Runner is a hermaphrodite
I’ve been watching this story with interest, because feminists immediately took up the cause of 18-year-old South African Caster Semenya last month when the International Association of Athletics Federations ordered gender tests after s/he won a gold medal in the 800 meter run at the World Athletics Championships….
I thought the question was fair, not sexist. Not so, according to RH Reality Check:
Testing… Semenya to determine whether or not she is female is the latest demonstration of the way societies are unable to accept that gender is fluid and people are not always “one or the other.”
This isn’t about the stretching of societal norms; this is about gender-based athletic competitions.
Semanya went so far as to undergo a makeover for the September 10 issue of You magazine.
Now today comes a story I certainly didn’t expect. I thought Senenya would found to be simply a masculine-looking female, or a man, or to have taken male steroids or something.
But it’s none of the above. From today’s Sun (and obtained via Drudge)
The controversy over gender row champion runner Caster Semenya deepened today – after reports claimed sex swap tests have shown she is a HERMAPHRODITE.
South African gold-medallist Semenya, 18, has both male and female organs, it was claimed.
And sources close to the International Association of Athletics Federations… say the results mean she could still be stripped of her medal.
Semenya is claimed to have NO womb or ovaries – and has internal testes, the male sexual organs which produce testosterone.
The row over Semenya’s biology has caused huge divisions – with South African politicians calling slurs she is a man “racist and sexist.” Her birth certificate has the teen listed as female and urine tests showed that, despite her having higher than average male hormone levels, they are within the official limits for a woman.
But an IAAF source was today quoted as saying: “There certainly is evidence now that Semenya is a hermaphrodite….
“The problem for us is to avoid it being an issue now which is very personal: of the organs being a hermaphrodite, of not being a ‘real’ woman.
“It’s very dramatic.”…
And Semenya’s family have slammed the claims, saying: “It is God who made her look that way but she IS a girl.”…
The athlete’s uncle Lesiba Rammabi, 51, said her relatives were “very humiliated” by the reports.
He said: “I believe Caster is normal, inside and out.
“What does it matter whether she can have babies or not? Many people cannot have children, why else do parents adopt? Are those women not women also?
“We are a normal family who looked at a child when she was born, saw that she was a girl and raised her as any other family would do. Are we now being told that we are wrong?
“We are very humiliated by what has been said and do not understand how it can be true.
“This is a woman who was raised a female. She will always be female, no matter what people say.”
This is sad. I feel sorry for Semenya, but what’s a sports organization to do? This isn’t about sexism or racism. As for Semenya personally, though, if she truly loves to run, how can she ever compete?
Here is footage of that 800m run…
Here is footage of Semenya speaking after the run…

Hi – I don’t think this is very relevant to the blog, plus it is quite a private issue and should be kept as limited as possible, given the circumstances. If it were my blog, I would not have posted the story, and I would pull it. If it were my anatomy, I would understand that some news and sports sites would want to run the story, but I would feel quite exposed if people were broadly reading about my ovaries. Sure, we need to discuss gender, feminism, rights, gentic and developmental defects, etc., but this is a bit much. I would leave this stuff to the NY Daily News or David Letterman.
I think she should still be qualified. Yes, her unique genetics give her an advantage, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be allowed to compete. Some people just have bodies better built for running. Africans in general have an advantage anyway. She just has some extra testosterone.
The purpose of the races is to find out who is best. Semenya is best, so let her keep her gold.
Row1, point taken. My interest is the feminist/glbt angle. Further, Semenya did open herself up to this public knowledge. She can’t have had a period. Her breasts are obviously underdeveloped, and for good reason – a lack of pubescent hormonal cues. She’s certainly been under the watchful eye of elite coaches for some time. They all had to know something was up.
That looks like a dude. I can see why they asked for tests.
“Her birth certificate has the teen listed as female and urine tests showed that, despite her having higher than average male hormone levels, they are within the official limits for a woman.”
