Swedish footballers had to show their vulvas to compete in the 2011 World Cup

You read correctly. During the 2011 Women’s World Cup, Swedish players had to undergo a genital exam for ” show » that they really were cis women.

A humbling experience

In his new book Jag sa inte ens hälften (I didn’t say half in French), midfielder Nilla Fischer, who played for Sweden 194 times, revealed the contours of this qualified experience ” humiliating “.

The tests were allegedly carried out by a physiotherapist, at the request of a doctor, during the 2011 World Cup held in Germany. This protocol would have been imposed following the transphobic rumors circulating at the time, according to which the Equatorial Guinea women’s team contained players among the players.

” We were told not to shave for a few days and that we should show our genitals to a doctor. writes Fischer in his book.

” No one got the shaving thing figured out, but we complied and wondered how we got here. Why were we forced to do it now? There had to be other ways to do it. Were we able to refuse? And, at the same time, no one wants to compromise their chances of participating in the World Cup. I had to do this to get rid of it, no matter how unhealthy and demeaning it was “.

Nilla Fisher, “Jag sa inte ens hälften »

“A Proper Kind”

In an interview for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, translated and quoted in part by our colleagues from KeeperNilla Fischer elaborates on the conditions of this pseudo-medical visit:

” I had to quickly pull my shorts and panties down at the same time, the physio nodded and said ‘yes’, before looking at the doctor who was outside with his back to my door. He took note, then continued down the hall to knock on the next door. Once all have been ‘checked’, i.e. showing their vulva, the team doctor can certify that the women’s national football team is indeed made up of all women. »

As reported by KeeperFischer’s testimony coincides temporally with when FIFA, two weeks before the 2011 World Cup, shared its rules (still in effect) regarding “ gender recognition which require each team to sign a declaration guaranteeing that the players chosen to participate in the worlds are ” of an appropriate type “. According to the protocol, it is up to each member association, before the appointment of its national team, to ensure the correct gender of all its members by trying to detect any deviations from secondary sexual characteristics “. The British newspaper also wonders why the choice to carry out this type of examination rather than the oral swab, a non-intrusive and inexpensive alternative that has already been in use for several decades.

The team doctor at the time, Mats Börjesson, came to FIFA’s defence: FIFA doesn’t do it to be mean to anyone. The sports world seeks to promote fairness so that girls who have trained all their lives are not faced with someone with an unreasonable advantage. “. Argument that recurs regularly when it comes to excluding trans people from sports competitions, and which certainly does not justify such an intrusive test.

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