Sporting Bodies and Gender Policing: African Female Athletes in Global Track and Field Governance

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 181–194

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001308

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Sporting Bodies and Gender Policing: African Female Athletes in Global Track and Field Governance

Names of Author: Sibongile Khumalo¹, Matteo Conti², & Simone Dubois³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Sport and Movement Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa; ²Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; ³Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Abstract:
International athletics governing bodies have increasingly implemented sex-testing regulations and testosterone eligibility thresholds that disproportionately target elite female athletes from the Global South. Framed under the guise of protecting fairness in women’s sports, these biomedical policies rely on narrow Eurocentric definitions of femininity that scrutinize and police the bodies of Black and African women. Athletes subjected to mandatory hormone testing face invasive medical procedures, public humiliation, and abrupt career suspensions. This paper interrogates the racialized and gendered politics of eligibility regulations in international track and field between 2014 and 2025. Anchored in postcolonial feminist theory and critical sport studies, the analysis examines regulatory documents, legal arbitration rulings, and media coverage surrounding affected East and Southern African runners. We demonstrate how sporting governance reproduces colonial bodily surveillance while highlighting the legal and collective resistance mounted by African athletes and feminist human rights advocates.

Keywords: Gender policing, African female athletes, sport governance, postcolonial feminism, bodily autonomy, track and field, racialized femininity, human rights

Manuscript Timeline: Received: July 16, 2026; Revised: August 18, 2026; Accepted: August 22, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026.

Citation: Khumalo, S., Conti, M., & Dubois, S. (2026). Sporting Bodies and Gender Policing: African Female Athletes in Global Track and Field Governance. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(9), 181–194. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001308

Subscribe to read the full article: https://www.internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read