An Olympic squabble over gender and gender identity may go to the courts.
Dutee Chand, the Indian Olympic sprinter who has been at the center of conversations about intersex athletes and women with higher-than-usual testosterone levels, is about to sue former Indian Olympic sprinter Rachita Panda Mistry after the latter allegedly called the former “transgender.”
To be clear, Chand is not transgender. Some people presume she is intersex as tests have allegedly revealed her testosterone levels are higher than average for women. Intersex is not transgender.
“After [Mistry] dubbed me as transgender, my own people are distancing themselves from me,” Chand said, according to Asian Age. “People are now treating me differently as if I’m not a human being. This has put me under serious traumatic conditions.”
Chand is the Indian national record holder in the 100 meters, breaking the previous record held by Mistry. In 2015 she won the right to compete as a woman (which, by the way, she is), thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, despite a heavy push to exclude her. Chand won a bronze medal in the 100 meters in the Asian Athletics Championships last week.
Hat tip: Erik Hall
