Butler, feminist philosopher and author of Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity writes persuasively about the flaws in the IAAF's gender-testing system:

[I]f we consider that this act of ‘sex determination' was supposed to be collaboratively arrived at by a panel that included ‘a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist and an expert on gender' (why wasn't I called!?), then the assumption is that cultural and psychological factors are part of sex-determination, and that no one of these ‘experts' could come up with a definitive finding on his or her own (presuming that binary gender holds). This co-operative venture suggests as well that sex-determination is decided by consensus and, conversely, where there is no consensus, there is no determination of sex. Is this not a presumption that sex is a social negotiation of some kind? And are we, in fact, witnessing in this case a massive effort to socially negotiate the sex of Semenya, with the media included as a party to the deliberations?

Media outlets have generally used the phrase "gender testing" to describe the ordeal the IAAF put Semenya through, but many have pointed out an inaccuracy in the terminology — if sex is biological, and gender is socially constructed, then what was really at issue was Semenya's sex. However, as Butler explains, the testing appeared to be an effort to socially construct the runner's biological sex via the opinions of a panel of "experts." The bizarreness of this approach shows how poorly understood sex still is. And the sheer number of experts the IAAF relied on (maybe they should've called Butler) speaks to the fact that the group really hasn't arrived at a single standard of what makes someone "female enough" to compete. Butler says they should simply decouple the question of femaleness from that of eligibility. She writes,

[W]e can invoke certain standards for admission to compete under a particular gender category without deciding whether or not the person unequivocally ‘is' that category. If the standard turns out to be, for instance, hormone levels, and it is decided that one cannot exceed certain levels of testosterone to play in women's sports, then a competitor could still be a ‘woman' in a cultural and social sense and, indeed, in some biological senses as well, but she would not qualify to compete under those standards. [...] standards for qualification do not have to be the same as final decisions about sex, and these can certainly be distinct from larger and overlapping questions of gender.

If only the IAAF had adopted such a sensible approach — focusing only on whether Semenya could run and not on "what" she "was" — perhaps the media wouldn't have felt so free to define Semenya's sex for her. But few involved in the case have been sensible. Ariel Levy, writing in The New Yorker, quotes bioethicist Alice Domurat Dreger, who describes the IAAF's approach to sex testing as "a kind of ‘I know it when I see it' policy." And she talks to Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene, who not only lied about authorizing sex tests for Semenya, but allowed her to compete in Berlin against others' advice, even though he knew the test results were "not good" and scandal was likely. Chuene sounds fantastically self-absorbed when he tells Levy,

If I will do this, it's ‘Why did you withdraw her?' If I did not, ‘Why did you allow her to run?' Whatever way you look at it, I'm judged. I'm judged!

He adds,

This thing has given her more opportunity! Everybody knows her. The world is out there to say, ‘Your problems are our problems.' Imagine if I had not let her win!

Chuene's words about "opportunity" are pretty insensitive, especially given that Semenya has indicated she's uncomfortable with her notoriety. Still, her story has inspired more public discussion of intersex conditions, and it might encourage some people to examine their preconceptions about sex and gender. Levy includes in her piece an interesting discussion of various movements within the intersex community. Some object to queer and/or transgender people aligning themselves with those born intersex, while others go even further, preferring to describe themselves as having "disorders of sex development." Levy writes that "they want disorders of sex development to be treated like any other physical abnormality: something for doctors to monitor but not to operate on, unless the patient is in physical discomfort or danger." Whether intersex conditions are indeed "disorders" or simply points on a non-binary gender spectrum is an interesting question, and Semenya's ordeal may have done some good if it brings this issue into the open.

But what has it done to Semenya herself? Former ASA official Wilfred Daniels says, "now her life is over," and many others have had similarly dark predictions for her future. However, at the conclusion of her piece, Levy talks to Semenya herself:

I asked her if she would talk to me, not about the tests or Chuene but about her evolution as an athlete, her progression from Limpopo to the world stage. She shook her head vigorously. "No," she said. "I can't talk to you. I can't talk to anyone. I can't say to anyone how I feel or what's in my mind."

I said I thought that must suck.

"No," she said, very firmly. Her voice was strong and low. "That doesn't suck. It sucks when I was running and they were writing those things. That sucked. That is when it sucks. Now I just have to walk away. That's all I can do." She smiled a small, bemused smile. "Walk away from all of this, maybe forever. Now I just walk away." Then she took a few steps backward, turned around, and did.

Despite all she's been through, Semenya appears to have more dignity than any of those who have tried to test her or speak for her. Her running career may be over, but her life is not.

