intenserunner wrote:
Since it is so difficult to prove who is "female" and who isn't, and since we are now allowing men to compete as "female" under certain conditions, why do we not just get rid of the "female" category and make a new "low-testosterone" category in its place? Or simply redefine the term "female" in the rule books "For the sake of competition, 'female' will be defined as...[insert strict scientific definition here]". Then these court cases will be more clear cut. It seems the only reason that the rules can be challenged is due to them being poorly defined.
It’s undoubtedly 5 ARD syndrome. There are two kinds, both involve chromosomally male children being born with malformed or missing property male sexual characteristics due to an inability of the foetus to utilise testosterone in the womb for development. Often this leads to the children being brought up as female, sometimes after surgery to help them along.
The problem becomes more apparent at puberty. One type of 5 ARD, the type Dutee Chand likely has, doesn’t allow uptake of testosterone at this time either and the person remains outwardly female looking despite chromosonally being male.
The other type, that Semenya, Niyonsaba, Wambui etc have allows uptake of T to differing levels, often normal levels and causes male secondary sexual characteristics to develop.
The confusion is being caused by no one being irritated to talk about what disorder Semenya actually has, and sacrificing women’s athletics so as to avoid offending him.
Talking about ‘intersex’ is a misnomer in most cases. Semenya is male because he has enough testosterone uptake to have physically developed as a male.
Just why is Semenya so keen to race as a female? Surely it should be a cause for sone celebration that he has so successfully developed male secondary sexual characteristics and seems so keen now to take on the traditional male role in life away from athletics. The answer must be that it is very rewarding for him to race against female athletes and dominate them, without this, he is nothing. He could race against the men, but chooses to perpetuate this nonsense so he can feel like a star.
I agree with the idea that the elite woman take it into their own hands and do something about it. Most of them aren’t allowed to air their views in public for fear of losing sponsors or state athletics contracts. Standing for a timed 15 seconds in the start line after the men start their race then having their own female race should do the trick. Even if a few athletes only do it, the reverberations around the world will take the focus off Semenya and back to the real victims in this. How many women now have lost medals to men who have 5 ARD syndrome?