Caster Semenya :thoughts?

comptonelizabeth

I've been following this with interest and would love to hear other people's views

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/48102479

kathryn1391

I think its insane. I don't have the mental energy to contribute much to be honest, it just frustrates me.

comptonelizabeth

kathryn1391 wrote: »

I think its insane. I don't have the mental energy to contribute much to be honest, it just frustrates me.

I know what you mean! I seem to switch back and forth with my thoughts but think it's pretty outrageous that in order to continue competing as a woman, she'll have to take medication!

kathryn1391

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

kathryn1391 wrote: »

I think its insane. I don't have the mental energy to contribute much to be honest, it just frustrates me.

I know what you mean! I seem to switch back and forth with my thoughts but think it's pretty outrageous that in order to continue competing as a woman, she'll have to take medication!

That's just it. Its her body, her hormones, how can you actually say that to compete, the amount of hormones she naturally creates needs to be adjusted? Its like saying to a pro footballer that their natural ability to focus is unfair on others so wear an eye patch.

ceiswyn

Do women athletes who have naturally low levels of hormones get to supplement in order to compete 'equally'?

comptonelizabeth

I think one of the issues is that chromosonally, she is XY and therefore male, even though she was raised as, and identifies as, female. Which opens a whole new can of worms. I can understand that other women competing may feel she has an unfair advantage but as you point out, so do others - eg if you're lucky enough to have long legs, that gives you an advantage in long jump.

comptonelizabeth

ceiswyn wrote: »

Do women athletes who have naturally low levels of hormones get to supplement in order to compete 'equally'?

I have no idea but somehow doubt it!

Cutemesoon

I think i'm not on any side of this issue. I feel REALLY bad for her! I have since she was thrown into the spotlight a few years ago. One one hand, she cannot help the way she was born. On the other hand, does having too much testosterone give her an unfair advantage over the athletes she competes against? It's just awful that her personal business was publicized.

ceiswyn

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I think one of the issues is that chromosonally, she is XY and therefore male, even though she was raised as, and identifies as, female. Which opens a whole new can of worms. I can understand that other women competing may feel she has an unfair advantage but as you point out, so do others - eg if you're lucky enough to have long legs, that gives you an advantage in long jump.

I don't believe the results of Caster's sex verification test were ever released?

aokoye

ceiswyn wrote: »

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I think one of the issues is that chromosonally, she is XY and therefore male, even though she was raised as, and identifies as, female. Which opens a whole new can of worms. I can understand that other women competing may feel she has an unfair advantage but as you point out, so do others - eg if you're lucky enough to have long legs, that gives you an advantage in long jump.

I don't believe the results of Caster's sex verification test were ever released?

I'm almost positive you're correct. Yes she's intersex, but chromosomal tests haven't been released from what I understand and I personally don't think they should be for privacy's sake (and because it doesn't matter). I've been following this from the beginning and I'm livid on her behalf and the behalf of everyone who is affected by this.

magnusthenerd

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I think one of the issues is that chromosonally, she is XY and therefore male, even though she was raised as, and identifies as, female. Which opens a whole new can of worms. I can understand that other women competing may feel she has an unfair advantage but as you point out, so do others - eg if you're lucky enough to have long legs, that gives you an advantage in long jump.

I don't think she is XY - she's intersex, not trans, though there are forms of intersex that involve XY. Given the way trans people are treated for the Olympics, I think if she was XY, she'd have had to be on hormones already to compete. I believe the recommendations in place for trans women in most sports are a testosterone that is actually lower than the average cis woman's, and thus usually much lower than the average cis female athlete.


My general opinion is there might ultimately be no fair way to set requirements for sports. Ultimately, athletes have some level of genetics that are unusual that let them perform at a the professional level. On the other end, there's no ability to have a fair competition if at some level sex (which is partially genetic) is not taken into account - I think few people are going to say fair will to have cis men competing against cis women. Somewhere in between those, the idea of having a category for trans and/or intersex people is just going to encourage othering of them and reducing their opportunities.

Best proposal I've heard so far is to come up with some kind of performance factor that gets assigned to some people based on various criteria.

comptonelizabeth

aokoye wrote: »

ceiswyn wrote: »

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

I think one of the issues is that chromosonally, she is XY and therefore male, even though she was raised as, and identifies as, female. Which opens a whole new can of worms. I can understand that other women competing may feel she has an unfair advantage but as you point out, so do others - eg if you're lucky enough to have long legs, that gives you an advantage in long jump.

I don't believe the results of Caster's sex verification test were ever released?

I'm almost positive you're correct. Yes she's intersex, but chromosomal tests haven't been released from what I understand and I personally don't think they should be for privacy's sake (and because it doesn't matter). I've been following this from the beginning and I'm livid on her behalf and the behalf of everyone who is affected by this.

I'm not sure where I heard she is XY, apologies as I had the impression this was true.
I suspect some people involved may have their own agenda but I share your outrage!

Nova

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