‘right’ in the first place? Or maybe being able to compete more of a privilege than a right in the first place, for both genders?

This new rule which the IOC has adopted, reflects the heart of God for women and transgender women in sport because God’s real love for us as His children doesn’t mean always letting us have everything that we want. True love desires what is best for us- and perhaps this is enjoying sport in the body (and gender) He gave us.

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At the same time, its understandable that this new policy can be difficult for transgender athletes, making them feel excluded and discriminated against. That is not the heart of God, and there is a call on the Church to be the most welcoming place on the planet for trans and intersex people, because they are deeply loved as His children. Olympic athlete Abigail Irozuru (Team GB Olympic Finalist  at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games and a Team England Commonwealth Games Finalist Birmingham, 2022. She reminds us our starting point should always ‘be as a daughter of the Almighty God before everything else’.

She also thinks the new decision is the right one: ‘Medals are won and lost, and places are won and lost on the smallest margins, and so it’s so important to protect women’s sport. An elite level is very different from a community and grassroots level. When it comes to medals, biological sex is the most important determinant for the classification of the women’s sporting category, and I’m glad that that’s been protected.’

We may not all be sportswomen or be counting down the calendar to the next Olympics, but remember: Paul used a sports analogy for the Christian life. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he urges believers to ‘run to win’. As this new IOC decision helps women and girls access a fairer playing field in the world of sports, may it encourage us to keep having self-discipline, endurance, and focus on winning an ‘imperishable crown’ one day because we surrendered to God’s design for our lives, and with grace and gentleness, encouraged others to do the same.