I remember hearing about how Michael Phelp's was built with a body — almost web-like feet — that ensured he'd be an amazing swimmer. Genetic advantages are probably what separate most world-class athletes from those who just train really hard. I don't see how this is any different.

I really do see every angle of this debate.

I'm a runner, and I'm also six foot two. I'm faster than any other woman at any gym I've ever belonged to. Is my really unusual height part of the reason I'm faster? Undoubtedly! Superior athletes aren't just the result of hard work, genetic unusualness is also at work. Intersexuality is a natural state, and she certainly shouldn't be forced to have an operation to correct it against her will.

At the same time, if women's classes were to be eliminated in sports, far fewer women would be represented as champion athletes. Testosterone, especially in running, is a huge advantage. Her test results show that she has 3 times as much testosterone as a normal woman. This is an entirely unfair advantage if she were to compete in the women's brackets.

As much as my knee-jerk liberal reaction is for equality, I just feel it's unfair to other women athletes to ask them to compete against someone with such a massive advantage. I don't think she should be allowed to run in the women's brackets.

If you're a runner like me, you know how much harder a woman has to work than a man to be equally as fast. It's nothing more than biology at play. I'd hate to see the whole institution of women's track thrown into upheaval for a single person.

It's a dramatically difficult situation. I hate that she's being embarrassed in such a public way.

How sad that she has to find this out at the same time as the rest of the world. No wonder she is in hiding; I can only imagine what she must be going through right now. I hope that she is able to continue doing what she loves.

I think this is crazy. this poor girl was tricked into taking gender tests. this is so unfair.

I agree with Colleen, it seems like these cases are going to have one big ruling soon. when it comes to sports, what constitutes and unfair advantage? Michael Phelps' body has been studied-there are multiple articles about how his body is PERFECT for swimming.
so should he not be allowed to compete for the US?

What about the other top world athletes?? Yao Ming, Shaq, etc. are they at an unfair advantage because how how they're built?

Semenya obviously identifies with the gender role of woman, so i say let her race with women.

i think if she has biological advantage of extra testorone, she should probabaly be disqualified. nothing excuses the iaaf's behavior, from her being TRICKED into testing instead of making an informed decision to do the testing to them publicly disclosing they were doing the testing in the first place. and now some *sshole from the organization leaks her test results to the press before they even tell her? something needs to be done. at the very least legal action needs to be taken against the person who leaked this information for disclosing someone's private medical information without consent.

she should be able to keep the metals regardless of the results simply because they tricked her into taking the test. she did not compete knowing her condition and i do not believe she tried to deceive anyone. this is just morally wrong for them to secretly take this gender test and then publicly announce to the world such personal information. you would think this would have been handled more sensitively and not so tacky, and i just pray for Semenya's well being.

This is a tricky situation- the one area that isn't fuzzy is the IAAF's conduct. I cannot believe that they would leak out this sensitive information to the public. For Semenya to find out this way is extremely saddening. I don't blame her for going into hiding. I doubt she'd want to return to running in the immediate future. I know if I were in her position, I'd wouldn't want the whole world watching me.

GO SEMENYA!! DONT LET THEM BRING YOU DOWN!! YOU ARE SO TALENTED AND WORKED HARD FOR THOSE METALS, YOU ARE A WINNER AND WE ALL LOVE YOU. STAY STRONG AND KEEP RUNNING AND DO WHAT YOU LOVE!!!!!NO MATTER WHAT!

I'm with Sloane220. Three times the amount of testosterone than the average woman, AND internal testes (which are testicles) should be grounds for disqualification. Semenya is NOT a woman.

The article makes no mention about her chromosomes. Does Semenya have XX, XY, or some other variation?

A person's sex is NOT determined by their gender. Sex is biology-based. For example, a male cross-dresser may identify as a female when he's in drag (per gender), but biologically, he's male. This means if this man want to compete in sports, he needs to sign-up for the men's team, not the women's.

