The problems with testosterone testing in female athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other international sports federations have recently introduced policies which require a medical investigation of women athletes known or suspected to have hyperandrogenism.

Women who are found to have naturally high testosterone levels and tissue sensitivity are banned from competition unless they have surgical or pharmaceutical interventions to lower their testosterone levels.

But a recent analysis published on bmj.com says that these tests and procedures are at best not medically necessary, and at worst totally unethical.

In this podcast we're joined by two of the authors, Rebecca Jordan-Young, professor women’s gender and sexuality studies at Barnard College, and Katrina Karkazis, bioethicist at Stanford centre for biomedical ethics.

Read the full analysis article online:

http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2926