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The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport / NIALL FIFE

Swansea University Author: NIALL FIFE

  • E-Thesis – open access under embargo until: 20th February 2028

Abstract

The exclusion of athletes with a Difference in Sex Development (DSD) who wish to compete within the female category has been contested among academics and Sporting Governing Bodies (SGBs), and has even involved legal disputes in the case of athletes Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya. Athletes with a DS...

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Published: Swansea 2023
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MSc by Research
Supervisor: Heffernan, Shane ; Harvey, Andy
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa62701
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first_indexed 2023-02-20T17:34:37Z
last_indexed 2023-02-24T04:19:29Z
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2023-02-23T17:46:35.2956359</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>62701</id><entry>2023-02-20</entry><title>The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>a098adf89132518861922904303ef579</sid><firstname>NIALL</firstname><surname>FIFE</surname><name>NIALL FIFE</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2023-02-20</date><abstract>The exclusion of athletes with a Difference in Sex Development (DSD) who wish to compete within the female category has been contested among academics and Sporting Governing Bodies (SGBs), and has even involved legal disputes in the case of athletes Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya. Athletes with a DSD are currently being excluded from competing in specific elite female events and competitions by F&#xE9;d&#xE9;ration Internationale de Natation (FINA) and World Athletics (WA) in hope &#x201C;to ensure fair and meaningful competition&#x201D; (World Athletics, 2018, para.10)&#x201D;. Although there is some literature being published about the exclusion of athletes with a DSD, there are perspectives that have not yet been accounted for, such as the opinions of elite and world class athletes. Therefore, the aim of this research was to uncover the opinions of elite and world class athletes on the inclusion/exclusion of individuals with a DSD. A literature review was conducted, followed by a distribution of a survey involving 123 elite and world class athletes asking questions concerning the inclusion of athletes with a DSD. This was followed by interviews with five athletes who completed the survey, with one saying &#x201C;It&#x2019;s nice that you do your research about this&#x201D;, acknowledging the importance this research can provide. The combined results of the survey and interviews highlighted: the restricted knowledge current athletes possess about athletes with a DSD; the exclusion of athletes with a DSD is not widely accepted; asking athletes to take non-medically required drugs in order to compete is seen as unethical; the concept of fairness is inconsistent and difficult to conceptualise; finally, athletes with a DSD should be involved in future policy making regarding DSD inclusion. It was also acknowledged within the literature review and ethical discussion that current policies that encourage exclusion fail to have appropriate evidence justifying the rationale of excluding athletes with a DSD; show discriminatory characteristics; and break human rights. Therefore, this thesis hopes to provide evidence that excluding athletes with a DSD in elite female sport is not acceptable and inclusion of these athletes should be a top priority for SGBs.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication>Swansea</placeOfPublication><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>Elite Sport Policy</keywords><publishedDay>16</publishedDay><publishedMonth>2</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2023</publishedYear><publishedDate>2023-02-16</publishedDate><doi/><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><supervisor>Heffernan, Shane ; Harvey, Andy</supervisor><degreelevel>Master of Research</degreelevel><degreename>MSc by Research</degreename><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2023-02-23T17:46:35.2956359</lastEdited><Created>2023-02-20T17:31:39.9729902</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>NIALL</firstname><surname>FIFE</surname><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>Under embargo</filename><originalFilename>Under embargo</originalFilename><uploaded>2023-02-20T17:39:43.8954804</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>1281706</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>E-Thesis &#x2013; open access</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><embargoDate>2028-02-20T00:00:00.0000000</embargoDate><documentNotes>Copyright: The author, Niall T. Fife, 2023.