GlowingMoon, you say she is not a woman, but she is not really a man either. She identifies as a woman and has some female parts, so where does she fit in? I am assuming that outwardly she appears female (has a vagina, etc.) since she was unaware and has probably had plenty of physical exams where this would have come out otherwise. She has worked very hard at her sport and it would be so sad if she had to just give up. This is a very difficult situation.

I'm with Sloane220 & Glowing Moon - the sheer fact that she has three times the amount of testosterone than the average woman (AND to a lesser degree, internal testes) should be grounds for disqualification. Semenya is NOT a woman - and we all know that men are strong/faster than women (in general) in sports, hence why there are different categories to begin with.

yes, of course, her situation is hard to be in - i don't envy her and many interexed people will lives similarly difficult lives where they feel they do not fit into one group or another, and yes she trained hard, etc. but it's absolutely 100% unfair for the other women who partcicipate to have someone who is largely male (physically) to have Semenya compete against them.

no, the IAAF did not behave appropriately and by tricking her then revealing the results, they should be seriously reprimanded but it doesn't take away the fact that a person with that much more testosterone and male parts isn't all woman and shouldn't be able to compete as such on a high level

Though Semenya identifies as and was raised as a woman, biologically, she is not. Biology is what matters here. Semenya is definitely has an advantage over your average woman, it goes beyond having more advanced skills or a superior body, like in the case of Michael Phelps. Semenya has a biological advantage, and if biologically, you're a man, compete with the men.

I also agree that she should not be allowed to compete. However, I know for a fact that we have at least one transgender member of TresSugar, Mistywolf, and I don't like the implication that someone might not "be a woman" because of an intersexed condition.

That's a very different discussion than allowing her to compete. It think we can all be respectful here towards the GLBTI community.

I just feel really bad for her. What a horrible thing to have to deal with so publicly.

Oh wow - this is sad. I think the IAAF handled this completely wrong. They shouldn't have been deceiving about the reason for th tests, and should have spoken with her confidentiality and not released the results to the public, without her permission. This is a very sensitive issue, especially for her to be finding this out from what she thought was going to be a drug test - it's not like it came from a family physician or somebody who had any tact about how to approach her with this issue. Her whole life and sense of self has probably been turned upside down, the pain and confusion she is going through right now is uncomprehendable to most people I think.

That said, I don't know what they should do about future races. I don't think she should be stripped of her medal she just earned simply because she was not being deceitful in her eyes. But for future races, now that it has been shown that she has so much testosterone, I don't know. My only question is - how does she compare to the normal male's level of testosterone? What if it turns out that her testosterone level, while high for women, is actually low for a male? Would it then be fair to put her at such a disadvantage against men? How does the sports world make the decision as to which gender's sports someone of this situation has to partake in? It's not an easy decision for anyone.

Just becase she has internal testes and increased testorone production dosn't make her a "man", she most likely still has lower testerone levels and muscle bulk then a typical man, so having her compete with the men may put her at an unfair disadvantage. Like the article said, sex determination is very complex and can actully go beyone having a Y chromosome vs. an X. It was increadibly unethical for her to be tested without proper consent and for her results to be disclosed without her permisson.

First of all, I really, really do feel sorry for this person. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in that situation, and I hope she gets the help that she needs to get through these tough times and be happy.

But...I find it very hard to believe that neither she nor her family knew or at least strongly suspected that "she" wasn't really a "she". There are so many physical signs, including her appearance, her voice, and the fact that at 18 years old she had never menstruated (which as far as I know she couldn't have, without a female reproductive system). If the parents had ever taken her to a doctor or had a physical exam done on her they would have known. Whether or not they told her or decided to keep it from her I don't know, but somebody had to have known or at least strongly suspected. Either way, she never should have been competing against other women because of this unfair advantage, and I don't think she should be allowed to do so again. I don't really care if they take her medal from her or not, but I'm sure the other women she was competing against do.

I understand what you're saying, Anonymous #10.

Poor Semenya does not fall neatly in either category -- female or male. And it's not her fault. Too bad in sports, there is no category for "intersex" for those who are in-between.

