The specter of “cheating” has once again reared its ugly head in soccer. No, I do not refer to dubious Real Madrid yellow cards. Nor FIFA vote-swapping. Instead, I refer to the curious case of Equatorial Guinea. In the African Women’s Soccer scene, the Nigeria team has ran rampant since forever. At least until 2008, when they were upset by the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. Upset being the key word. Many suspected that Mrs. Doubtfire graced the field for Equatorial Guinea.

Flash forward two years – the Nigerians beat Equatorial Guinea in the final of the African Women’s Championship. But, despite winning, the Nigerians lodge a formal complaint with the Confederation of African Football -the same Ladybugs accusations.

I will forgo the usual philosophy “gender as performance” blah blah to focus on a practical reality – a women’s league exists, a men’s league exists, but no league exists for those in-between. Thus, the black/white binary underlying 19th century gender assumptions pervades structures for 21st century athletes. If you were a hermaphrodite athlete, which league would you play for? Why?

The CAF has promised that the gender tests will be all inclusive – focusing beyond biology to also include psychological evaluations and other indicia of gender. But such a “thorough” analysis cut 11 months off the career of Caster Semenya, the 800 meter runner for South Africa. And for an athlete in their prime, with such a short window for success, 11 months might as well be 11 years.

I also have doubts as to whether this “test” will overcome preconceived gender prejudices. Let’s take a look at some “finger in the wound” topics that should be avoided…. Continue reading “CAF's Test to Straighten Out Gender Benders” »