(WH)Y??? 800m Women’s World Champion Caster Semenya

 OMGOSH, How do you explain this to a 10 year old ? ” “Pierre Weiss, disclosed that the investigation was two-fold, ongoing both in South Africa and in Berlin. Officials citing medical privacy concerns, still mentioned the age old and now almost extinct gender verification tests will be conducted to determine her gender.  Davies stressed that the situation was not one in which authorities suspect fraud – that is, the deliberate entry of one known to be a man in a woman’s race.   Instead, he said, the question is whether Caster Semenya is entitled to be in the women’s draw”.

Mom why are they going to test her?

Let’s start over….Wednesday I watched as South African Caster Semenya “Crush with ease the nearest competitor in the 800m Championship race. Honestly, my first thought was wow she runs so fast ,fluid and powerful.  The comentator, as she crossed the line mentioned that she was having a great season and then I noticed that she had a uniform that was a bit more modest than 99% of the women running. As a mom I like that,but I like some of the other uniforms also.

No big deal. Then I notice that she wasn’t as feminine looking as some ,but no big deal either. It’s not the first time that girls have looked like or demomstrate manuerisms that aren’t exactly the same as many girls, it certainly doesn’t mean they are not girls.

I took offense  that the commentors almost immediately  announce that she was being tested for “Gender Clarity” Oh boy what does that mean, I mean what does it really mean??? Is she a girl or a boy?  Is it fair  to announce to the entire world something that is so utterly personal and perhaps painful be aired on TV  any time especially after a stunning win? What happened to her moment and the respect due it. Why didn’t they check all of this out before hand,if it was going to be an issue??  How long do the tests really take? She’s been like this  apparently since birth certainly the last few years  for sure.

 Oh maybe it’s all my femaleness that makes be feel for this young girl, still a teen but what every happen to privacy and decorum? She is a kid.This could be a very damaging topic to her not handled properly. I now know that many  people for a while have been questioning her femaleness her ACTUAL GENDER ,but she has been running for a while  and from most reports always looked more masculine.  I am not assuming she is a  boy just a more masculine girl.

We have all seen girls like this. Why is it so shocking to see a girl with her attributes running?? My gosh many of our track girls to some people look  less than feminine . Not to us but to some that don’t appreciate the beauty of a well trained hard in all the right places girl. I realize this situation is about way  more that a girl that is an athlete. I can’t tell you how many times mom’s at Lauren’s school ask me how do I keep Lauren looking “feminine”?? Oh I don’t know…breath..stupid comments from stupid people.

 Yes, they are fuctioning on less than a brain, but I know what they are talking about. They are afraid their girls, if allowed to partiicpate in sports will become more masculine,more like a ” athletic girl”.  If  you are in involved in track and field or other sports for that matter and some one says a girl runs like a girl . That is almost,well it is an major insult..go figure.. What’s a girl to do?? Run like a boy look like a girl.

My first response to Caster Semenya situation might not have been what most peoples were.I thought wow how much testing will they need and what is the threshold to be a girl ?  Let me try a quick not so easy explanation.

Moving right past the obvious,  1. Genitalia isn’t always  the best or only  way to determine gender in special cases. 2.There are many people that aren’t obviously female or male but their Chromosomes X’s Y’s XX XY say they are are or are not a certain gender they may look like.Some of these people that are mostly represented as one or the other gender with an anomaly that gives them traits of a certain  gender, this is  based in part on where and what the placement of these chromosomal markers do to outward display.

If expression of a certain gender has to do with a  gender trait you can see ,you may think a person is a certain gender. But if you can’t  outwardly see certain  gender markers that say  for example “girl” the girl may actually show more boy gender traits even though the markers are “more” girl. Are you still with me?? It is reported that Semenya was born with both male and female genitals.  I have no way of knowing for sure.It is also reported that he birth certificate says girl.

The tests requested  are meant to prove which one is exerting more over-all endocrinological influence on the physiology of her body. It could  be argued based on what we see it is clearly a male influence.

But is she a male?  The tests may prove that she has a very strong male influence while still “a woman” then what ? No other woman in the field has this clear advantage so does that  disqualified? All great athletes have some sort of great “super human” like qualilty but we don’t disqualify them from the field, we marvel at their gift.  I recall a youth 800m runner that has a lung capacity that is highly unusal and a great asset,they didn’t take himout of competition just acknowledged his specialness in that area.  I realize not quite the same . Caster has greater implications but something to think about no the less. Where will the line be drawn? This is a very tough subject that will need many ethics professors and medical experts to sort out. How much of the “Y” is too much “Y” for a girl to be a girl? If she has the ability to have children  would that make a difference in the conversation ? 

 The term for people with similar traits and others not mentioned in her particular case are refered to as Intersex. You will see it is very broad term and has many facets. It’s almost a catch all definitions for the person that may be confused. I know this is kinda deep stuff. But hang on.

The following information comes from the web site About.com

“Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types-for example, a girl may be born with a noticeably large clitoris, or lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy may be born with a notably small penis, or with a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed more like labia. Or a person may be born with mosaic genetics, so that some of her cells have XX chromosomes and some of them have XY.

Though we speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn’t found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied. Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone (including themselves) ever knowing.

Which variations of sexual anatomy count as intersex? In practice, different people have different answers to that question. That’s not surprising, because intersex isn’t a discreet or natural category.

What does this mean? Intersex is a socially constructed category that reflects real biological variation. To better explain this, we can liken the sex spectrum to the color spectrum. There’s no question that in nature there are different wavelengths that translate into colors most of us see as red, blue, orange, yellow. But the decision to distinguish, say, between orange and red-orange is made only when we need it-like when we’re asking for a particular paint color. Sometimes social necessity leads us to make color distinctions that otherwise would seem incorrect or irrational, as, for instance, when we call certain people “black” or “white” when they’re not especially black or white as we would otherwise use the terms.

For more in depth information on this topic read more here

 

 

 

The Family Speaks Out

“Her proud mother Dorcus Semenya declared: ‘I know who and what my child is. Caster is all girl, and no one can change that.’ Speaking from her home in the rural village of Seshego in South Africa’s Limpopo province, the mother-of-six added: ‘If you ask any of my neighbours, they would tell you that Caster is a girl.’

However, Caster’s former headmaster, Eric Mobida, said she was about 15 before he realised she was a girl.

‘She was always rough and played with the boys,’ he said. ‘She liked soccer and she wore pants to school, never a dress. It was only in grade 11 that I realised she’s a girl.’

Caster’s grandmother, Maphuthi Sekgala, said the athlete had been teased about her masculine appearance since the day she joined the village soccer team as the only girl. Mrs Sekgala, 80, said: ‘I know she’s a woman. I raised her myself.” Read more

UPDATED 8.25.09

“Lamine Diack, the IAAF president, said the affair was handled badly.

“I deeply regret that confidentiality was breached in this case and that the IAAF were forced into a position of having to confirm that gender testing was being carried out on this young athlete,” Diack told reporters in Berlin. “It is a regrettable matter and I have requested an internal inquiry to ensure that procedures are tightened up and this never happens again.”

 I am not sure how the test will come out but for now…Congratulations Caster Semenya. I hope they find the truth they are looking for.I am not sure they are sure what that is.