Hacker News Reader

Comment by carbadtraingood | Hacker News Reader

What's a biological man? Not a Y chromosome, since they used to test Olympic athletes but found that the presence of a Y chromosome was not sufficient to identify men and women. (There are multiple genetic conditions that can cause this.) Many athletes had an unpleasant surprise at the hands of the IOC resulting in at least one suicide.

History and relevant link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_verification_in_sports#:....

View on HN

>What's a biological man? Not a Y chromosome, since they used to test Olympic athletes but found that the presence of a Y chromosome was not sufficient to identify men and women. (There are multiple genetic conditions that can cause this.) Many athletes had an unpleasant surprise at the hands of the IOC resulting in at least one suicide.

that is a non-sequitur. the conclusion doesnt follow from the premises.

What conclusion? I just pointed out one historical attempt to define "biological man", and noted that it ended in failure?

"What's a biological man? Not a Y chromosome."

Right. That's the definition the international Olympic committee tried to enforce. The presence of a Y chromosome meant athletes weren't allowed to compete.

The problem is that many women (who are not trans) have a Y chromosome. They are either XXY (Klinefelter), or XY (Swyer), XY mosaicism, or any of the other intersex conditions.

Are those people not women? They may have fallopian tubes, a vagina, and a uterus, but also a Y chromosome.

Pretty sure the question is rhetorical, friend.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com