Genetic Tests Under Fire

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 a man. She was...