Athlete’s Body

TAKEMURA Mizuho

doi:10.32262/wsca.21.0_2

This article focuses on the naturalness of an athlete’s body required by the sports world and discusses the paradoxes and problems raised from the pursuit of naturalness. Sport is a physical culture with a long history. It has transformed over time. Changes in the external environment due to advances in science and technology have contributed to the improvement of performance in sports. For example, racetracks have drastically changed. Among the circumstances surrounding the sophistication of performance in sports, both the pursuit to modify the athlete’s body (that is, doping) as well as changes in external environment should be considered. Some ethical and philosophical studies on doping issues have argued that evidence has yet to be found to directly support the prohibition of doping. One reason for doping prohibitions is from the viewpoint of “naturalness of the body”. However, a natural body sometimes becomes a target of exclusion in competitive sports. For female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels, the naturalness of the body is regarded as an issue. In some cases, they are not allowed to compete unless they receive medical intervention to artificially treat the condition of natural doping. Then, what kind of naturalness of the body is required in the sports world? Are genetic modifications such as manipulation of generative or somatic cells natural? Are female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels unnatural? Based on these questions, this article discusses the fluctuating views on naturalness and the arbitrary naturalness requirements of an athlete’s body by the sports world.

Athlete’s Body

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