However, given that we only have two categories (that's the reality), I wanted to know more biological data about her, like what her chromosomes are. If biologically and chemically (hormones), which affects athletic performance and muscle-building, she is more male than female, she should compete with other males (of similar biology and chemical make-up).

I must confess that this news about her has casted some doubt on her past winnings. There's a possibility that she was performing as a male among females. She should have been disqualified. Of course, she did this unknowing. Again, this is not her fault.

Caster Semenya likely has the chromosomal abnormality where she has three, instead of two, X choromosomes. And it's not like it's unheard of: something like 1 in a thousand women have it, and they are characterized by increased height, longer legs, more slender torsos, etc. Chromosomal sex "abnormalities" aren't really that abnormal; we're just not used to recognizing them, since science has only recently caught up with many of these cases. There are other "abnormalities" including Klinefelter and Turner syndrome, which occur in men and women, respectiviely. The whole subject is pretty fascinating, but if I were Caster I would hate that the whole world knew, and was discussing, something that is likely painfully private for her. I only hope that all of this publicity brings more understanding to the topic.

For Anon #17 - there are women in my family who have never had a regular physical or annual exam or papsmear. Don't know why - they just don't feel comfortable with them. So I do think there is the possibility she just didn't know.

And regarding the menstruation - I got my period very late - almost 17, probably due to not having enough body fat - and I wasn't an athlete. I know of girls who were all-star athletes in highschool and did not have a period yet. It is possible for women to not menstruate at all due to various health reasons.

The only thing clear with this story is that the IAAF acted in an abhorrent manner.

Ditto on Yoga's menstruation comment, though. It is very common for highly trained female athletes to skip or even miss periods all together. As a competitive swimmer, I had personal experience with amenorrhea when I was younger. With her incredibly low body fat percentage, I would be more surprised if she WAS menstruating.

Like I said on another blog I think they should simply make her the worlds fastest hermaphrodite because for intents and purposes that's what she is. Then allow the runner up of the race she won to be the true winner of that race.

Isn't that a HIPAA violation? I thought it was pretty much illegal to give out someones medical information without their permission. Maybe it's different in this case. I just think that it's really messed up that they did that. Even though I'm sure in her case she was already suspected to me a man by a lot of people and unfortunately got teased. I still think that has to be a horrible thing to go through in private let alone public.
I have no idea where this should be her career as a runner. I do think she should keep her medals. I just don't see what it would hurt anyone.

should put*
oops

"Isn't that a HIPAA violation?"

This isn't taking place in the United States.

I can't believe some of the comments on here. Yes she is not 100% female, nor is she a male. It's not her fault, and it's not like she competed knowing that she had more testosterone. Some of you on this discussion board might have more testosterone than others, doesnt mean we guilty too. You've never tested yourselves, and she didn't approve this test either, they tricked her which is so wrong and unethical. So she never had a period being 18, i never did either and im a woman, i never had enough body fat, and being an all star athlete im sure she didn't either. Doctor's don't question it when you are that active even if her parents had taken her to the doctor, which i never had done to test me for that. It's common. The fact that they even questioned her gender in the first place just because she was really good is an insult to women that it's not possible to be that good. Yes genetics has a part to play in all of this, but should she have to give up years of training and dedication because they dont have an intersexed league. She's not fully a man either so she has a disadvantage there, but an advantage at the womens races. So many other athletes have genetic components as to why they are so much better than everyone else. How do we draw this line.

~ I'm angry with the IAAF with how they handled the situation, the fact that it was questioned in the first place, then tricked, then publicly released. If this is gonna be the case on how to determine gender, the IAAF then needs to gender test every female and male athlete in the world to make sure no one has any advantage. The fact that she was singled out when so many people have this condition and may never know about it is so sad, and to be publicly humiliated like that. This whole story is why the news is so depressing these days.

Re: Casa - if she had three Xs, she couldn't possibly have testes - X chromosomes don't carry the genes to make them. It's more likely that she is XY or XXY, but has a testosterone insensitivity syndrome. Female is nature's default body plan for mammals, and to develop male traits, a certain gene found only in the Y has to turn on in early fetal development AND the body has to be able to respond to the increased testosterone levels. If her body is actually immune or insensitive to testosterone, that would explain why she doesn't have a penis but has internal testes and sky-high testosterone - her body is making it, but hasn't responded to it the way it was supposed to since before she was born. She probably thinks like a woman too.