Wise Distinctions [London Review Blog]
Either/Or [The New Yorker]

Mike Hurst of Australia's Daily Telegraph (cover image above) spoke with an anonymous "source familiar with the IAAF inquiry into the Semenya affair." The source reportedly said,

There certainly is evidence Semenya is a hermaphrodite. But the trouble is the IAAF now have the whole ANC and the whole of South Africa on their backs. Everything is going to have to be done absolutely by the book, no question of a challenge to our findings.

The IAAF's Nick Davies hasn't denied the substance of the leak. Instead, he says,

The statements should be treated with caution as they are not official statements by the IAAF. We have received the results from Germany, but they now need to be examined by a group of experts and we will not be in a position to speak to the athlete about them for at least a few weeks. After that, depending on the results, we will meet privately with the athlete to discuss further action.

The IAAF also says it will make no official statements about Semenya until after its council meeting on November 20-21. Meanwhile, many in South Africa are reacting to the leak angrily. Athletics South Africa president Leonard Cheune says,

The IAAF told us this week that the tests are inconclusive and they could not give us the results just yet. So I really do not know where the Australia media got this latest one from.

The South African National Assembly's sports committee chairman Butana Komphela is pushing for a lawsuit. He says,

We will ask the minister to take drastic measures to protect Caster Semenya. Someone is guilty of leaking her confidential medical information to Australian newspapers.

Semenya's father called the Daily Telegraph "sick," and said, "They are crazy. Are they God?" Her grandmother agreed, saying,

They are crazy. It can only be jealousy that makes them say that she is a man. I raised her as a young girl and I have no doubt that she is a girl. As the family, we don't care who is saying what and we also don't care, even if she won't be running internationally, but we will always support her athletic talent.

Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing takes issue with coverage of the leak for its use of the word "hermaphrodite." Jardin calls "hermaphrodite" a "derogatory term," and also criticizes a New York Daily News article for saying Semenya might need surgery "to fix the potentially deadly condition." Jardin adds,

Some BB commenters have pointed out that the "potentially deadly condition" of which they they speak may be the belief that having male sexual organs "embedded" within the body means elevated cancer risk in intersexed people. Another BB commenter who says they're an intersexed person argues the purported risk is a ruse to pressure intersexed people towards altering themselves through surgery.

On the word "hermaphrodite," The Intersex Society of North America says,

The mythological term "hermaphrodite" implies that a person is both fully male and fully female. This is a physiologic impossibility. The words "hermaphrodite" and "pseudo-hermaphrodite" are stigmatizing and misleading words. [...] The terms fail to reflect modern scientific understandings of intersex conditions, confuse clinicians, harm patients, and panic parents.

The ISNA website does discuss possible medical risks of intersex conditions, including gonadal tumors. On the issue of surgery, it says,

Like all sane people, we believe it is appropriate to have competent surgeons perform operations necessary to resolve a life-threatening metabolic crisis. For example, if a child is born without a urinary opening, the child needs surgery to create a urinary opening. If a child has active gonadal cancer, the cancer should be treated immediately. [...] What we object to are elective surgeries done on people (usually children) without their informed consent.

It's possible that Semenya, if she does in fact have an intersex condition, may choose surgery. But she's already been denied the right to choose whether her medical information is made public. As in so many aspects of this case, the leaker clearly didn't consider Semenya's well-being before speaking out.

Semenya Tests As 'Inter Gender' [BBC]
Treatment Of Intersexed African Athlete Appalling [BoingBoing]
Caster Semenya 'Hermaphrodite Claim' Should Be Treated With Caution – IAAF [Guardian]
IAAF Urges Caution Over Semenya Intersex Claims [CNN]
Caster Semenya Has Male Sex Organs And No Womb Or Ovaries [Daily Telegraph]

As reported yesterday, sports officials suspect Semenya not of hiding her true identity as a man, but rather of unknowingly having a medical condition that might give her some male characteristics. Thomas H. Maugh II of the LA Times lists a variety of possibilities. Simply having an XY set of sex chromosomes, he points out, wouldn't make her physiologically male — she could have an enzyme deficiency that prevents her body from processing testosterone or producing fully-formed male genitalia. Or she might have androgen insensitivity syndrome, in which testosterone receptors are defective, or mosaicism, a combination of XX and XY cells. If she does have XX chromosomes, she might still have congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an excess of testosterone produced by the adrenal glands. Not all of these conditions would cause the International Association of Athletics Federations to bar Semenya from competing. The question, says Maugh, is, "Does the abnormality give an unusual benefit?"

