Caster Semenya

[LilaJude]

Is anyone else outraged that sports bodies are suggesting forcing Caster Semenyer to take medication to reduce her testosterone levels?

Caster has a naturally occurring phenomenon which gives her more testosterone than the average woman, and this has been deemed a competitive advantage that needs to be medically regulated.

How is this fair? We don’t handicap other athletes for having longer legs or more muscle mass. The nature of sport is that people with exceptional bodies triumph.

It’s like these sports governing bodies are saying ‘testosterone is a man thing, women aren’t allowed it.’ But Caster does have it, naturally, and it’s just part of who she is.

I just think it’s outrageous to force a woman to medicate just because a naturally occurring condition means her body doesn’t fit with what is conventionally seen as feminine / female.

Why does "fairness" to Semenya trump being fair to all the women trailing in behind?

From what I make of it the ruling is only about testosterone levels and fine if they can be reduced, not an outright ban on CS competing as a woman. Its been said umpteen times an essentially male person will have irreversible physiology already developed under testosterone so its still a bizarre ruling. Caster isn't really to blame, just got in through ambiguities in the rules about 'female' athletes.

There has never before been any suggestion that Semenya has XY chromosomes has there? And yet that seems pretty clear from the ruling

There has never before been any suggestion that Semenya has XY chromosomes has there? And yet that seems pretty clear from the ruling

My brother, who is an athletics coach, told me (and was correct, given the details which have emerged today) about Semenya's undescended testes, etc over a year ago.

Datun, my memory is that the IAAF suggested she was withdrawn before the world championships so any tests could be private. The South African authorities were determined she should compete. (This is where I feel she was used). She won easily but everyone then knew that she had been tested. There is definitely a narrative about challenging an athlete from outside Russia/USA/Europe. People are also saying it is racist to prevent her competing in women’s sport. She is incredibly popular in S Africa so I think it has been a hard one to challenge.

Now on BBC R4 PM radio prog. Headline news.

Oh sorry! That's meant to say thanks nettie434 !

CS would not be uniquely required to be on a special medication. To become compliant, Semenya would need to go on the pill.

Almost all female elite athletes take the contraceptive pill, because racing calendars are no respecter of anyone's personal calendar.

I've seen women with PCOS referred to here as intersex. In my (amateur) research I've never seen it classed as that. Between 10 (and I've seen estimates as high as 20) percent of females (xx) have PCOS.
I don't think it's a dsd as everything develops normally and the hormone imbalance can be controlled with weight loss (Although this is hard). I believe most PCOS women although higher are still in the normal range? It's a disadvantage in athletics struggling with weight gain!!!

Anyway I'd appreciate a scientist's view on this.

Yes, its been around for years that "she" has a y chromosome, undescended testes and zero female reproductive organs.

As my brother's testimony of a year ago (referred to earlier) confirms.

It seems lack of a willy is what made them (whoever 'them' are) decide CS was female - ironic, given the cyclepath et al's notion of the ladypenis.

Sharon Davis has just said on LBC that they knew 20 years ago that CS had a Y chromosome. This should have been dealt with at that time.

I understand that you can be XX with testes but need the SRY gene, so XXY... so it was never certain that Caster was XY.

Sharon Davis has just said on LBC that they knew 20 years ago that CS had a Y chromosome. This should have been dealt with at that time.

Yes! Bloody hell, I knew it

There has never before been any suggestion that Semenya has XY chromosomes has there? And yet that seems pretty clear from the ruling

I always assumed that was the case.

They used to sex test female athletes and check if XX/XY by blood test. But that was deemed ‘humiliating’

So why have people always said (and are still saying) that Semenya is a woman? Sorry, I feel really thick saying that but how can they be a woman if they have a Y chromosome? Why were they ever allowed to compete as a woman?

Sharon Davis has just said on LBC that they knew 20 years ago that CS had a Y chromosome. This should have been dealt with at that time

Thank you Sharon. Utter misogynistic wankers.

Sharon Davis has just said on LBC that they knew 20 years ago that CS had a Y chromosome. This should have been dealt with at that time
Wait that would make Caster 8 years old when diagnosed this knew or people around knew when competing?

So why have people always said (and are still saying) that Semenya is a woman? Sorry, I feel really thick saying that but how can they be a woman if they have a Y chromosome? Why were they ever allowed to compete as a woman?

This is me too, orchid.

I honestly don't get it. I feel like I must be missing something, but as more information is coming out it would appear not.