The gendered effect of gender-neutral anti-doping policy: Women athletes and their lived experience

The World Anti-Doping Code, which shapes the lived experiences of athletes, is considered ‘gender-neutral’ and is deemed to be applied equally to men and women. Applying Feminist Institutionalist theory to data from 30 interviews with women athletes, support personnel, and anti-doping experts and executives, we find that the Code produces gendered effects on women athletes. Further, we argue that ‘gender-neutral’ rules applied equally to men and women overlook the gendered history of sport, perpetuate historical and existing gender power differences, and thus implicitly reinforce entrenched gender inequity in sport. This paper explores the interaction of gender and anti-doping and their impact on the lived experiences of women athletes within the context of sport in Australia.