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A new turn in the Caster Semenya story
September 14th, 2009
Caster Semenya
Last week, I blogged here about the situation of South African runner Caster Semenya. The young woman, still in her teens, set records in two mid-distance races, and then some other folks started complaining because she looked so boyish. They in effect questioned her gender, suggesting that she was actually a male competing as a female, and would therefore have an unfair advantage.
That prompted the International Association of Athletics Federation to require Semenya to undergo genetic testing. Now the results of those tests have been leaked to the media, even though the IAAF is commenting. What they found, according to reports in Australian newspapers, is that Semenya is intersexed. The newspapers say Semenya has no ovaries or uterus and internal testes that produce large amounts of testosterone.
Also, apparently, Semenya and her family didn’t know any of this before. Gee, what a wonderful way to find out something so personal about yourself!
According to a report by Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein, experts in the field say that Semenya should be allowed to compete as a woman, and they are concerned that the controversy could leave Semenya with psychological scars. In fact, they say, two years ago a star female track athlete who tested male attempted suicide.
I see this as just one more glaring example of how our society’s fixation with “gender” and “gender roles” can lead to painful, humiliating and dangerous situations for those of us who don’t conform to the “norm.”
Take me, for example. To say I am not “feminine” or “girly” is an understatement. I can’t tell you how many times some convenience store clerk or server in a restaurant looks me in the face and calls me “sir.” And I rarely go to the restroom in a public space like a restaurant or mall because of the looks I get from people who think I am a guy going into the women’s restrooms. It is embarrassing both for me and for those who have looked at me askance, or perhaps even made some comment to me, and then realized their mistake.
But hey, I have lived with it for nearly 49 years now. I am used to it, and it is, really, nothing more than a momentary embarrassment or inconvenience.
But it is so much more for others, like Semenya, who have to endure having some of the most personal, intimate details of their lives splashed in headlines and discussed so publicly. And for those every day people who don’t make headlines, but who have their very safety threatened by people who are so frightened by anyone who is different that they respond with violence.
Think I am exaggerating? Then ask Brandon Teena, or Gwen Araujo, or any of the hundreds of other transgender and otherwise gender-variant people who have paid the price for others’ fear with their own lives.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:15 am
There is a reason for the “fixation with “gender” where sports are concerned. With rare exception, male athletes have an advantage over female athletes. Would it be okay to put Lisa Leslie in the paint against Shaq? No. If the findings about Caster Semenya producing large amounts of testosterone are accurate, then she can’t be allowed to compete as a female because of the advantage this gives her. In all the rhetoric about how unfair it is to Semenya if she is banned, no one is talking about the unfairness to her competitors if she isn’t.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Latest word is that Semenya has XY sex chromosomes, testicles, no ovaries, and no uterus. Sorry, but that makes him a man. If he has a vagina-like structure then he is definitely not like the typical man, but he’s is still a man.
You cannot claim that Semenya, his family, and his coach didn’t know something was wrong with him. Looks like a man, deep voice, no periods …. come on ! If anyone let Semenya down it was the people who supported him who should have known better than to thrust him into the national spotlight without sufficient preparation. They knew he was different. They knew but they put him out there for all of the world to scrutinize.
Why blame the IAAF? One of their responsibilities is to ensure that the competitions are fair. It is not fair for a man to compete as a woman. It was absolutely proper for them to do their investigation, and I’m glad they did because, hey, turns out Semenya is a guy! I feel sorry for the women who competed against Semenya, they were cheated.
By the way, most media are reporting that Semenya is a hermaphrodite. This is not correct. A hermaphrodite has at least one testicle and at least one ovary. Semenya has no ovaries. He’s definitely not a typical male, but he’s a male, not a female nor a hermaphrodite.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The family of Caster Semenya comes from a very poor area in South Africa, and always believed that she was a woman – they still do. They know nothing about the variations of sex, and surely could not be expected to know that she has internal testes.
I would think that one race against Semenya by other athletes pales in comparison to having your gender issues splashed across newspapers all over the world instead of being handled in privacy. I did not see any of the other runners requiring trauma counseling. Their positions in the results can always be corrected – Caster’s humiliation can never be recovered.
