Testosterone testing for women?

I saw an article today from ScienceDaily that I do not know how I feel about. There has been some discussion concerning the policies of Olympic testing of testosterone levels in some women  competitors. Controversy arose concerning competitor Caster Semenya, who ended up winning a gold metal in the women's 800 meters at the 2009 World Championships. According to the article, she was forced to undergo many tests that undoubtedly put her through much stress, and may even have caused her to question her identity (Stanford University Medical Center, 2012). What drove the testing were the other competitor's complaints that Semenya was "too masculine" and that those kinds of people should not run with them because they are like men" (Stanford University Medical Center, 2012). To my pleasure, as well as Semenya's I presume, she was eligible to compete as a woman and kept the gold metal. But due to the controversy, the IAAF has issued rules and policies to adhere if a female athlete's testosterone levels are unusually high. If that is the case for a contestant, they must somehow lower their levels in order to compete.

Semenya. Taken from http://www.stinkypalace.com/img/misc/caster-semenya/caster-semenya01.jpg

While the other women were angry for their seemingly disadvantaged state, it was not right to discriminate against Semenya for her physical attributes, and cause her to undergo many tests. Nor is it right to put a cap on how much testosterone is allowed in a woman for her to be considered a woman. This, I am sure, will bring much debate amongst the scientific community: what makes a woman a woman? Surely, low testosterone levels should not be the determining factor. Moreover, one could argue that the other competitors were simply not prepared enough to be considered women athletes. As long as Semenya has not injected herself with testosterone, she should not be punished for her mastery of her ability. After all, people who excel in a sport are not told they cannot play because of their biological make-up. Good basketball players that are tall should not (and are not) told to lower their height so that they are of average height before they can play, and the same thought process behind that tolerance should be used here. I am disappointed to see that it is not.


Reference:
Stanford University Medical Center (2012, June 13). Proposed testosterone testing of some female Olympians challenged. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 14, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2012/06/120613153333.htm