August 20. 2009

Caster Semenya

South African sprinter, Caster Semenya, is facing massive scrutiny after winning the 800 meter run, at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Caster has been forced to take a gender test, administered by a team of doctors, due to her very muscular appearance, pectorals, 6-pack/8-pack stomach, a visible Adams apple and slight bulge at the genital area. In an ironic twist, the first five letters of her name spell the word "semen."

Clearly, she passed the steroids tests, otherwise she would not have been allowed to participate. However, officials seek to determine if she is a man or a woman with genetic male traits that give her an unfair advantage.

Some in South Africa believe statements about her have been xenophobic and racist, because she is not an American.

Respectfully, as a Jamaican black woman, when I first saw her photo, I immediately realized what the controversy was about, as she does exhibit masculine traits and she also has a male swagger.

That statement is not meant to be insulting, but truthful. Not to mention, it has been reported, that even in South Africa, her teacher, bathroom attendants and others, for years have thought she was a man.

It maybe due to a genetic occurrence that caused her to posses both male and female characteristics, which strenuous workouts to build strength and stamina, have accentuated. Pilates would counter that to reduce confusion.

People are also asking questions, because in the past, two European men, who were white (only mentioning that due to the racial claims with Semenya) posed as women and won gold medals that were later revoked.

Women are considered the weaker sex and it really is not very competitive overall, to have men sprinting against women. Therefore, it is a very delicate subject, but it must be addressed in the interest of fairness.

Regardless of the outcome of the gender tests, which are expected in a few weeks, Semenya is an extraordinary athlete, who put on a fine performance. Congrats on your win, as it was very impressive.

Semenya humiliated, says SA athletics chief

Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:56pm GMT - BERLIN (Reuters) - The gender controversy surrounding South Africa's teenage 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya has been humiliating for her, the country's athletics chief said on Thursday.

Semenya's rapid improvement over the past year, in which she has shaved more than eight seconds off her personal best in the two-lap race, prompted the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to order a gender test.

"I will continue to defend the girl, I will continue to do anything, even if I am to be kicked out of Berlin, Germany, but I am not going to let that girl be humiliated in the manner that she was humiliated because she has not committed a crime whatsoever. Her crime was to be born the way she is born," said Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene.

"And now people are not happy, and on that basis she is isolated like a leper, like she has got a disease that will affect other people, and I don't think it's proper," he told Reuters Television.

Powerfully built but smooth running, the 18-year-old Semenya clocked one minute, 55.45 seconds for the year's fastest time and a personal best by more than a second to win gold in the 800 on Wednesday, hours after the IAAF said the procedure for gender testing had started...

http://af.reuters.com