Get some perspective, and some humanity. Caster is the one who was cheated.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I agree with Tamara – Caster is not even a hermaphrodite – he is a man! It is not a question of humanity here. If Cater looked, talked and behaved like a man and she didn’t have any periods, she should have gone to the doctor and found out in privacy that she was actually a man. Why did she have to wait and compete in a public event and now expect privacy. I do not buy into your argument that these people couldn’t differentiate between sexes because they were poor. Being poor does not mean being stupid – that stupid! One newsreport clearly said that one of Caster’s teachers thought she was a boy until 12th grate. Didn’t her parents question why she never had periods and grew facial hair instead?
September 14th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Tamara’s outrageously insensitive and ignorant comments betray a fundamental hypocrisy when it comes to gender roles and society-
No doubt if any individual with a penis were to claim that their penis does not necessarily make them a man, Tamara would be quick to call this evidence of that individual being mentally ill, and would point to clinical descriptions of “gender identity disorder” being wholly mental in nature as proof of this notion…same goes for a woman who claimed that being born with a vagina didn’t necessarily make her female- Chaz Bono being a perfect example…
but in this case, an individual BORN with a vagina is said to be a man, period.
Fact of the matter is that those who apply “rules” in these cases blatantly contradict themselves when it suits their purposes, and have been shown to present as “truth” anything that might support their beliefs, no matter how thoroughly science dismisses these claims.
BTW, Tamara- are YOU a woman? If your claim is “yes”, why should we believe you? Have you been thoroughly tested to determine that YOU are not “a man”?
Not all intersexed people show outwards signs of their condition, so not looking like a man or having a deep voice doesn’t get you off the hook, not hardly.
Until you PROVE your sex, Tamara, you are equally as suspect and guilty of subterfuge as Caster Semenya and those surrounding her are.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Even if sex organ rumors are correct, Tamara and Amy are seriously mistaken. Read the following website.
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/09/semenyas-performance-advantage-moot.html
She is not male, but has an intersex condition (which is another category), such as androgen-insensivity syndrome (partial or complete) or one of a number of others.
The testes will have to be removed for medical reasons. Then, she will probably be able to compete as a woman. Whether Amy and Tamara like it or not, that is how it is and should be.
And deinandra is correct about humanity. It is a medical condition, not a doping case with intent to cheat, as with Marion Jones. That is why the IAAF does not plan to strip the medal.
Regarding what parents or others should have known, birth sex is decided by genitals, and no uneducated person can be expected to know more. period.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I am glas that Amy and Tamara voiced their opinions. They show that there are people out there that do don’t really think. I am not trying to be meanspirited, but this IS what I’m trying to say: First of all, Caster Semenya is INTERSEXED not a hermaphrodite (outdated term). Before you go and argue that she has no ovaries, please do your research because there are MANY different types of intersex conditions. That point leads me to this one: If Caster developed the way that is described by these two, it makes no sense that she present a female structure on the outside. What I am saying is that the whole truth has yet to be revealed. Think about it: If she had XY chromosomes, AND developed a male muscular structure, AND internal male testes, then WHY did she develop a vagina at birth? You can’t tell me that for 18 years NOBODY saw her in the bathroom, shower, or at the other sporting events.
Nope… instead of becoming educated about the issue, people just swallow the news bite and run. In the process, an 18 year old girl is emotionally damaged and left to wonder what she is. EVEN THIS people are saying is her fault…that she was born and never questioned how she felt about her self.
Should the whole truth be revealed? I think that everybody wants to know for morbid curiosity…but this is wrong. This was the reason that testing was removed in the first place. There was already a discussion (olympic commitie) on if an athelete has a “genetic advantage” if born intersexed. I invite you to find the results. in the end you will see that ALL athletes have an “advantage” in one fashon or another, ultimately training and mental toughness wins out over all. To go to extreemes with Shaq vs Lisa Lesley…is just outrageous. I grew up as a gril, but I’m not girly (all the time). I go through things that men don’t go thru and my whole life is composed of events that helped to shape the woman that I am. I am pretty sure that Caster has most of those same events…and yes there are women (XX) that do not have periods.
Who are we to say who and what she is? Just take a second and think about it.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Tina makes many good points. Birth sex is based on the genitals, and no one who is less than educated should be expected to know differently.
