Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mises]

Yeah, I agree.

But if I were a woman who had to compete against this person (with testosterone levels and muscle mass of a male) I'd be pissed.

[bacasper]

while the article does not explicitly state it, presumably Semenya is a true hermaphrodite and neither a male nor female pseudohermaphrodite.

Regarding where s/he should compete, except for an a single event open to all, there is no clear-cut resolution.

Now s/he may be stripped of the medal because of the feminist argument that she has male attributes so it is not fair to those who are 100% female. By the same token, Semenya could say it would be unfair to be made to complete against 100% males.

Quite the conundrum!

[ontheway]

[bacasper]

[bacasper]

S. African Minister Threatens 'World War' Over Champion Runner

Friday, September 11, 2009

A furious South African Sports Minister threatened an athletic governing body Friday with "world war" should it ban Caster Semenya from international competition in the wake of reports that the 800m world champion is a hermaphrodite.

Makhenkesi Stofile accused the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of leaking gender test results on Semenya to the media.

"It is very, very clear to us that Caster's human rights are not being respected at all," the minister said.

"Neither Caster nor her family deserve this kind of humiliation. None of them has done anything wrong. This is as disgusting as it is unethical."

Stofile, whose main mandate is to ensure that South Africa's international sports teams reflect the country's racial make-up, called the meeting with reporters after the Australian Daily Telegraph reported that tests revealed Semenya has internal testes and no womb or ovaries.

Asked how South Africa would react if the IAAF ruled that Semenya could no longer compete against women, he said: "I think it will be the third world war. Such a decision would be totally unfair and unjust."

Should s/he be banned?

[Fox]

[mises]

[bacasper]

[mises]

Obviously.

[bacasper]

I love stating the obvious, and am very good at it.

[mises]

It is such a bloody absurd metric to fuss over. SA has some huge problems.

[Big_Bird]

This really sucks. Poor girl, having her private details discussed all over the world.

[Space Bar]

This seems to be the upshot.

Women with high male hormone levels face sport ban

Nature explains the science behind new sex-testing rules for athletes.

Joanna Marchant

Female athletes may not be eligible to compete as women if they have natural testosterone levels in the male range. That's the upshot of new guidelines on female hyperandrogenism, recommended by the International Olympic Commission (IOC) on 5 April and accepted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on 12 April. The rules have been welcomed by experts as a reasonable compromise, but there remain some doubts over how they would work in practice. Nature looks at the science behind the tests.

Why have the rules been brought in?

The regulations cover female athletes with hyperandrogenism, a condition in which the body produces higher than normal levels of hormones called androgens, particularly testosterone. This can cause the development of bulky muscles, perhaps giving athletes an unfair competitive advantage.

The issue hit the headlines in 2009, when the South African athlete Caster Semenya was asked to undergo sex testing after winning the 800-metre final at the Berlin World Championships in Athletics (see 'A question of sex'). She was unable to compete for nearly a year, but has now returned to the track. The results of her tests remain confidential.

Officials deny that the new rules are a direct response to Semenya's case, however. There have been other controversial cases, and they say there has long been a need to clarify the rules and procedures involved. This week's announcement is the culmination of an 18-month review carried out by the IOC Medical Commission and the IAAF, including a meeting held last October and attended by scientists as well as athletes, bioethicists, human-rights lawyers and a representative of the intersex community.

What are the rules?

A female athlete with [b]hyperandrogenism who has testosterone levels in the male range (as measured by a blood test) will not be eligible to compete as a woman. [/b]The IOC has not yet decided on the cut-off levels, but the normal range of total testosterone for an adult premenopausal woman is typically defined as 15-70 nanograms per decilitre, compared with 260-1,000 nanograms per decilitre for a man.

There are exceptions, though. The most common cause of extreme hyperandrogenism is androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). In these cases, an embryo is genetically male but lacks a fully functioning receptor for testosterone, so does not respond normally to the hormonal signal to become male. In typical cases, she develops as a female � although with internal testes instead of ovaries. The IOC and IAAF concluded that, because such women are resistant to androgens, they gain no competitive advantage from their high testosterone levels and have exempted them from the ban...

[rollo]

During the 70's there were a couple of East German "female" athletes who were so manly that women competitors felt uncomfortable when they were in the locker room. some refused to change or shower when the East Germans were around. This was probably not genetic but chemical abuse by East German athletic agency. there were some horrifying stories that came out about what some of the chemicals did.
But BA is right this is a touchy issue.

[recessiontime]

while we are on the subject... I think it makes even more sense to include draft K-women into the army just as they do with K-men.

You need only point and shoot or press a button these days to kill a lot of people in war. I think gender plays an even smaller role in murder than in sports.