Assuming this is true, she is female and her competitors should give it a rest.
RH Reality Check’s comment that “gender is fluid” is a bizarre one. Maleness and femaleness don’t shift with the wind.
Her Gold-medal winning race times must have been outrageously good for this to have become an issue in the first place. Choosing to compete as a female in men’s races could be an option if the rules would allow it and if she is interested. Women have played in male leagues in the past, after all.
I feel sorry for the poor girl. She must be devastated. Her career is over. She is young and her dreams must be shattered. People should respect her right to identify as a female if she wants to. It is all she has ever known. Due to sports training, some female athletes don’t have periods, so that isn’t as big a deal as it seems. Several of the women in my family, as well as some friends, didn’t have periods till they were sixteen because they were in sports. She deserves compassion and understanding. I know life isn’t fair, but I hope she doesn’t see the things people are thoughtlessly saying about her. Stuff like this can break a person. I have to say as a parent, this story gets me choked up. What if she were my child?
Really mad at the moment- her poor family. This is humiliating and I can’t believe people would question her competing. You’re right, though, Jill, that there must be some way for her to still run…
If I were in charge of a competition (because I would come within a mile of a sports venue?) I would still let her run personally.
As far as the gender debate goes, the people of R.H. Reality Check aren’t exactly credible experts. They’re bloggers, not anthropologists, scientists, psychologists, et cetera. There are experts on the other hand quite prepared to shoot their theory down, and to be frank, I was always upset by the theory that gender is fake becasue it has its roots in misogyny and people who refused to accept that it was possible to still be strong and female.
It’s more accurate to say that gender roles (not gender itself) are constructed.
RH Reality Check’s comment that “gender is fluid” is a bizarre one. Maleness and femaleness don’t shift with the wind.
Janet, don’t you think that if maleness and femaleness are not as simple as genitalia, or are not even as simple as physical parts alone, and if there is a “frame” of hormones that qualifies as “within limits” for femaleness, that certainly suggests that gender is, though not “fluid,” certainly not rigid?
As for her knowing something was up, that’s not necessarily. I was a late bloomer and likely would not have known by 18 if I had certain hermaphroditic traits. Same for my sister and my mom. etc. Additionally, amenorrhea is common in female athletes, especially in certain sports.
I feel very bad for this woman. I hope she has the support she needs and the emotional strength to deal with this.
Janet, don’t you think that if maleness and femaleness are not as simple as genitalia, or are not even as simple as physical parts alone, and if there is a “frame” of hormones that qualifies as “within limits” for femaleness, that certainly suggests that gender is, though not “fluid,” certainly not rigid?”
Alexandra,
RH Reality Check said:
“Testing… Semenya to determine whether or not she is female is the latest demonstration of the way societies are unable to accept that gender is fluid and people are not always “one or the other.”
I see what you are saying. As I see it, there is a difference between comparing hormone levels of two different women and concluding levels are not identical, and comparing hormone levels in one person where one day that person could be deemed “male” and the next “female”. The latter situation is how I interpreted RH’s statement. Maybe I interpreted it incorrectly which would explain why it seemed bizarre. :)
Oh, Janet, I don’t know anyone who thinks that people are male some days and female other days. Every transgender person I have the privilege of knowing has always, from their earliest memories, felt distinctly like one gender — the opposite gender they are told they are.
For example, if this woman’s hormone test had been “over” the limits for femaleness, and combined with the lack of uterus or whatever and the possession of some male reproductive organs, this caused her to be classified as a man, she would still see herself as a woman, regardless of what she “officially” was. The fact that you can’t simply look up someone’s skirt to know these things seems to me an indication that gender is not as rigid as we would like to believe it is.
Or, for another example, if she had always felt herself to be “male,” inside; but everyone had insisted she was female. And then if a hormone test demonstrated that hormonally, she was “more male than female” even though she appeared, for the most part, more female than male — that sort of thing.