She is not male. She might have an intersex condition, such as androgen insensitivity syndrome. If she has this condition or another type of intersex condition (partial or complete), the testes will have to be removed anyway. She would likely then be allowed to compete as a woman.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Have they ever tested Serena Willians – to me she looks like a man and has a body structure of a man.. Definitely her male hormones are more dominator’s than a regular female
September 14th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
The most important thing to bear in mind is that despite the media leak, which may or may not be completely accurate, the full results of Ms Semenya’s testing will not be made known until November.
I wrote a bit more about this controversy here:
http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Policing_Caster_Semenyas_gender-7343.aspx
September 14th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Tamara is WRONG! The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines “Intersex” as having “four” possibilities, of which “true intersex (hermaphrodite)” is only one.
46 XX
46 XY
True Intersex – Hermaphrodite
Custom
Add Male and Female to those four and you have 6 possibilities for physical sex.
And as for the other attributes she mentions, being intersex is the reason. Here is an extreme: AIS, Androgen insensitivity syndrome, which is a gene disorder. The nature of the resulting problem varies.
Most forms of AIS involve variable degrees of undervirilization and/or infertility in XY persons of EITHER gender. A person with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) has a female external appearance despite a 46XY karyotype and undescended testes, a condition termed “testicular feminization” in the past.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Just wanted to clarify a couple of points in Cloe’s post-
First of all, attempting to categorize all variations of human sexual development into four groups is only half as simplistic as trying to lump everyone into two categories, so the NIH definition fails on that count…not to mention that as stated it is factually incorrect-
46 XY is a standard chromosomal complement for males, what is erroneously referred to as being “genetically male”…
46 XX is a standard chromosomal complement for females, what is erroneously referred to as being “genetically female”…
these claims of each being “genetically” male or female are erroneous because neither genetic coding precludes one from having genitalia and/or other secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite sex…but neither does either genotype qualify as “intersexed” on that last pair of chromosomes alone, in fact they are the opposite.
As for AIS being a “gene disorder”…it is in the sense of its cause being rooted in a genetic mutation, but it is not specifically tied to one’s “sex chromosomes”, since the sex chromosome pattern in people with AIS is identical to that of a “genetically male” person with standard male genitalia and physique. This alone should be enough to disprove the simplistic notion that simply having a “Y” chromosome makes a person 100% male no matter what.
A better breakdown of the various types of IS possibilities would be to divide them into-
- those that are tied directly to a non-standard genotype- XXY, XO, various chimeric combinations like XY/XX, XY/XXY, XY/XO, etc…Note that these conditions may or may not involve ambiguous genitalia or other physiology.
-those that have no such non-standard genetic component at the 23rd pair of chromosomes (which appear “normal”), but cause people to present with ambiguity surrounding their genitalia and secondary sex characteristics that is then used to define them as intersexed- PAIS, CAIS, CAH, 5-ARD deficiency, 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency, etc.
As one can plainly see, the very definition of intersex is a slippery one, where one can be genetically “normal” but still be IS based on external genitalia alone, or can have “normal” genitalia and physiology yet still be intersexed based on genetics and nothing else.
Either way, the existence of these conditions thoroughly discredits the idea that there is any simple, universal test or protocol that can unequivocally categorize all people into one of two boxes…to learn that such a commonly held belief is wrong can be difficult to take, but we dealt with it surrounding antiquated and now discredited “scientific” notions that all people could be classified as one of four distinct “races”, and we will do it with antiquated ideas about sexual differentiation as well.
Since all human beings are (for the time being, at least) the result of combining both male and female genetic material, it is probably most accurate to say that there are about 6.7 billion different ways to be intersexed.
September 14th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Hey Chloe…
Where does persistant Mulerian duct syndrome fit in on your list? -just a question…just as you said, there is a “male” and “female” type of this as well.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
he’s a guy
September 14th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
From the highly knowledgeable Zoe Brain
If the reports are correct, Ms Semanya has PAIS-6. Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome grade 6, where grade 7 is Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS).
What this means is that she’s almost completely immune to testosterone and other androgens. “Almost”, but not quite completely. If she’d had CAIS, she’d be ultra-feminine, more so than standard factory model women. It’s an open secret that most of the supermodels who don’t have children have CAIS, as did Miss Teen USA 1991.
