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Dutee Chand Ethics

Decent Essays

100 years ago, the question of whether someone was male or female was never controversial. Today, between transgenders, cross dressers, and steroid pumping athletes, the simple definition of male and female has begun to blur. New lines are being drawn to determine what classifies someone to a specific gender. Is it anatomy, or the gender one identifies as? Dutee Chand identifies as a women and possesses the body of a female. But inside, her body creates an excess of testosterone, a chemical specific primarily to men’s bodies. This wouldn’t be an issue, except Chand is a professional sprinter and the excess testosterone could give her a competitive advantage. It is moral to let Chand race because the purpose of competitive track and field is to determine who is naturally superior and to provide athletic activity for all and Aristotle would reason she should race because she is one of the best at her craft, and she shouldn’t be put at a disadvantage running against men just because she has a natural advantage over women. Chand is gifted at running, so she should be able to use her talent. She should be able to use her competitive advantage for her own gain because competition will never be fair. …show more content…

In order to select the morally correct solution, one must identify the purpose and match the moral action to the telos. To elucidate on Chand’s situation, the International Association of Athletics Federations’ purpose is to, “...fully understand that athletics is no longer just about high performance, gold medals and records, but also about “sport for all” and about ensuring that the maximum number of citizens are able to participate in athletics” (IAAF 6). Thus, Chand shouldn’t be banned from racing because they want a diverse and widespread number of citizens to

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