Duke Law Live: Sex and Sport

Sex segregation in sport has been the norm in the modern era, including under Title IX. Initially borne of combination of cultural etiquette, sex stereotype, and an understanding that women could not be physically competitive against men, today the policy is justified entirely by scientific and statistical evidence of this sex-linked performance gap: If we want sex equality in competitive sport we have to provide separate sex sport. The movement to include intersex and transgender athletes who identify as girls and women in girls' and women's events poses a challenge to the goal as well as to the sex conscious means designed to achieve it. Professor Doriane Coleman will describe this historical, scientific, and legal background before turning to the questions that are most prominent in the national conversation today: Can Title IX survive - legally and practically - the proposed redefinition of "sex" to include "gender identity"? What is the future of girls' and women's sport?

Sponsored by the Office of Alumni and Development. For more information, please contact alumni_office@law.duke.edu.