From the Internation Amateur Atletics Association rules on the subject :
—
(The crux of the matter is that the athlete should not be enjoying the benefits of natural testosterone predominance normally seen in a male)
6. Conditions that should be allowed:- Androgen insensitivity syndrome (Complete or almost complete – previously called testicular feminization);- Gonadal dysgenesis (gonads should be removed surgically to avoid malignancy);- Turner’s syndrome.
(b) Those conditions that may accord some advantages but nevertheless acceptable:- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia;- Androgen producing tumors;- Anovulatory androgen excess (polycystic ovary syndrome).
Unlike other women, she cannot get the full performance benefits of testosterone, since she’s almost immune to the stuff. Having three times the female average could well be less effective when it comes to building muscle mass than a normal amount in an average women. Many female athletes have high natural levels of testosterone anyway – though still a third or less of an average male, and a tenth of a male athlete.
As regards the “dangerous condition” of internal testes, the danger isn’t exactly immediate. There’s a tenfold normal risk of cancer, and it would be wise to have 6-monthly checks, and gonadectomy if any pre-cancerous lesions are found, but that’s it. At worst, 1 in 50, and the estrogen, the female sex hormone also produced by the testes, is useful for preventing oteopyrosis and other conditions, so it’s swings and roundabouts. The real reason for gonadectomy is to stop other people from being upset about the idea of a woman with testes in her body.
I’ve stated the IAAA’s policy – but that policy is not always followed. The Indian athlete Santhi Soundarajan had CAIS, but was stripped of her medals by Indian authorities, not because she had an advantage, but purely for being Intersexed, a sub-human. She attempted suicide shortly thereafter, as Ms Semanya may do.
She’s an 18 year old girl from a backwoods African rural village who has given her all to become a world-class athlete. Now she’s had the double blow of being told she’ll never be able to have children, and having her life and ambitions shattered by a global surge of ignorant bigotry.
Some of which is apparent in these comments.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:14 am
This has nothing to do with expression, or “society’s fixation with gender roles,” and everything to do with how it’s not fair to the rest of the women to make them compete against someone who has the physical attributes of a man.
There are separate divisions for men and women for a reason.
I feel for this girl, and she got caught up in something she had no control over, but please don’t try to turn this into some debate about gender roles or how store clerks address you as “sir,” because that’s disingenuous. I’m sure you can find another news peg for your anecdotes about being mistaken for a man.
September 15th, 2009 at 3:29 am
I think people should still have humanity left in them. I mean such negative comments are damaging, i think people who are saying all these bad things or comments should ask God questions and maybe, maybe, their answers would be answered. What if it was Ur child going through such humiliation? would you feel complete, happy, proud? i dont think so. We are driven by culture and tradition, for an example, what if Semenya`s mother thought her period is delayed, maybe next year it will come, then the other year? People who say hurtful comments should do some introspection: Take a moment to look at yourselves? when you look at yourselves, what is that you see?????????is it the same way other people see you????????????
I just hope that after all this drama, Semenya would find some peace, some closure on this matter as all of us have our own ghosts locked somewhere in our closets and nobody knows about them. I put the Family in God`s capable hands, Jesus had to go through insults, ugly hurtful comments and i pity all of those who were involved somehow in destroying this young Girl as when God is going to answer, there will be a lot to pay, whether the family knew about it or not? no one deserves such insults.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:08 am
You are what you believe you are…science complicates things, let us not play God! Who are we to judge her?
Science for value added foods, to fight diseases, to heal the world, etc…
Please, leave Castor out of this, she is who she is because God perfectly made her to be! We can only support her at this point and time!!!!
September 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am
I swear we humans are really just stupid mammals. So much ado about sex. I wish I were my cat.
September 15th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Thank you Hazumu Osaragi!
That is the most educated, well rounded response on the matter that I have seen.
There were many debates on the “genetic advantages” of world class athletes back when they were trying to make policy. Juliana please look into the discussions on the “fairness” that the olimpic committee had (not just the outcome, but their considerations as well). I believe you might find it enlightening.
Here’s a tricky point: if we are saying that she needs to be surgically altered from her natural state to compete with other women, then we are also throwing out the religious based concept that “we are ok the way GOD made us.”…just a point. Then who is the person defining what a “female” is?
I agree that if there is a health problem (cancer) that the should have her internal organs altered, but if there is no threat, we are saying that in order to fit in she needs to have an operation. I’m ok (personally) with either view, but we can’t have both views (mutually exclusive). Any thoughts?