Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

South African official lied about Semenya gender tests
CNN ^ | 19 Sep 09 | None

Posted on 09/19/2009 6:36:16 AM PDT by SkyPilot

PRETORIA, South Africa (CNN) -- The president of Athletics South Africa has admitted that he lied about gender tests on runner Caster Semenya before her gold-medal win at the World Athletics Championships last month.

Caster Semenya celebrates her gold at the world championships in Berlin.

The national sports body has always denied that it agreed to the tests before the race in Berlin, Germany -- an event that kicked off international controversy over the 18-year-old Semenya's gender.

But after South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper printed e-mails on Friday showing that ASA President Leonard Chuene was aware of the tests, he held a news conference to apologize.

"I now realize that it was an error of judgment and I would like to apologize unconditionally," Chuene said on Saturday, according to South Africa's SAPA news agency.

After receiving the results of the tests, the South Africa team doctor requested the 18-year-old Semenya be withdrawn from the 800-meter race she ended up winning, Chuene said.

But Chuene said he refused to do it because the sport's international governing body did not request withdrawal. He also said withdrawing Semenya might have looked bad.

"If we did not let her run, we would be confirming that she is not normal," Chuene told the news conference in the capital, Pretoria.

snip.............

This week, South Africa's minister for women, children and people with disabilities wrote to the United Nations to complain that Semenya had not been treated in line with international protocols on gender and quality.

"The questioning of her gender is based on a stereotypic view of the physical features and abilities attributable to women," she wrote in the letter, according to SAPA. "Such stereotypes demonstrate the extent of patriarchy within the world's sporting community."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: genderbender; semenya; southafrica
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last
Patriarchy?!

What does a man (yes, "she" is a man) posing as a woman to illegally win an athletic race have to do with patriarchy?

Liberals gone wild.....again.

1 posted on 09/19/2009 6:36:17 AM PDT by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Reminds me of that old Sesame Street song:

"One of these things is not like the other"
"One of these things just doesn't belong"

2 posted on 09/19/2009 6:37:57 AM PDT by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
Apparently she didn't know she has internal male sex organs. I don't blame her for not knowing.

Regardless though the issue here is fairness to the other female athletes who are basically competing against a man.

3 posted on 09/19/2009 6:41:00 AM PDT by Artemis Webb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
A “man” with no penis and internalized testes is not “posing” as a woman necessarily.

But yes, Semenya should NOT be allowed to compete against women. Semenya is not a woman.

4 posted on 09/19/2009 6:41:40 AM PDT by allmendream (Wealth is EARNED not distributed, so how could it be RE-distributed?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot

It’s a guy. Can’t believe the officials believed otherwise. What a farce.


5 posted on 09/19/2009 6:43:14 AM PDT by mia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
Since she has female external genitalia - this must be some strange new definition of "man" I wasn't aware of.

She has 3 times the average female level of testosterone, due to anomalous internal glands. Which is still less than 1/3 of that of an average male. 1/10 of male athletes.

She's also androgen insensitive (hence the female genitalia). That means she's mostly IMMUNE to testosterone. 3 times normal might mean she has LESS effective testosterone in her system than most women.

Please do some research into "Intersex" - the condition of having a body neither 100% male nor 100% female. One person in 60 is Intersexed, but most don't know it, as it may be asymptomatic, or nearly so. You could be one of them.

For example, most men have 46,XY chromosomes, most women have 46,XX ones. But 1 in 500 people - almost all men - have 47,XXY ones.

And not everyone who has 46,XY chromosomes is male.

A 46,XY mother who developed as a normal woman underwent spontaneous puberty, reached menarche, menstruated regularly, experienced two unassisted pregnancies, and gave birth to a 46,XY daughter with complete gonadal dysgenesis.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan;93(1):182-9.

Women with CAIS - *complete* androgen insensitivity, are completely immune to testosterone. Many are supermodels as the result, as they look more feminine than most other women.

6 posted on 09/19/2009 6:52:29 AM PDT by Zoe Brain (Rocket Scientist, Naval Combat System Architect)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: allmendream
”Semenya is not a woman."

She is neither a man nor a woman. That’s what makes this whole thing so unfortunate. I say leave it alone. This person has enough problems. However, I don’t think she should be permitted to compete in future events.

7 posted on 09/19/2009 6:54:09 AM PDT by ArchAngel1983 (Arch Angel- on guard)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Zoe Brain

A person should only be allowed in a women-only competition if the person has conventional XX chromosomes. Period. I don’t care about appearance, or the person’s considerations about what sex he/she is.


