South African teen wins 800 amid gender-test flap
By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN (AP)
By RYAN LUCAS, Associated Press Writer
BERLIN (AP)
Gender sucks
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hmm its a hard one to call because in the past there was a case of a man who got stripped of his medal as he was an imposter of a woman in some olmypic event, some genetic abnormalities could give these athletes an advantage over more conventional women
To be honest this topic is sticky icky icky! Out a level playing field must be of upmost importance
To be honest this topic is sticky icky icky! Out a level playing field must be of upmost importance
The Final Sprint reported a few days ago that an Indian athlete had failed a “gender” test for not having the “sexual characteristics” of a woman. As a result, the silver medal won by the athlete has been revoked and doctors now say she is going to need surgery. In addition, medical experts have cleared Santhi Soundarajan, the athlete in question, of “any intentional wrongdoing” - although the reasoning for such absolution is unclear. There is also some debate in the international sports community about whether or not Soundarajan should be allowed to compete as a woman if she is just a hermaphrodite (and not a transsexual).
Others have questioned whether such a “gender test” should be mandatory and/or if Soundarajan should be forced to return the $33,000 she earned for the before-mentioned Asian Games silver medal.
Research sources and for more information: [The Final Sprint], [Channel News Asia], [CBS Sportsline]
Others have questioned whether such a “gender test” should be mandatory and/or if Soundarajan should be forced to return the $33,000 she earned for the before-mentioned Asian Games silver medal.
Research sources and for more information: [The Final Sprint], [Channel News Asia], [CBS Sportsline]
I'm surprised at the responses here.
If "she" is actually a "he", it does matter. Competitions are gender specific for a reason (depending on the sport), men often times have natural physical advantages over women, and as someone posted previously, there have in fact been imposters. For her (or him) to keep the medal would not be fair to the other competing women.
Although, maybe I'm missing something because I'm seeing a lot of opposite opinions of those I usually agree with.
Hmmm..
Found some information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_differentiation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_of_gender
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defeminization_and_masculinization
It does matter because the runner was entered as a woman. There have been cases where women were actually men, and did not know it until they were tested because of competitions like this. There is also the possibility of a false positive.
http://www.metafilter.com/73673/Gender-Cheats
This article is from the 2008 Olympics. http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/lab-ready-for-sex-tests-for-female-athletes/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_differentiation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_of_gender
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defeminization_and_masculinization
It does matter because the runner was entered as a woman. There have been cases where women were actually men, and did not know it until they were tested because of competitions like this. There is also the possibility of a false positive.
http://www.metafilter.com/73673/Gender-Cheats
This article is from the 2008 Olympics. http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/lab-ready-for-sex-tests-for-female-athletes/
And if she is a she, and just happens to bust people's bullshit preconceived notions of everything a she should be? Especially since she exceeds the limit of what they think he capabilities should be?I'm surprised at the responses here.
If "she" is actually a "he", it does matter. Competitions are gender specific for a reason (depending on the sport), men often times have natural physical advantages over women, and as someone posted previously, there have in fact been imposters. For her (or him) to keep the medal would not be fair to the other competing women.
Although, maybe I'm missing something because I'm seeing a lot of opposite opinions of those I usually agree with.
Hmmm..
I wonder if she'd lay back on that table, her legs spread and sit up and smirk as the gynecologist came up and said, "Yes, indeed. You are a woman." Or if she would be absolutely mortified that officials believed her a liar and demanded proof.
"You know, I always thought I was different from the other girls. It wasn't until I entered the olympics and won a medal did anyone explain to me that the other girls don't have a penis."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swyer_syndrome
"You know, I always thought I was different from the other girls. It wasn't until I entered the olympics and won a medal did anyone explain to me that the other girls don't have a penis."
"You know, I always thought I was different from the other girls. It wasn't until I entered the olympics and won a medal did anyone explain to me that the other girls don't have a penis."
... I was thinking more along the lines of this House TV episode, but there are other possible conditions that it could be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_Deep_(House)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudohermaphroditism
This is a picture of her:
She is kinda masculine looking. But all of those test seem ridiculous.
She is kinda masculine looking. But all of those test seem ridiculous.
I find it amusing that you're so riled about this when it takes exactly these type of situations to destroy "bullshit preconceived notions". If she cares about her career, despite the possible humiliation, she'll spread 'em. Or as Slant said, have a DNA test. It may not be pleasant, but it's what's required, so she could do it and move on, or don't.
I really don't get what the big deal is. It's not like this hasn't happened before and as someone stated earlier, a lot of times the individuals themselves don't realize it until they have been examined. I don't think this is a situation where people thought she exceeded what they believed to be her capabilities and so they automatically thought she MUST be a man.
I think this is bit of a stretch. There are physical qualities that tend to be more feminine, and others that tend to be more masculine. This is not something society has created, it's how nature created it. It has nothing to do with what she should be, but more that the majority of women do not have the combination of facial hair, deep voices, and large amounts of muscle mass. I'm not saying she shouldn't be one way or another, I personally don't care, but these are are commonly noted differences between males and females.