I feel so sorry for her. How horrific that this sort of thing would be revealed to her at the same time they reveal it to the world. It’s such a private issue. I hope she finds a good counselor to help her through this.
“Her birth certificate has the teen listed as female”
At least she has a birth certificate?
But like B.O.’s cerificate of live birth, just because something is printed on it does not make it so.
you go……….person of non-specicific gender.
yor bro ken
“Genetic and developmental defects“!? As an individual who is married to an individual with and works with individuals with developmental disabilities, I find this term highly offensive and is outdated, as it implies these individuals are less human or valuable because of they way they were born. A better term would be developmental “differences” or “disabilities”
This story is reminiscent of Chastidy Bono making a public announcement that she was undergoing gender reassignment surgery and then asking everyone to respect her privacy.
(Huh?!?!?!? I just don’t get it. Am I testosterone impaired? Is that the reason?)
‘Public announcement’ and ‘privacy’ are kissin cousin close to mutually exclusive terms.
What athlete who is competing at the world and/or olypmpic level could not know that ‘gender determination’ would be a consideration in whether or not you could participate in women’s events?
I wonder if the rules allow women to participate in men’s events.
yor bro ken
Ken, it seems like she honestly didn’t know she had the condition. Like Alexandra said earlier, lack of mensturation doesn’t necessrally signal anything amis for runners.
I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, that Jamie Lee Curtis also has this type of hermaphroditism. I believe she said something to that affect on Lary king. Most women don’t know they have the condition untli they run into fertility problems.
If anyone’s interested, the Magic foundation deals with hermaphroditism. They’re a support group for children with endocrine issues.
Now, now, let’s not bring Jamie Lee Curtis into this. That is an unconfirmed rumor that she has repeatedly denied. Besides I’m one of her biggest fans! :)
the problem is that if she is a male, she is going to build muscle differently than her female competitors, which will place her at a distinct advantage. I do not consider this fair to her competitors although I understand how he/she must feel.
What is her genetic make-up? Is she XY? To me she seems to be mostly a man because internally she’s not a female.
I agree with Jill that likely her coaches KNEW something was different. These people are not stupid.
I think she should keep what she’s won but not be allowed to compete. Life isn’t always easy.
Jill the videos are the same on your post. Are they supposed to be?
Readers may find this of some use from the Science of Sport:
“The fact of the matter is that these allegations are not new. They have followed Semenya for a few years. Therefore, there was ample time to verify sex (again, a difficult process) and clear the way for her to compete. There is no doubt however, that the question was always going to be raised in Berlin, that people would ask and scrutinize, and so good management and coaching would have seen this resolved BEFORE the Championships even began. Because it was not, we are sadly seeing that Semenya will be the loser in what might well become an ugly story. There is surely nothing more offensive than the question of a woman’s sex – even a doping accusation does not come close.”
“According to the media liaison of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Ethel Manyaka, ASA would not send an athlete to the World Championships if they were not certain about the participant’s gender. [Ross: Then why was Semenya sent to begin with? How could you be “certain” unless you had done comprehensive testing on her? And “comprehensive testing” means genes, hormones, physical anatomy, psychology, internal medicine – see below. To imply that ASA was certain of her sex is to imply that she had been comprehensively tested, which she was not]”
“First of all, the difference between sex and gender must be clarified. In most cases they are used interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Gender refers to how an individual portrays and perceives him or herself—for example male or female. It is more of a social construct than a biological one. Sex, on the other hand, is biological, and that is the essence of the debate in this case, whether or not Semenya is of male or female sex, not gender. An individual can have male sex but female gender, and vice versa.”
