Comments on: On Caster Semenya

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:44:24 +0000

Certainly there are a few truly reasonable comments here. Most people are just ranting, about this and that, when in fact neither side truly has any proof. Rather there is reason to be suspicious and I dont know why people are so against this test. She does look an awful lot like a man, she talks like a man, in her interviews she seems to act like a man. So why not test her?

There is so much controversy around this whole issue, stemming from her coach, and the SA association. Also the fact that the race card gets played when someone like this gets criticized is absurd, as im sure most educated african americans would be ashamed that the SA delegation would base it primarily on race.

So I do hope you all can be reasonable rather then so narrow minded.

P.S. The part about Husain Bolt being tested for being human was pretty funny. Reason certainly plays a small role in this persons head.

By: Jean J

Jean J — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:35:06 +0000

I am a medical doctor(albeit not a specialist on gender: dermatologist) and Korean(Asian).
I feel very sorry for Miss Semenya now the results are out. What an international attention on such a private matter….and that she cannot enjoy the wonderful world of motherhood.
From the academic aspect, I wonder what medical decisions should be made on her internal testes. Normally, if a person has non-functioning testes and is phenotypically a woman, the standard treatment usually is to surgically remove them, for they would often transform into testicular cancer. In her case, it is functioning but still might have higher potential to be cancerous someday. On the other hand, it would also negatively affect her performances if those were cut out.

By: Caster Semenya’s | The Intersection | Discover Magazine

Caster Semenya’s | The Intersection | Discover Magazine — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:49:22 +0000

[...] to the BBC, 18-year-old South African 800m world champion Caster Semenya has taken part in a makeover in a magazine after athletic officials questioned her gender. [...]

By: Female???

Female??? — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:47:31 +0000

I am an African (born in Africa south, dark in skin colour) female (so I think).

I am not overly educated, neither am I knowledgeable in the ways of the human body, genetics, gynaecology, endocrinology, pyschology or the sciences that are mentioned here.

All I know is that Caster is a human being and other human beings are being very mean in how they are addressing this, whether on the wrong or the right side. We all need to learn a big lesson in bigotry from this whole saga.

Never forget that circumstances might have been different, it could have been YOU in the middle of this barrage of attacks and counter attacks.

Be kind

By: Jean J

Jean J — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:22:20 +0000

Well, let’s wait and see what happens. This is no matter to boil over. I think Miss Semenya is being really brave, and if she turns out to be genetically male, that’s very unfortunate but not her fault.
One more thing, someone on the board has commented she might be XX and have CAIS, you are wrong. It’s XY that can have CAIS and express as a female with male genes. If you are XX and CAIS, that would only make you more womanly.

By: Betsy R

Betsy R — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:01:51 +0000

This case is weird. I am amazed at how well this young woman is holding up to this controversy.

Haven’t we all known mannish-looking women and feminine-looking women? Yeah, the generalized norms ares simply the way most people appear within the sexes. Yes, men tend to be larger and stronger than women.

She is supposed to want children. The boys she played football with said she would always go off by herself to change. She must be having a monthly menstrual cycle.

I’m a big, tall woman who has no physical strength, and I’m much smaller than my big, tall, strong brothers. We’re German English and I tower over most Asian men.

When I first saw Caster, she looked like a man to me. But, the more I look at her, the more she looks like a woman. When I see her running, she looks like a man. But, her face with the bright eyes and broad smile seem feminine. I see a feminine vulnerability on her face, but vulnerability doesn’t have to be a feminine trait, nor does what I perceive as her feminine facial expession.

I think this girl has a lovely, strong, healthy face. I can understand why some of the other girls don’t think she should be running wtih them.

The best solution I saw was to have n0n-gender races, but that would never work, because most men can out-run most women.

In life, there are no clear-cut answers.

Caster is a heroine to me, not just because she is a strong athlete. She said she did stuff like play football and run because she likes to. Supposedly, she has never let the gender comments disturb her, but it can’t be easy. She is a very strong young woman for her emotional perseverance and persistence in doing what she likes.

Yes, there have been serious abuses with doping athletes to alter their hormones and change performance. Those are shocking. But this girl appears to be an unchemically altered athlete.

If we had unisex athletic competiitons, there would probably be more tinkering with biology.

So, I say to Caster, “You go, girl!”

By: Erin H.

Erin H. — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:21:03 +0000

Honest to Pete! You people are ridiculous! I’m 13, I just took a sex ed course. You know what? SHE’S A WOMAN. Just like me. She may not walk, talk, look, and certainly not run like me, but she is still a woman.

Erin

By: Paul Nanan

Paul Nanan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:01:34 +0000

How long does it take to determine if someone is female or male? Is more than a physical examination necessary? For some reason, the IAAF feels that they must conduct numerous tests from a group of doctors to determine if Caster Semenya is really a female, thereby allowing her to continue competing in woman’s track events. Their chosen group of doctors include an endocrinologist, a gynecologist, an internal medicine expert, an expert on gender, and last but not least, a psychologist. If she has the correct anatomy, and can have a child, isn’t she a woman? No one was expecting a young black South African woman to completely dominate the women’s 800 meters at the 2009 World Championships, but that is exactly what Caster Semenya did! Ironically, Usain Bolt dominated his competition and set world record times that no one thought was possible. Why has the IAAF not started testing him (as far as we know) to see if he is really human?
The IAAF is embarrassing themselves and Caster Semenya by making this so public. Does the IAAF understand that because she might not look like everyone else, this doesn’t make her a villain? Technically, they are not saying that she cheated, but in investigating her, they might as well be! We need to stop having the so called “elite-people” classifying the identities of others because they may look different, talk different, are taller, shorter, or have a different skin color. If there are legitimate suspicions I could understand, but because the person does not fit the mold of what we think they should be, is completely ridiculous.
Remember throughout all this nonsense, there is a human being and her name is Caster Semenya. They have not only threatened to take away her medal but have insulted her before the entire world! The IAAF should drop this investigation and apologize. Caster Semenya is a woman! Like it or not, the human species is evolving and she could very well be what women look like in the future, faster and stronger!

By: Top 10 DNA Paternity Testing Myths Revealed

Top 10 DNA Paternity Testing Myths Revealed — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:12:04 +0000

[...] On Caster Semenya | The Intersection | Discover Magazine [...]

By: Alessandra

Alessandra — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:51:26 +0000

This is the contextual historical background for Ekkart Arbeit (the current SA Athletics’ head coach).

East Germany’s monstrous doping program

For a fascinating read on the subject:

http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/43/7/1262

Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government

Werner W. Franke1,a and Brigitte Berendonk2

Abstract
Several classified documents saved after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990 describe the promotion by the government of the use of drugs, notably androgenic steroids, in high-performance sports (doping). Top-secret doctoral theses, scientific reports, progress reports of grants, proceedings from symposia of experts, and reports of physicians and scientists who served as unofficial collaborators for the Ministry for State Security (“Stasi”) reveal that from 1966 on, hundreds of physicians and scientists, including top-ranking professors, performed doping research and administered prescription drugs as well as unapproved experimental drug preparations. Several thousand athletes were treated with androgens every year, including minors of each sex. Special emphasis was placed on administering androgens to women and adolescent girls because this practice proved to be particularly effective for sports performance.