Recent controversy over failed “gender testing” among female elite athletes has left people wondering how to categorize individuals as male or female.

The scrutiny behind gender testing began in the 2000s when specific female athletes were targeted for their masculine characteristics, influencing the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to review its gender authentication in consultation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In June 2012, the IOC released IOC Regulations on Female Hyperandrogenism. This addressed cases of female hyperandrogenism, which is a condition that creates excessive levels of male hormones in women.  The policy stated that if levels of male hormones, such as androgen, were outside of a specific range, an athlete would not be able to compete as a female.

This year, these rules have been heavily debated after the first female Indian sprinter to reach the finals at a globe athletic event, Dutee Chand, underwent what BBC Sport called ‘failed gender testing.’

Just days before leaving to represent India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Chand was disqualified. According to The Times of India, Sports Authority of India (SAI) stated that she was disqualified because her androgen levels were out of the acceptable range.

The speculations that she had undergone a gender test were denied by the SAI as they claimed that the test does not determine gender. They stated that they had conducted the test to follow regulations set by IAAF and IOC regarding eligibility of females with hyperandrogenism.

The Times of India also included that the athlete was going to be allowed to compete in the female category in the future as long as she receives medical help to lower her androgen levels.

Quoted in the New York Times, Chand said she would not bow to pressure from coaches to undergo treatment to change the level of male hormones in her body. She claims that it is wrong to change your body for sport participation and that it is just as unethical as cutting off the hand of someone whom was caught stealing.

According to The Guardian, Chand decided to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport against her ban from competition. She will remain unable to compete, and the question of whether or not it is fair for a woman with higher levels of male hormones to compete as a female will remain unanswered.

-Haley Bell