“Following on from that, “private parts” do not alone constitute male or female. This is a rudimentary distinction, but does not acknowledge a range of developmental conditions that can cause male characteristics to develop without there needing to be male reproductive organs. The condition of pseudohermaphroditism is one where male organs develop in varying degrees, and so the absence of male organs is not proof of anything. The fact that ASA believe that “asking her to show us her private parts” will do the job suggests that they have little idea of the issues. In that case, the first quote above, regarding ASA being “certain” of her sex before sending her, is laughable. The only thing we can be certain of is that ASA have little understanding of the problem.”
“Second, even genetic testing cannot confirm male or female. In fact, it is so complex that to do proper sex determination testing, you have to take a multi-disciplinary approach, and make use of internal medicine specialists, gynecologists, psychologists, geneticists and endocrinologists. I am afraid that dropping your pants is not proof at all.”
“But, if due diligence had been followed, they’d know that, and maybe this controversy could have been prevented. For the IAAF, the leak that saw the story reported the day before the 800m final is a great concern, and a situation that should have been avoided. ASA, for their part, cannot have known her sex with any certainty, unless they believed that a simple observation was sufficient. However, you can, within 30 seconds on Google, discover that it is not. The moment she ran 1:56, and was destined to challenge for gold in Berlin, this controversy was going to happen. “Certain”? No way, and therefore, using ASA’s own criteria (which perhaps only apply in one direction), Semenya never had a chance…
mod’s I will be posting a link in the next comment
below is a link to some very interesting information re: Caster S. and this situation:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/09/caster-semenya-leaks-begin.html
What is her genetic make-up? Is she XY? To me she seems to be mostly a man because internally she’s not a female.
But angel, if she is apparently externally a female, and she hormonally qualifies as a female, what do you make of that?
It is an interesting question, because aren’t almost all serious athletes benefiting from some natural deviation from “the norm?” Some natural tendency to build muscle a certain way, or a natural physical build that benefits swimming over running or gymnastics over diving? If a woman qualifies, hormonally, as a woman, but has very high levels of testosterone for a woman, which allow her to build more muscle or whatever — at what point do you stop saying, “What an amazing natural ability,” and start saying, “That’s not fair in competition”?
And, of course, outside the realm of sports, what of the claim that people who identify as transgendered are just “mentally ill” or “choosing to be that way?”
Alexandra: read the link I”ve posted when the mod’s clear it.
It’s a very complex question as you will see from the website. Very interesting.
The IAAF needs to decide essentially if Caster will have an advantage over other athletes. It’s not a question of male vs female but of entirely female according to Ross Tucker and Jonathan Dugas who are Exercise Science and Sports Medicine.
if there is a mod alive and active on here, please approve my post ;)
Alexandra: apparently these guys say that what is needed is a multi-disciplinary approach using gynecologists, geneticists, endocrinologists, internal medicine specialists etc.
“This story is reminiscent of Chastidy Bono making a public announcement that she was undergoing gender reassignment surgery and then asking everyone to respect her privacy.”
From what I can tell, Caster Semenya didn’t make any public announcement, she just was going about her business working on her running. When it comes to Chastity/Chaz, you can’t very well transition to a man and NOT tell anyone, can you? If he hadn’t told anyone, it would have come to public attention anyway, given that his parents are famous and he has some level of celebrity himself.
I think it’s fair to investigate Caster’s gender, considering that the division is for women. However, seeing as she’s legally a woman and seeing as her hormone levels are within the allowed range for women, I think she should be allowed to keep her medal and allowed to continue to compete as a woman. It’s not her fault she was born this way.
I don’t agree on the “gender is fluid” thing either. You can be FTM or MTF, but that doesn’t mean your gender is fluid, it means you were born with the brain of one gender in the body of the other gender. It’s not like people strongly feel themselves to be one gender and then are fluidly able to strongly feel themselves to be the other gender. That’s why it doesn’t work for people who have spent their entire lives identifying with one gender to change over to identifying with the other.
I agree with Jill that likely her coaches KNEW something was different. These people are not stupid.
