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Hermaphrodites & Sports (Case of Caster Semenya)
Posted by cuteptaguy • 9/18/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: caster, hermaphrodites, semenya, sports
Hermaphrodites & Sports (Case of Caster Semenya)
Mokgadi Caster Semenya (South African middle-distance runner and world champion) has been the centre of controversy the last few weeks. Doubt about her gender started to surface and consequently she had to submit to some rather degrading tests to determine her gender. It has been rumored that Semenya is a hermaphrodite (having both male and female reproductive organs) or is an intersex (term adopted by medicine during the 20th century applied to human beings whose biological sex cannot be classified as either male or female). This led me to ask, what are our own attitude towards people like this and where do they fit in society.
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(for some reason the previous discussion on this topic was removed, was it to controversial BC?)
User Comments
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I actually thought it was an interesting thread. I wonder why it was removed ?-
I am asking myself the same question. I know the subject matter makes people uncomfortable, but hey I thought that was a part of why we blog to discuss issues. I am aware that I am the new guy here and has become known to post controversial stuff about gay life, but seriously just because I have a different niche shouldn't disqualify me from being an active BC member.
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Maybe it's the title. You can refer to it as trans-gender which is more politically correct.-
I prefer calling a spade a spade. Semenya (if she is indeed a Hermaphrodites or intersex) would not be transgered because that's something completely different.
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I think people like her fit into society just the same way everyone else does. Just because she's one gender or the other, or a bit of both, or whatever the case will finally turn out to be, all it really changes is the man-made label that people stamp her with. This one's a cat, this one's a dog, this one's a man, this one's a woman, this one's a hermaphrodite... It doesn't really matter. She will contribute just as much to society as everyone else does.
The question about competing in races is a bit more tricky, though. I just read an article (no clue about its validity) that says that she is in fact a hermaphrodite, with internal male organs, but looks like a woman. This gives her quite the advantage over the average woman, her body is producing lots of testosterone. She's stronger and faster. So if it's unfair to let a man compete against women, is it unfair to let a man who looks like a woman compete? Or a woman who's kind of mostly a man? Or a little bit man? Where do you draw the line? When is a person "enough" woman to compete with women? I have no clue. But I bet that if she's regarded as a woman and allowed to compete against women, the other women are going to be pretty mad about it.-
I completely agree with you. If the rumours are indeed true she would have had an unfair advantage. I think the thing that makes this issue hard to deal with because we are dealing with human beings and their careers. If she & her trainer knew about her gender issue and purposefully concealed it I suspect the sporting community would not take kindly to that.
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Re: (for some reason the previous discussion on this topic was removed, was it to controversial BC?)
Only Admin can delete posts and only they can provide reasons for deletion. www.blogcatalog.com/contact/
When I first arrived I was told that this category Blog Catalog Questions was strictly intended for use by those who were specifically asking questions about how to use Blog Catalog features, policies, etc.
That's why I suggest that you contact Admin if you want to know why your first thread on this was deleted.-
Thanks, I'll drop them a message.
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