Comments on: Claim: Semenya is ‘a hermaphrodite’

By: moby

moby — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:21:35 +0000

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.

By: Hako

Hako — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:05:11 +0000

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.

By: DruggyBear

DruggyBear — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:15:37 +0000

so does she get to race the men now too? seems only fair…..

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:23:04 +0000

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.

By: Jay Original

Jay Original — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:30:08 +0000

Thanks Patricia!

By: Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:03:03 +0000

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.

By: Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:19:13 +0000

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.

By: Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:07:23 +0000

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.