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2023-02-23T17:46:35.2956359 v2 62701 2023-02-20 The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport a098adf89132518861922904303ef579 NIALL FIFE NIALL FIFE true false 2023-02-20 The exclusion of athletes with a Difference in Sex Development (DSD) who wish to compete within the female category has been contested among academics and Sporting Governing Bodies (SGBs), and has even involved legal disputes in the case of athletes Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya. Athletes with a DSD are currently being excluded from competing in specific elite female events and competitions by Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) and World Athletics (WA) in hope “to ensure fair and meaningful competition” (World Athletics, 2018, para.10)”. Although there is some literature being published about the exclusion of athletes with a DSD, there are perspectives that have not yet been accounted for, such as the opinions of elite and world class athletes. Therefore, the aim of this research was to uncover the opinions of elite and world class athletes on the inclusion/exclusion of individuals with a DSD. A literature review was conducted, followed by a distribution of a survey involving 123 elite and world class athletes asking questions concerning the inclusion of athletes with a DSD. This was followed by interviews with five athletes who completed the survey, with one saying “It’s nice that you do your research about this”, acknowledging the importance this research can provide. The combined results of the survey and interviews highlighted: the restricted knowledge current athletes possess about athletes with a DSD; the exclusion of athletes with a DSD is not widely accepted; asking athletes to take non-medically required drugs in order to compete is seen as unethical; the concept of fairness is inconsistent and difficult to conceptualise; finally, athletes with a DSD should be involved in future policy making regarding DSD inclusion. It was also acknowledged within the literature review and ethical discussion that current policies that encourage exclusion fail to have appropriate evidence justifying the rationale of excluding athletes with a DSD; show discriminatory characteristics; and break human rights. Therefore, this thesis hopes to provide evidence that excluding athletes with a DSD in elite female sport is not acceptable and inclusion of these athletes should be a top priority for SGBs. E-Thesis Swansea Elite Sport Policy 16 2 2023 2023-02-16 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Heffernan, Shane ; Harvey, Andy Master of Research MSc by Research 2023-02-23T17:46:35.2956359 2023-02-20T17:31:39.9729902 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences NIALL FIFE 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2023-02-20T17:39:43.8954804 Output 1281706 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true 2028-02-20T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The author, Niall T. Fife, 2023. true eng
title The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
spellingShingle The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
NIALL FIFE
title_short The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
title_full The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
title_fullStr The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
title_full_unstemmed The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
title_sort The Opinions of Athletes on the Exclusion of Individuals with a Difference in Sex Development in the Female Category of Elite Sport
author_id_str_mv a098adf89132518861922904303ef579
author_id_fullname_str_mv a098adf89132518861922904303ef579_***_NIALL FIFE
author NIALL FIFE
author2 NIALL FIFE
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2023
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences
document_store_str 0
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description The exclusion of athletes with a Difference in Sex Development (DSD) who wish to compete within the female category has been contested among academics and Sporting Governing Bodies (SGBs), and has even involved legal disputes in the case of athletes Dutee Chand and Caster Semenya. Athletes with a DSD are currently being excluded from competing in specific elite female events and competitions by Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) and World Athletics (WA) in hope “to ensure fair and meaningful competition” (World Athletics, 2018, para.10)”. Although there is some literature being published about the exclusion of athletes with a DSD, there are perspectives that have not yet been accounted for, such as the opinions of elite and world class athletes. Therefore, the aim of this research was to uncover the opinions of elite and world class athletes on the inclusion/exclusion of individuals with a DSD. A literature review was conducted, followed by a distribution of a survey involving 123 elite and world class athletes asking questions concerning the inclusion of athletes with a DSD. This was followed by interviews with five athletes who completed the survey, with one saying “It’s nice that you do your research about this”, acknowledging the importance this research can provide. The combined results of the survey and interviews highlighted: the restricted knowledge current athletes possess about athletes with a DSD; the exclusion of athletes with a DSD is not widely accepted; asking athletes to take non-medically required drugs in order to compete is seen as unethical; the concept of fairness is inconsistent and difficult to conceptualise; finally, athletes with a DSD should be involved in future policy making regarding DSD inclusion. It was also acknowledged within the literature review and ethical discussion that current policies that encourage exclusion fail to have appropriate evidence justifying the rationale of excluding athletes with a DSD; show discriminatory characteristics; and break human rights. Therefore, this thesis hopes to provide evidence that excluding athletes with a DSD in elite female sport is not acceptable and inclusion of these athletes should be a top priority for SGBs.
published_date 2023-02-16T04:22:32Z
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score 11.036815

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