As I watched Jimmy Kimmel go around on the streets showing a picture of Caster Semenya to young children asking whether it was a boy or girl, besides being so disgusted my eyes turned red, I realized that their needs to be a discussion on the ignorance that seems to be going around with this story.
First and foremost, I truly feel sorry for what is happening to this young woman. *yes I said woman* After reports of her leaked that Semenya has no ovaries or a womb, she has since removed herself from the national cross country championships in Pretoria. Her coach says that “she isn’t feeling well.” HOOOOOOOWWWWWWWEEEEEVVVEEERRRR, the IAAF has denied hearing or seeing any “official” results. So, basically that means that the leaked results aren’t true, but possibly aren’t false either.
Now that you are updated, here is my issue with all of this. I have already encountered several situations where I was questioned as to why I was still referring to her as a she. Well first off, those reports of no womb or ovaries have not been confirmed…that’s number ONE. Official reports will not be released until NOVEMBER. Two, why shouldn’t I? Especially since that’s what she identifies herself as. This whole story has gone waaaay overboard; the poor girl is only 18. So, my trusty google and I have decided to ‘edumacate’ *yes I said it* those who seem to be ignorant to gender and medical issues that are more common than you would believe.
The default gender for all developing babies is female and the Y chromosome alters this by increasing production of male hormones (androgens), which masculinise the child — the ovaries migrate through the abdominal wall to become the testes, the labia fuse to form the scrotum, the clitoris grows to become the penis and the child becomes a boy. But what if things don’t go to plan?
Several medical conditions can blur the boundaries between male and female, but perhaps the most graphic example is Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, where the embryo carries male chromosomes (XY) but develops into a child that is outwardly female. It all starts off well. The Y chromosome turns the default female ovaries into androgen-producing testes, but the rest of the embryonic tissues don’t respond to the hormones and continue along the female path. The result is often an outwardly female baby but with male chromosomes and internal testes instead of ovaries. She — for that is how the child is perceived and brought up — will not start to stand out until puberty. Although she looks like a girl in all ways (including breasts), she is a male internally, so “she” has testes instead of ovaries, no womb and is missing the upper two thirds of the vagina. So she will have no periods, can never conceive and may have difficulty with sexual intercourse.
There you have it. I do believe that Semenya may be suffering from AIS, which is no fault of her own. Therefore, I’m totally against her losing her medal. I’m also against the way IAAF has exploited this story to the media in the first place. Their hypocrisy will be revealed soon…just give me some more time on that. In the mean time I’m praying for Semenya and hope that she will eventually continue to do what she seems to enjoy – being a damn good athlete!
Source Yahoo Sports
