Word: patinos
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Every year a handful of women share Patino's fate -- the result of certain genetic anomalies. In Patino's case, and doubtless in many others, the repercussions were devastating and humiliating. Not only was she barred from competing, but she lost an athletic scholarship and watched her boyfriends walk off in confusion...
...disguise. Female athletes had to parade nude before a panel of gynecologists to be certified as women. By 1968, this demeaning practice was abandoned in favor of a more dignified and supposedly more scientific chromosome exam. But no one guessed that it would backfire against women like Patino...
Spanish hurdler Maria Jose Martinez Patino never doubted her femininity until she arrived in Kobe, Japan, in 1985 to compete at the World University Games. Like all female athletes participating in international tournaments, she had to take a genetic sex-determination test, aimed at preventing men in drag from unfairly competing against women. Though Patino had passed such an exam in the past, she had forgotten to bring along proof. This time, to her amazement, she failed. The first test had evidently been botched. Patino, though clearly a female anatomically, is, at a genetic level, just as clearly...
...apparent gender." In some cases, the Y chromosome is defective and fails to properly signal the body to produce masculinizing hormones -- or in the case of men who are genetically female, an X chromosome inappropriately signals the body to produce excess testosterone. In instances such as Patino's, male hormones may be present, but the body lacks the proper receptors to respond. Such individuals look female and, significantly for sports, have the size and musculature of a woman; the Y chromosome is irrelevant...
...Patino spent three years fighting to regain her female status and won, even before the I.A.A.F. changed its procedures. She hopes to compete in this summer's Olympics, which will be held in her native land. Luckily for her fellow track stars, Olympic officials will now accept an I.A.A.F. certificate of femininity instead of chromosomal proof. But XY women in other sports will be out of luck, unless the International Olympic Committee updates its policy...