Posted by: angel at September 10, 2009 8:43 PM
No way. There are plenty of genetic variations that make people much more muscular. In fact, not too long ago there was a baby born to two athletes that ended up with two copies of an unusual gene which made him extraordinarily muscular. It could have happened to a girl instead.
I will look for the link to the story.
Absolutely unfair to say someone should have known.
Link to story about baby with myostatin mutation.
Link to story about baby with myostatin mutation.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/350/26/2682
semen? ya!
Gotta be a guy.
There was CW singer Ronnie Millsap who was blind.
He was a white guy, but he played the piano and sang and he sounded ‘black’, kinda like Ray Charles.
Ronnie got an invitation for an interview on ‘soul’ station. When Ronnie showed up for the interview the DJ took Millsap’s manager aside and said, “Man, your dudes white!”
The manager said to the DJ, “Don’t say nothin to Ronnie, He don’t know!”
Hey. It could happen. I was 32 years old when I found out I was caucasian and I can see.
yor bro ken
Eh, I say they clock her and have her run in the gender competitions that her speed more closely matches. If she’s fast like a man, have her run with the men.
I realize that in most cases, this sets a dangerous precedent because you can’t just ‘choose’ in which gender role you want to compete, but since in this case, her gender is in question, I feel an exception can be made.
Just my opinion, though.
I do feel for her. It’s not like this is a situation where she was trying to hide her real gender or anything. And now she’s become a controversy in and of herself. She has the burden of being the face for “fluid gender” advocates as well as the subject of ridicule from other individuals… It’s just rough stuff.
I would encourage the Christians on this blog to join me in prayer that Christ grant Semenya strength and guidance to get through these trials and become a better person for them.
It’s a very complex question as you will see from the website. Very interesting.
Alexandra: apparently these guys say that what is needed is a multi-disciplinary approach using gynecologists, geneticists, endocrinologists, internal medicine specialists etc.
angel, I understand that — that’s my point. If, based on external appearances and psychological state and endocrine tests, she is “female,” and based on some internal exams she has male qualities, why would you say she’s “mostly a man?”
That it is a complex question is indisputable — it’s what I’ve been saying all along, before I even knew Semenya existed.
Marauder — on the “gender is fluid,” I could be wrong in my interpretation, but I’m pretty sure it is intended to mean that the concept of gender is fluid, not that people’s individual genders flow back and forth every day. Of course I didn’t write that paragraph, but I have been casually researching this topic for some years now and have never heard anyone seriously propose that people’s genders literally change from day to day — just that people’s concept of which gender they are often differs from social concepts of what makes them that gender versus another, and thus that the concept of gender is more fluid than most people are willing to accept.
I feel very badly for this woman, and wish that all people could be more respectful of her situation.
Angel, 8:17p – no, those weren’t supposed to be identical videos. Thanks for letting me know. Fixed.
I also unblocked your comment containing a hyperlink.
hippie: the sports scientists from SA are saying that someone knew – they had to know.
This is NOT the first time this issue was brought up – it’s been an issue for years for Semenya. The point is, SSA doesn’t appear to understand the issues involved or they are completely ignoring the issues. This is about Semenya and protecting this person from a very personal situation having been splashed all over the world.
About gender and sex:
First of all, the difference between sex and gender must be clarified. In most cases they are used interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Gender refers to how an individual portrays and perceives him or herself—for example male or female. It is more of a social construct than a biological one. Sex, on the other hand, is biological, and that is the essence of the debate in this case, whether or not Semenya is of male or female sex, not gender. An individual can have male sex but female gender, and vice versa.”
lets get our terms right here!
Thank you Jill for unblocking the link! :)
Angel, you’re welcome!
Re: amenorrhea, I know many female athletes don’t have periods. It should be pointed out that this is an abnormal condition.
And for an 18yo never to NEVER have had a period is abnormally abnormal.
Certainly astute and concerned trainers would have had Semenya go to a gynecologist. It would be standard protocol to get a gyne check even if she had normal periods.