This is such a terrible situation. My prayers are with her, and I hope the IAAF gets slammed for there terrible conduct!

Thank you, Bekkachan. I was thinking along the same line, too -- Semenya most likely has a Y chromosome, as she has testes (male parts).

Semenya has NO uterus (womb), and NO ovaries. Incidentally, with no ovaries, Semenya would never menstruate, body fat notwithstanding. She doesn't have the female parts to menstruate.

Also, your theory of her being testosterone insensitive sounds reasonable, too. It may be the case.

I feel so bad that her privacy has been tarnished. While I do feel that the IAAF acted most inappropriately, I do agree that she should not and cannot compete fairly with biological women as she does have an unfair advantage on them. I wish all the best, though, in this traumatic time.

Also, I do wonder how the family can "claim" to not know of the condition. There had to be some signals.

for someone from a third world country like south africa, this is probably terribly humiliating for her. she's likely so confused and devastated right now is she truly didn't know.

ultimately though it's not fair for her to compete against other women. i don't know where she fits in or how they'll handle it but i don't feel like there's a good outcome in the future.

This poor young woman. To undergo this international microscope re: something so personal. Also what a way to learn you don't have a uterus or ovaries. I wonder if she had thought of naturally having children in the future. I also wonder how many athletes that look more feminine than her would have unexpected findings if they underwent the battery of tests she was subjected to?

This poor girl. I can't even imagine how she is feeling. This is something incredibly difficult to deal with privately, let alone having the whole world know about it.

As for competition and her medals, I think it would be cruel to take away the medals she's already won, but I'd understand if they disqualified her from future races. It's not fair, but like others have said, the testosterone offers a huge advantage.

I agree with bethinabox. Why does the whole world have to know such personal details about a person? Why was this information allowed to be publicized? It's very unfair considering all the hard work she's put in, and the fact that she was decieved about the type of test actually being done shows that the sports world is not interested in equality or privacy. shame on them.

@ #30 (sparklepants): please don't call South Africa a third-world country, it is an emerging market. it ranks #32/~200 for GDP, it's part of the G20, etc. Call it a "poorer" or "less developed" country if you really feel the need to emphasize this. (I don't see how it's even relevant here)

As for the girl... I think she should keep her medals, this is traumatic enough and I don't think that she did anything wrong anyway.

As for where she should compete in the future... Well, she probably has too much of an advantage to compete with other women, and as she identifies as a woman, it would be terribly humiliating to compete against men (plus, since she's not 100 % man, she probably wouldn't be good enough against them). So her career is most probably over...

I hope she has a supportive environment and she is very resilient... As her career is over, I also wish her to get money from suing the IAAF over all of this, and maybe writing a book that would tell her very uncommon story? She could also be a spokeperson for intersexed people when she learns to accept herself... Anyway I wish her the best!

Remember the boy who ran on those metal legs? he won all those races and then they decided he had an unfair advantage?...running with no legs?

i really think that athletes need to reevaluate. I played varsity sports, and if there was a hermaphrodite playing on the other ((womens)) team, i would just play harder.

it's not her fault and i think she should still be able to race. and not against men.

i think there are plenty of "female" athletes that could outrun her and her testorone. but just because not all of them can doesn't make it unfair.

It's funny there's so much sympathy for poor big Caster, and not much mention of the real female athletes who competed against her and lost. What do you suppose the story would be if Caster actually were female but got his unfair advantage by taking testosterone injections?
And why do you suppose they had to "trick" him into taking a test? Could it be because he knew very well he wouldn't pass a sex screening test?
Just take a look at him standing next to a real female some time...

Texasred. We would be upset if SHE knew that she was creating a supposed "unfair" advantage.

