Posted on 09/12/2009 5:59:35 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
Athlete Caster Semenya has pulled out of her return to competitive sport amid growing fears over the psychological impact of rumours about her sex. The 18-year-old withdrew from a cross-country race in South Africa tomorrow after it was widely reported that a leaked sex test reveals she is a hermaphrodite. Her coach, Michael Seme, said she will not run because she is "not feeling well". South Africa condemned the international media reports as an invasion of the teenager's privacy and threatened a "third world war" if the women's 800m champion is disqualified from athletics.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
I feel sorry for this person. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be ambiguous.
On the other hand, what is the ruling sports body supposed to do? I think they will have no choice but to disqualify her from future events, and perhaps strip her of the titles she has already won. Its sad, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and the line is already in the rule book.
I have a hard time believing that this girl, her family, and her friends were not suspicious that something was wrong or at least out of the ordinary with her. She has a build far more masculine than almost any “female” athlete. She has a very deep voice. She does not move like a woman.
I do feel bad that she suffers from this condition, as it is essentially a handicap. I pray she can find some peace in her life as she probably doesn’t deserve all of this attention. That said, they do need to ensure that the competition is fair. It’s unfortunate since she has such an advantage over female competitors but not enough to compete with men.
Caster, has ‘casters’.....
not its fault that it is a he-she.... but should not be able to win a ‘womans’ race......
This story has no happy ending. My prayers for this person.
>>This story has no happy ending. My prayers for this person.<<
It can. He/she can compete in men’s sports with no restrictions.
She should switch to women’s tennis - that never stopped the Williams sisters.
I would assume so, but do be humiliated worldwide is a rough thing....as was being born like this.
makes some question the divine.....
***This story has no happy ending. My prayers for this person.***
I commend your decency, thank you.
God is the Creator and we should not question His wisdom, only our own.
sod
He is not a hermaphrodite. He is simply a male with undescended testes. He has no female organs at all.
I’m confused - in college I was taught that all distinctions based on gender were just societal constructs - so why are we having separate men’s and women’s events at all?
No separate women’s competition, no problem!
He/she has testes and elevated testosterone levels.
Don’t the Olympics specify a ceiling level for testosterone (especially after the East Germany doping scams)?
If so, I don’t care what his/her physical equipment is, he/she was running with a musculature developed by male hormones.
It doesn’t make me question the divine, anymore than chromosomal abnormalities or death itself make me question the divine.
Genetic mutations, considering the billions walking the planet, are fairly rare.
I’ve known a hermaphrodite. After deciding which way originally she wanted to go, she took the hormone to go that way and became male.
Personally, I find childhood cancer and death far more heart-breaking than someone with a genetic abnormality that has impaired decisive development of sexual organs.
I agree with you. But, if you know you are that way, why would you place yourself into the high profile world of track and field on an international level of competition?
The GLBT lobby will have a cow, and call you names.
And the State Dept will extend her a refugee visa to bring her/him to the US, plus free medical care and housing for xx years.
There is no such thing and there has never been.
There was not one documented case of a hermaphrodite mammal since the dawn of modern science.
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