8 posted on 09/19/2009 6:59:24 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Public healthcare looks like it will work as well as public housing did.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
After receiving the results of the tests, the South Africa team doctor requested the 18-year-old Semenya be withdrawn from the 800-meter race she ended up winning, Chuene said. But Chuene said he refused to do it because the sport's international governing body did not request withdrawal. He also said withdrawing Semenya might have looked bad... This week, South Africa's minister for women, children and people with disabilities wrote to the United Nations to complain that Semenya had not been treated in line with international protocols on gender and quality. "The questioning of her gender is based on a stereotypic view of the physical features and abilities attributable to women," she wrote in the letter, according to SAPA. "Such stereotypes demonstrate the extent of patriarchy within the world's sporting community."
then added, "Oh, but yeah, she is really a he. I blame the Boer."
9 posted on 09/19/2009 7:11:17 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Zoe Brain
You seem to know more about this than I, or perhaps you copied from somewhere, but I don't think it is possible to be completely immune to testosterone and blow the best female runners in the world out of the water like she did.

I do feel sorry for her and her family and don't blame them - they didn't know she had a problem. But I don't feel it is fair to have her compete against women.

10 posted on 09/19/2009 7:12:55 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Two brave people did what thousands couldn't do to acorn.....bless you both!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot

We did get the comic spectacle of Zulu Jacob Zuma giving bombastic rhetoric of declaring war out of this incidence, always good for a laugh.


11 posted on 09/19/2009 7:22:37 AM PDT by junta (Conservatives, the word "racism" is now ours.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Zoe Brain
Tula (Caroline Cossey), the british supermodel, had male genitalia but was chromosomally a woman. Prettiest man ever. He/She had Klinefelter's syndrome which where there is an extra Y Chromosome. He/She was even a bond girl!

Photobucket

Photobucket

12 posted on 09/19/2009 7:32:20 AM PDT by autumnraine (You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
If I remember correctly, people with CAIS (congenital androgen insensitivity syndrome) manufacture testosterone, but due to a genetic mutation the receptors in their bodies won't bind it, rendering T effect null or greatly desensitized. Think of it like having a hundreds of extension cords to plug in and no socket
13 posted on 09/19/2009 7:41:48 AM PDT by The_Sword_of_Groo (Dum spiramus tuebimur - "While We Have Breath, We Will Defend")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: The_Sword_of_Groo

Yet she still has the physical characterists of a male and performs athletically like one.


14 posted on 09/19/2009 7:52:37 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Two brave people did what thousands couldn't do to acorn.....bless you both!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Zoe Brain

“Intersex” - the condition of having a body neither 100% male nor 100% female. One person in 60 is Intersexed, but most don’t know it, as it may be asymptomatic, or nearly so. You could be one of them.
________________
I think the First Wookie and Obummer are intersexed. He’s girly, she’s manly so that makes them equals. His boobs are the same size as hers too.


15 posted on 09/19/2009 8:17:39 AM PDT by mojitojoe (Socialism is just the last “feel good” step on the path to Communism and its slavery. Lenin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA

Let me be clear, I wasn’t saying Semanya has CAIS. I was simply trying to explain the earlier post in simpler terms. It should be noted that there are varying degrees of T insensitivity. It’s not rare. In fact, it is a common cause of male infertility. As far as Semanya goes, I couldn’t make a guess beyond what you have already read. Consult an endocrinologist.


16 posted on 09/19/2009 8:19:47 AM PDT by The_Sword_of_Groo (Dum spiramus tuebimur - "While We Have Breath, We Will Defend")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: The_Sword_of_Groo

I misunderstood as well - thought someone had posted that she did, definitely, have CAIS and it just didn’t seem possible that there wasn’t a testosterone effect. Thanks for clarifying


17 posted on 09/19/2009 8:40:17 AM PDT by WhyisaTexasgirlinPA (Two brave people did what thousands couldn't do to acorn.....bless you both!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Zoe Brain
Please do some research into "Intersex"- the condition of having a body neither 100% male nor 100% female.

It does seem to me that people like to defuse a situation which may not be immediately understandable with jokes and other misinformation. I would however excuse them somewhat, by blaming previous generations. When there were mass medical exams in England in the 1950's for young men to be conscripted, I remember stories.

One could wince at the crass ignorance of that generation of 18 year olds. Nobody, but nobody, thought of the person who might be "not quite right". There was a male racing driver at that time who "changed sex" and a female who also had some sort of operation. The tabloid press, masquerading as newspapers- vis the London Daily Mirror, when absolutely ballistic, like a Martian had landed. The sublime and crude ignorance of my generation is to be excused though.

It is every ones business after the little jokes etc. to learn- I include myself in this.

I know this is preachy of me, but your information can at least be read carefully. After that, one could quote Robert Burns and his homily on the human race.

18 posted on 09/19/2009 8:57:15 AM PDT by Peter Libra
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
Why the surprise? Big Sports long ago abandoned any pretense regarding fair competition. It's now all about the money, and winning* in any way possible is all that is valued. Michael Vick should have been banned from sports for the rest of his life.

* Winning = coming in first by any and all means

19 posted on 09/19/2009 9:31:02 AM PDT by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: allmendream

Unfortunately, in terms of biological gender, sometimes the coin lands on the side.


20 posted on 09/19/2009 10:07:09 AM PDT by GAB-1955 (I write books, love my wife, serve my nation, and believe in the Resurrection.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson