According to the Holy Bible, God only created man and woman. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, women who want to be men and men who want to be women are getting more and more acceptable, and can more freely compete in the international sports competition.
New guidelines released by the panel now allow transgender athletes to participate in sports competitions without having to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.
The current IOC essentially reversed its own guidelines it set forth in 2003, requiring athletes who transitioned from male to female or vice versa to undergo sexual reassignment surgery and to have hormone therapy for at least two years to be allowed to compete in the Olympics.
In an interview with The Associated Press, IOC medical director Dr. Richard Budgett explained that that the panel's recommendation to be more accommodating towards transgender athletes is based on current scientific, social and legal attitudes and studies.
He added that the recommendations are meant to serve as guidelines, not imposed rules or regulations, to other sports federations who plan to join the Olympics in Brazil this year.
"I don't think many federations have rules on defining eligibility of transgender individuals. This should give them the confidence and stimulus to put these rules in place," Budgett said.
Female-to-male athletes in particular can now take part in men's competitions during the upcoming Olympics "without restriction."
For male athletes who are transitioning into females, hormone therapy is still required, and they must show that their testosterone level has been below a certain cutoff point for at least one year before their first Olympic competition.
"It is necessary to ensure insofar as possible that trans athletes are not excluded from the opportunity to participate in sporting competition," the IOC stated on its new guidelines, as quoted by The Guardian.
"To require surgical anatomical changes as a precondition to participation is not necessary to preserve fair competition and may be inconsistent with developing legislation and notions of human rights," the panel added.
The committee explained that the ultimate goal of these new guidelines is to guarantee "fair competition" during the Olympics.
