Drug testing for gender became a major issue after Semenya an intersex cisgender woman, assigned female at birth was subjected to sex testing after her victory at the 2009 World Championships.
The I.A.A.F officials referred to Samenya as biologically male with female gender identities and forced her and other athletes with similar challenge to reduce their testosterone level. The 28-year-old Olympian challenged the IAAF over its decision to restrict testosterone levels in female runners for distances between 400m and a mile but lost.
What is gender?
According to the World Health Organization, Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviors and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.
Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social and economic inequalities. Gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors of discrimination, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, age, geographic location, gender identity and sexual orientation, among others. This is referred to as intersectionality.
Gender interacts with but is different from sex, which refers to the different biological and physiological characteristics of females, males and intersex persons, such as chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs. Gender and sex are related to but different from gender identity. Gender identity is defined as a personal conception of oneself as male or female (or rarely, both or neither).
What is a drug test?
A drug test looks for the presence of one or more illegal or prescription drugs in your urine, blood, saliva, hair, or sweat. Urine testing is the most common type of drug screening. Other names of this analysis include; drug screen, drug test, drugs of abuse testing, substance abuse testing, toxicology screen, tox screen, sports doping tests.
What happens during a drug test?
A drug test generally requires that you give a urine sample in a lab. You will be given instructions to provide a “clean catch” sample. The clean catch method includes the following steps:
- Wash your hands
- Clean your genital area with a cleansing pad given to you by your provider. Men should wipe the tip of their penis. Women should open their labia and clean from front to back.
- Start to urinate into the toilet.
- Move the collection container under your urine stream.
- Collect at least an ounce or two of urine into the container, which should have markings to indicate the amounts.
- Finish urinating into the toilet.
- Return the sample container to the lab technician or health care provider.
In certain instances, a medical technician or other staff member may need to be present while you provide your sample.
What is it used for?
Drug screening is used to find out whether or not a person has taken a certain drug or drugs. It may be used for:
Employment. Employers may test you before hiring and/or after hiring to check for on-the-job drug use.
Sports organizations. Professional and collegiate athletes usually need to take a test for performance-enhancing drugs or other substances.
Legal or forensic purposes. Testing may be part of a criminal or motor vehicle accident investigation. Drug screening may also be ordered as part of a court case.
Monitoring opioid use. If you’ve been prescribed an opioid for chronic pain, your health care provider may order a drug test to make sure you are taking the right amount of your medicine.
Can A Drug Test Detect Gender
Yes, according to an Article in Maine News, a drug test can detect gender. The urine test is one of the commonly done drug tests because it is more cost-effective and quicker. There is also a difference between male and female urine.
How Drug Test Differs Based On Gender
If you are a sports enthusiast, you will know or must have heard about the importance of drug tests in sports. Sports bodies use it to determine traces of performance enhancers or illegal drugs consumed by athletes.
Now the most uncomplicated and frequently done test is the urine drug test. The urine test is budget-friendly and easy to collect samples.
But keep in mind that the sex of patients can be determined from the urine sample.
However, no test can determine the sex of the individual directly, not even the urine test. Lab technicians can only detect the gender of an individual via various means which includes the presence of foreign materials and the level of the trace hormone the urine sample contains.
Here Is The Difference Between A Man And A Woman Urine Sample
The urine of women has the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone. It’s a hormone that the female folks secrets during pregnancy. Women can also conduct pregnancy tests at home courtesy of this hormone.
Another thing that differentiates a female from male urine is the presence of red blood cells. When a woman is in her period, there would be traces of red blood cells in her urine sample. So this can help to determine the sex of the test taker.
Now let’s turn to men. Men’s muscle mass is higher than that of women. And as a consequence, there could be a higher amount of creatinine present in the urine.
Again, sperm or residual pre-ejaculate can make its way from the urethra into the urine. So, seeing traces of sperm in the urine sample will be a good indication that the specimen in question belongs to a male.
So, sex hormones, blood, reproductive cells and pH help to determine the gender of the test taker.
Can I Use A Urine Sample From A Different Gender To Pass My Drug Test?
Well, the truth is that the urine of male and female is the same to the naked eye. You won’t be able to differentiate both by color, or merely looking at the urine. You can use the urine sample collected from another gender to pass a urine test. However, some doctors and lab technicians are smarter than you think. They may monitor you while you place the sample in a container.
In such cases, you might not be able to present different urine. Otherwise, you will be able to use a sample from the opposite sex. You should also remember that there are notable differences between male and female urine. And as a consequence, any company that suspects an irregularity in one’s test result might ask for a gender-based test.
It’s still a rare case because the cost of conducting lab tests from a urine sample to determine gender is expensive. Many companies might not want to spend that much on the test alone. SEE: United Nations Definition of Gender Inequality
