Myths about Testosterone

T’s effect on athletic performance isn’t always positive, as the IAAF’s own data on elite women athletes well demonstrates. The IAAF says it has data showing women athletes’ performance suffers following abrupt and dramatic T suppression. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the most common reason that women have naturally high T levels, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) were recently explicitly excluded from the 2019 regulations even when their levels exceed the threshold, though the IAAF has argued that women with PCOS and CAH derive “advantage” from high T.

Likewise, recent IAAF statements highlight sex-atypical chromosomes and gonads, which functions as a dog whistle to suggest that the targeted women athletes are not “really” women.

Source: blogs.scientificamerican.com