@texasred-your commentary is idiotic as usual. SHE didn't know she was intersexed. and no matter what the iaaf's motivation was, it's unethical to trick somebody into doing sex testing under the pretense of drug testing. and what do you mean by "big" caster, calling her a he, and comparing her to a "real" woman? while you express disgust over caster's NATURAL BIOLOGAL state that she had NO CONTROL over, others are disgusted by your ignorant words and despicable attitude towards her. get some freakin compassion and grow the f**k up.

i meant "biological".

i want to expound on my previous comment. first i think that caster should keep all the medals she has won up to this point, but be disqualified from competing in any other women's competitions because she has an unfair biological advantage of more testoterone then the average woman. i don't think its fair to take her medals away from her because she obviously wasn't aware of this. furthermore stictly speaking gender-wise she IS a woman. she belives she is a woman, she was raised a woman, she's a woman. the end. biologically she's intersexed, neither a man or a woman. i never call her a man, says she's not a real woman, or refer to her as he UNLESS she decided to one day publicly identify as a man, which is completely up to her.

shame on the IAAF for handling this so poorly

sorry for all the typos, it's pretty early in the a.m.

I agree completely with Sloane220. I think she should be able to keep any medals she's won up until this point, but be banned from competing in the future.

It's a very sad situation, the poor girl didn't know she was the way she was adn she's finding out at the same time the rest of the world is, most of whom are making terrible judgements about her because of it.

Texas..."real female"? Have you been tested? If it's not covered in the bible, If you're not an Adam or an Eve your not a child of god. This is a sad day for humanity, this poor girl has lost more than a cheap medal. I guess there will be a new group for the Special Olympics...unknown gender or gender assignment reject!

Everybody falls somewhere along the gender line, from the Male/Female extremes. She just falls closer to the middle.

I agree with colleenb...all of these pro athletes are already extradionary in consideration to the rest of the population. I bet if you tested the majority of these athletes you could find SOMETHING about them that makes them in a real high percentile compared to the rest of the world as far as physical characteristics. Isn't the fact that they are this different what makes them who they are to begin with in reguards to pro athletes?

As for the IAAF, they should be completely ashamed of themselves. What a disgrace! Someone needs to regulate the regulators!

This is a very tricky situation.I don't believe it is fair that Semenya be able to compete among women from this point but I don't think her medal should be taken from her. It's not her fault. No one knew. Even in her biological state she should be treated as a woman, because that's how she sees herself. The IAAF handled everything about this so terribly, and I can only imagine what she's going through at this point

I will say this...the telegraph article only gives one side of the story. The former coach claims that Caster was tricked. The IAAF denies that, and I'm not clear how even the most invasive drug test (and I had one once that was hair, blood, urine, and saliva!) could be masked as a gender test. Especially since that testing involves things such as ultrasounds, physical exam, and often psychological examination as well.

The IAAF should not have released the information until the investigation has been completed. However, I know we are all private people, but when you enter a race, you are agreeing to subject yourself to scrutiny. Whatever the decision made by the IAAF and the doctors about her "sex" and how it may have impacted her ability to run, the athletes competing against her have every right to raise their concerns. If it was drugs, or testosterone injections, and nothing was done, we would be outraged.
We have a young woman going through a very public, very emotional ordeal, and we should sympathize with her, but I believe the IAAF could not ignore this issue. That being said, the person who leaked this information before the final investigation report and decision should be ashamed.

This may have been her first ever doctor's visit. Nice try!

OK, so some of you feel she should be disqualified because she is different right? she is not man but she is a woman, but some of you feel she is not a woman on the inside because she don't have everything a woman should have and because she has an advantage over the other woman who is to say she knew she had all this extra stuff, being born like that was not by her choice, come on.. that's like saying women are not women after they have had a full Hysterectomy, that is more fit than most me or strong even. There is a lot of prejudice in here some where. So would it be OK, if she was to compete with the men? It would still be unfair. If it is that big of a deal why not allow people that are not to there standards compete with each other. Since you have to be a perfect man or woman to compete. We need to do better as people. This is truly sad. Now they have put her personal life out for everyone to discuss like we are. How embarrassing