Jezebel 
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New York, 4:07 AM
Sat Nov 28
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/23/09
i'm confused and fascinated by this approach. wouldn't then a hormone "baseline" be established, not just for women but men also? for example suppose a man doesn't have "enough" testosterone, or has "too much" estrogen compared to the accepted baseline?
would a woman with "too much" testosterone be allowed to compete against men? would a man with "too much" estrogen be allowed to compete against women? or would both groups wind up in some crazy limbo category where they could only compete against each other with similar non-conforming hormone levels?
11/23/09
11/23/09
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11/23/09
09/11/09
Either way, I just feel for the poor girl. Whatever her condition is, or whatever it should be called, can you imgine such a personal thing as your fucking gender being headline news all over the world?
09/11/09
It is perfectly possible to respect intersex individuals AND support the IAAF in this case.
Moreover, if leaks are so terrible, Jezebel should have waited for the official report in November, instead of jumping at the chance to editorialize on this "rumor." (Like all the other "media.")
But it's all one big clusterfuck, isn't it?
09/11/09
--If you participate in competitive sports at the highest level, that's inevitable.
--What's more, the South African authorities bear a lot of responsibility for the extremely poor way in which this has been handled. They could have avoided this mess; it's not like the need for this test was sprung on them; they actively thwarted and manipulated the process after being contacted by the IAAF.
As in so many aspects of this case, the leaker clearly didn't consider Semenya's well-being before speaking out.
--Please grow up. The world doesn't follow the rules of the nation of Jezebel.
09/11/09
It's sad, however, that you don't think intersex people deserve any respect.
09/11/09
Sorry, honeybunch, you're clueless.
09/11/09
She pointed at the photo of Caster and said, "Yeah, but that's nasty. And it's just a joke."
Again, I said, "Do you know what a death camp is?"
But she brushed me off because I'm thirty and who cares what my old ass says, anyway.
So.
09/11/09
She most definitely should not have her medals taken away. She has done nothing malicious or of questionable intent. I feel like she must have had some questions about why she did not develop like conventional females with regards to a period, not even spotting or zero vaginal discharge, but she probably did not have the means, support, or forum to ask these questions.
Nevertheless, I am puzzled by all the statements that she should still be allowed to compete in female-only competitions. I understand that Semenya did absolutely nothing wrong and this is just her genetic disposition. But, she possesses testes. She possess a significant advantage above her competitors in terms of muscle strength, stamina, recovery time, pelvic structure, among others. It is not an equal and fair competition, if she were to compete with women who do not have the same biological dispositions. It doesn't mean that Semenya didn't/doesn't train excruciatingly hard, it doesn't negate her athleticism, it doesn't negate how she wishes to identify as a woman, and it doesn't negate her resilience. But I just don't understand how people can say that she should still compete with females, and still take the competitiveness seriously.
I hope she holds her head up high, is proud of all her tremendous hard work, and is able to move on. There are no clear-cut winners in this - Semenya's ought to step out of competing with females, though with no fault of her own. Her competitors may be in the books as less, by no fault of their own.
09/11/09
I wouldn't have a problem with her keeping her medal. But I don't think she should be permitted to compete in women's events in the future if indeed she is found to be intersex and if she gets an unfair athletic edge as a result.
09/12/09
The only good thing I see coming out of this is that people might realize that sex does not exist in binary terms.
09/11/09
09/11/09
Me neither until I read the Wikipedia entry when this came up a month ago.
09/11/09
09/11/09
09/11/09
Assuming, as many are that AIS is what Semenya has, she would actually be at a distinct disadvantage when developing muscle strength. Androgens play a huge role in muscle development -- and her body would be immune to the actions of those androgens.
This is a sad, sad result.
09/11/09
That I think is beside the point at this stage, though, since she is facing a huge potential shift in her identity, depending on how this is handled. Hopefully someone will get her some good, experienced counselors.
09/11/09
09/11/09
09/12/09
09/11/09
09/11/09
09/11/09
But we all know if that were the case, there would never be women in the top tier (for example in the case of marathons, the most elite women are many minutes behind the most elite men).
09/11/09
09/11/09
Here's an interesting article:
[findarticles.com]
09/11/09
PogoStick09, you are definitely right that many people are writing her off without a nuanced understanding of the situation, very sad. Hopefully she can make it through this-- she'll need to be one tough girl...
09/11/09
I also was not aware that hermaphrodite was a deragatory term, I will amend my vocabulary accordingly (not that it comes up a lot in day to day conversation).