Guest Author - Barbara Sharpe

Can you imagine being 18 years old and having your genitalia discussed in the international news? Neither can I.

Caster Semenya, a South African athlete, has had her gender questioned publicly. South Africans are vocally supportive of Semenya. Mapula Phano, a former neighbor of Semenya, shares the opinion of many other South Africans. In an interview with The Associated Press, Phano said, “"Caster is a woman. I don't like having to hear people from outside saying otherwise. Here in our village it doesn't sit well with us. The stuff they have been saying about her could destroy her confidence."

Australian newspapers reported that gender testing showed Semenya has no ovaries or uterus. Further, they reported that she has internal testes. The International Association of Athletic Federations, who ordered the tests, will neither confirm nor deny the reports. The IAAF released a statement that it is reviewing the tests and will make their decision in November.

Coach Michael Seme says Semenya will not participate in the South African Cross Country Championships on September 12, 2009 because she was “not feeling well.” Reports are that she has not been seen in public.

The controversy was sparked by Semenya’s win in Berlin on August 19, 2009. She won the 800-meter race with a time of 1 minutes, 55.45 seconds. This surpassed the previous world record by 2.45 seconds. That, along with her muscular build and deep voice, prompted the inquiries.

Though the IAAF has the final authority on whether Semenya can compete as a woman or not, they don’t get to be the final authority on whether or not she is a woman.

Dr. Myron Genel, a professor emeritus of pediatrics at Yale University (and one of the experts the IAAF consulted), had this to say. "She's born a female, raised as a female through puberty. Whatever is found, with the exception of deliberate substance abuse, she's going to have to be allowed to compete as a female." He goes on to say that women who were born and raised as females "should be allowed to compete in women's events, period, end of discussion."

Semenya is the topic of discussion on blogs, as well. Feministe points out the racial implications. Semenya is not the first African athlete to have her gender questioned. Reader comments run from fully pro-Semenya to questioning the fairness of allowing her to compete with women.

Luminis, from This Is Diversity added the perspective of an intersex person, as well as medical information about intersexuality that is crucial to the discussion.

On the subject of intersex biology, I do not claim to be an expert. I do know this: all people deserve to be treated with respect. It is not unreasonable that the IAAF investigate how being intersex can affect a person’s ability to compete. Knowledge is a good thing, as is the understanding that generally accompanies knowledge. What is inexcusable is that Semenya, by all accounts, discovered that she had been gender-tested by hearing it in the news. What is inexcusable is that her medical history has been broadcast in the news. Even those in the public eye are entitled to medical privacy.

We won’t know until November whether the IAAF will allow Semenya to continue to compete as a woman. What we won’t know for some time after that, if ever, is the effect that this controversy has had on her. At age 18, she is officially an adult but she is still quite a young adult and this controversy has the potential to be devastating. Not, as some might think, because she is intersex but because, at such a young age, having her gender debated in a public forum can be psychologically devastating.