We tend not to think of testosterone as a female hormone. In men, it’s linked to aggression, virility, muscles, risk-taking, deep voice, hairiness – pretty much all those things we associate with a certain kind of stereotypical alpha-male. However, women produce testosterone too, and the case of athlete Caster Semenya shot the hormone into the headlines. Her T levels are unusually high for a woman, which some argue gives her an unfair performance advantage.
In May this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled female athletes with high T levels competing in races from 400m to one mile should take hormone suppressants. Critics aren’t happy, saying it polices women’s bodies, and sends controversial messages about what’s acceptably ‘female’.