Again, they knew something was up. She may not have fully understood, but her handlers did.
Jill I quite agree that SSA and her parents also knew.
For any mother, the lack of periods would have been worrisome.
I believe SSA should be taken to task for this.
What a terrible situation for this young person to have to go through.
This situation could have been and should have been resolved BEFORE placing this athlete in the spotlight.
BTW, I have a friend whose daughter had only one or two periods by age 18. But she was obviously developed as a young woman. Turned out her periods came back somewhat but she was told that she lacks progesterone I believe.
The hermaphrodite who won the women’s 800 meter race from Jamaica is a man. He has testicles! God makes us either a man or woman. Why is it important that a person not have two genders? If He did then a true hermaphrodite could have sex with either gender, which would be a form of bisexuality or marry either a man or a woman and that would contradict the teachings of Christ. God cannot contradict Himself; therefore, theologically a true hermaphrodite is untenable. The idea of a “two gendered” person or a hermaphrodite is used by bisexuals, transgenders, transsexuals and homosexuals to justify their behavior.
From Wikipedia on hermaphroditism:
“True hermaphroditism”
With some conditions of intersex, even the chromosomal sex may not be clear. A “true hermaphrodite” is defined as someone with both male gonadal tissue (testes) and female gonadal tissue (ovarian tissue).
In 2004, researchers at UCLA published their studies of a lateral gynandromorphic hermaphroditic bird, which had a testicle on the right and an ovary on the left. Its entire body was split down the middle between male and female, with hormones from both gonads running through the blood.[75] This is an example of mosaicism or chimerism.
This extreme example of hermaphroditism is quite rare.
[edit] Ovotestes
Although there are no definite reports on any true hermaphroditism in humans, there is, on the other hand, a spectrum of forms of ovotestes. The varieties range, including having two ovotestes or having one ovary and one ovotestis. This is often in the form of streak gonads. Phenotype is not determinable from the ovotestes; in some case the appearance is “fairly typically female,” in others it is “fairly typically male,” and it may also be “fairly in-between in terms of genital development.”[76]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersexuality
The facts. There is no reference of this “girl” having any female sexual anatomy. None I can find. Yes it is an issue. My daughter competes at the NCAA national championship level and never ran an 800 that fast.
Girls that enter gymnastics and other sports at a small size delay menses. We were told it was delayed because of low body weight. I also know it was terifying for the Tour de France amish kid to get exposed for doping. It brought double shame to the family.
Please pray for Caster. She has now dropped out of the race, and it is being reported that she is a suicide risk.
This is so sad.
Marie,
Praying for Caster. What a shame for a young woman to be subjected to this public scrutiny because she doesn’t look “feminine” enough. What I wouldn’t give to have her muscles!
And for an 18yo never to NEVER have had a period is abnormally abnormal.
Certainly astute and concerned trainers would have had Semenya go to a gynecologist. It would be standard protocol to get a gyne check even if she had normal periods.
Posted by: Jill Stanek at September 11, 2009 7:17 AM
NO, NO and NO.
Not having periods is not that rare in young women especially athletes. Other countries that aren’t so sex obsessed do not send girls to the gynecologist unless they absolutely have to. Delayed onset of menstruation does not motivate people in Africa to send their daughters to the doctor. My mother was long grown and married and pregnant before she ever went to a gynecologist and that was only in the 1960’s. My sister in law ran distance in high school and didn’t start her period till she quit at 16. I have a tall flat chested aunt who didn’t have a period till she was almost 17. She wasn’t even an athlete. She got married and had a baby when she was 20. No one ever sent girls to the gynecologist for something so not serious as not having a period. That is a very recent phenomenon. If her blood work showed testosterone low enough to compete as a woman, then they probably just sent in the minimum required paperwork like everyone else. We in the US are so used to having no shame and asking people all manner of personal and intrusive questions, but most cultures are not like that.