Testing continues, but IAAF spokesman Nick Davies says Semenya won't necessarily be stripped of her gold medal even if she is found to be "male." He says, "Legally if you are found to be of a different sex to that declared that is not cheating [...] It is a very delicate matter." Her coach, Michael Seme, says this speculation is nothing new for Semenya, and she doesn't let it get to her: "The remarkable thing is that Caster remains completely calm and never loses her dignity when she is questioned about her gender." However, according to Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene, the new, high-stakes debate over her sex is taking its toll. Of her gold medal win, he says,

She said she did not want to go on the podium, but I told her she must. She is not rejoicing. She [didn't] want the medal. She told me: 'No one ever said I was not a girl, but here [in Berlin] I am not. I am not a boy. Why did you bring me here? You should have left me in my village at home'.

Some criticisms against Semenya have been cruel and ill-informed (her competitor Elisa Cusma of Italy said, "These kind of people should not run with us. For me, she's not a woman. She's a man."), and it's not surprising if the 18-year-old Semenya is affected by them. However, she's also receiving expressions of support. South Africa's Daily Dispatch says,

It would seem it is acceptable for masculine-looking women to compete as long as they lose. When they win they must have a 'gender test'.

The Young Communist league alleges that criticisms of Semenya have a racist origin, saying, "This smacks of racism of the highest order. It represents a mentality of conforming feminine outlook within the white race." And an odd defense of Semenya comes from none other than Germaine Greer. Greer writes in the Guardian,

Nowadays we are all likely to meet people who think they are women, have women's names, and feminine clothes and lots of eyeshadow, who seem to us to be some kind of ghastly parody, though it isn't polite to say so. We pretend that all the people passing for female really are. Other delusions may be challenged, but not a man's delusion that he is female.

It's hard to see how mocking male-to-female transsexuals helps Semenya's cause, but Greer goes on to point out that intersex people have been historically mistreated in women's sports. She writes,

After more than 6,000 tests [in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics] no instance of a male athlete knowingly misrepresenting his gender had been identified. Instead the tests picked up developmental sexual disorders in a number of women who didn't know they had them. The intersexual women could not be distinguished in appearance or performance from other XX female athletes. All the mass testing accomplished was the embarrassment of a small number of athletes and in one case at least her unfair exclusion from competition, and so it was abandoned.

Her creepy denunciation of transsexuals aside, this is an important reminder that gender tests hardly ever identify actual cheating (the last known case of such cheating appears to be that of Dora Ratjen, who was actually a man and bound her male genitals to compete in the 1936 Olympics). What they may identify is conditions that give athletes an advantage over their competitors. But, says Greer,

[D]oesn't all competitive sport canonise and glamorise the exploitation of genetic advantage? Who said life was fair?

Row Over South African Athlete Highlights Ambiguities Of Gender [LA Times]
Caster Semenya Sex Row: 'She's My Little Girl,' Says Father [Guardian]
Semenya Considered Rejecting 800m Medal [Sydney Morning Herald]
Gold Awarded Amid Dispute Over Runner's Sex [NYT]
Caster Semenya Sex Row: What Makes A Woman? [Guardian]

Earlier: Semenya Takes Gold, But Gender Issue Is Ongoing

According to Smart Set's Jessa Crispin (of Book Slut fame):

In her collection of short autobiographical pieces, Hillman recounts a youth in and out of doctor’s offices, her parents’ acceptance of her coming out as gay, and her later involvement with intersex activism. After a lifetime of regulating her gender with hormones, she begins to wonder, what are the costs, and what are the benefits? My whole life, my CAH has been discussed as a health problem. But now I realize it’s a sex problem as well. To what degree have I taken medication to maintain girl chemistry, to attain girl attributes and keep boy ones suppressed? To what degree have doctors done this, and in what ways have I become complicit? My medication suppresses the overproduction of 17 hydroxy progesterone, a precursor to testosterone. What else is being suppressed?

For people, like Clark, who see gender as black and white, this sort of complex thinking could seriously make their heads explode. As Jessa perceptively notes, not only is the portrayal of gender a spectrum, but biological sex is a spectrum as well. Crispin also mentions "Martine Rothblatt’s idea of gender being a color wheel. The three primaries are “activeness (or aggression), passiveness (or nurturing), and eroticism (or sex drive).” The three elements blend together and create your specific color, which can change and blend." I think my gender is a mauve today; maybe it will be a lavender tomorrow.

Let's Talk About Sex [The Smart Set]
Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word) [Amazon]

Earlier: Tyra: Isis Faces Off With "Strong Christian" Clark