South African runner Caster Semenya, whose gender has come into question very publicly after her victory at the World Championships, is “glamming it up” on the cover of You magazine with the headline, “Wow, Look at Caster Now!” I don’t know what she usually looks like out of her running clothes, so maybe she usually lets her hair down and dresses more stereotypically “pretty.” Still, it’s unfortunate that public pressure has pushed her to feel the need to look a certain way.
Now comes a bombshell: The claim that Semenya is a hermaphrodite with internal testes and no ovaries. The Sydney Daily Telegraph quotes an anonymous IAAF source. If that is the case, the road ahead will be really rough for Semenya. She will likely be stripped of her World Championship medal and her amazing records; And, according to the Daily Telegraph, the IAAF will likely recommend surgery “because the condition carries grave health risks.”
I feel for Semenya. She’s probably grown up always thinking she was female, not wanting to deceive anyone. At a dinner this past weekend, the issue came up and all of my friends couldn’t understand why the “visual test” wasn’t enough to satisfy whether the person should compete as a man or a woman. “Does she have a penis or not?” My friend asked. To him, whatever advantage she may have is just like the advantage that Michael Jordan had over everyone else: It was genetic. I see his argument; On the other hand, it’s tough because if she’s a woman, she’s getting a constant natural injection of testosterone. That definitely changes the playing field.
So tough. What would you do if you were track’s governing body?
on Sep 10th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I’ve seen one report that the IAAF says it is not going to strip her medal, no matter what the report says. They may be concerned about the fact that the South African government is furious about it, and there are indications that the UN may get involved. So this affair is probably not ending anytime soon.
And it’s pretty clear to me that Semenya was pressured to do the You Magazine makeover. SA evidently wants her looking like a girl no matter what the IAAF findings may be.
on Sep 10th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
As to the claim that Semenya is a “hermaphrodite” — this term actually refers to someone who has sexual characteristics of both genders, by mentioning both Hermes and Aphrodite, the Greek god and goddess.
“Internal testes and no ovaries” sounds like it’s more in the ballpark of Erika Schinegger, the 1960s Austrian world champion downhill skier that I wrote about a few years ago. Schinegger was actually an XY male with undescended testicles and some external genital anomalies that caused him to be misidentified as a girl at birth. He eventually did have surgery and changed his legal gender to male…but he certainly didn’t have any “grave” health problems while blowing away all other competition as a female skiier.
The IAAF continues to be in violation of its own rules, with all these constant leaks about a matter that was supposed to have been investigated in complete confidence.
on Sep 11th, 2009 at 4:03 am
One more comment: A South African website called “The Science of Sports” is maintaining a pretty good up-to-the-minute reportage of this whole affair. Including some of the complicated genetics involved, and how they relate to athlete performance.
Outsports readers can find it at http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/08/caster-semenya-male-or-female.html
Meanwhile I agree with Cyd — all this has to be very tough on Semenya herself.
on Sep 11th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Thanks Patricia!
on Sep 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am
If they are going to call this situation a problem because she has a higher then normal testosterone count then how about women that have PCOS? I have PCOS and my testosterone count is normal for a male. Does that in turn make me male? I would hope not.
on Sep 11th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
so does she get to race the men now too? seems only fair…..
on Sep 11th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I think most of us don’t want Semenya to feel ridiculed or rejected, she had no control of her birth condition. To me, and many others I’m sure, a person must be born with ovaries and without testes to be biologically female. I read somewhere that she doesn’t have a uterus? Her developing body was likely strengthened by extra testosterone from her testes, which gives her an unfair physical advantage over the other women. I feel for her situation, but it isn’t fair to make biological females compete against her.
on Sep 13th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I can’t believe I’m hearing this. This is not about someone cheating to get ahead. She used her natural ability, whether common or not, to win. Isn’t that what sports competition is all about? How is that any different than Lance Armstrong having a larger lung capacity?
She deserves to keep her medal. She didn’t choose to be born the way she is but she is making the best of her talent and ability.