Finally! The vagueness and outright dodging that has been going on for years on this one is explained. Thank you for clarifying and describing the science.
Now it also seems clear that Caster, while "assigned female at birth", was treated in their childhood as a boy, when girl's sports was offered as a chance to shine, the family and others went with it.
Meanwhile new interviews questioned, Caster accepts higher Testosterone levels are unfair, but says "So what?" And that's where we lose sympathy, if we had any.
I see every "sympathetic" media will see any criticism of Caster as wrong, and the fact "she" is being attacked, is proof enough that "she" (and everyone like her) has to be defended from the brutes who want to diminish DSD athletes for being different.
Sadly the reality of Caster also shows the problem that EVERY SINGLE successful female athlete can now be questioned by rumors "What if 'she' is XY too?" any woman who hasn't become a biological mother at least. Maybe simple blood tests can tell, but those won't be done at lower level sports. Should all high school female athletes be given a blood test to prove they qualify?
Maybe most DSD cases in the US and other wealthy will be caught long before high school sports by medical checkups? I don't know.
We say these cases are so small, they can be handled in a case by case basis, but someone has to be brave and hopefully there are no perverse incentives (like female sports) that encourage others who feel they are boys, but say they are girls because of opportunities.
This is independent of transgender, although I suppose it does challenge the question of "gender identity" and "sex assigned at birth". But I accept if genetic tests are sufficient, it is best to encourage a DSD child to identity gender with their genes, and minimize medicalization unless there are health issues.
I agree about the unpleasant outcome that cases like Semenya's present—that then every successful girl might be rumored to be DSD. Clearly sex testing every high school runner is wrong and impractical. It seems like sex verification would only be done at the elite levels of sports, though at least in more developed countries, if a high school girl had not started having periods, her parents would no doubt bring her to the doctor, which might reveal a DSD
The answer is statistical evaluation. We have a ton of data of what normal male performance is, and normal female. Examine the person's percentile rank within the distribution of male and female performance. This can lead to suspicions about specific cases. Also note that the DSD cases seem to be VERY prevalent in African areas, and in specific parts of Africa. Persons who are unusual from those areas should be examined more carefully.
Semenya is not alone. If persons watched the final of the Olympic 200M female category, Mbome came from behind in a way that was completely unreal. That's because Mbome is a male as well, pretending to be a female. Mbome took 2nd, and displaced a woman from the medal stand.
Both Mboma and Semenya are male with DSD, so it's highly likely that the doctor or midwife attending their births, their parents and Semenya and Mboma themselves thought they were in fact female. They were likely unaware that they were male until after puberty, when they did not start having menstrual cycles. It's likely they did not understand their 5-ARD DSD condition until they first started racing internationally. So, at least early on in their lives they were not pretending to be female.
Finally! The vagueness and outright dodging that has been going on for years on this one is explained. Thank you for clarifying and describing the science.
I saw the 2019 article saying Caster Semenya was a biological male, and it seems clear this is being suppressed by the media as "insensitive".
https://www.letsrun.com/news/2019/05/what-no-one-is-telling-you-about-caster-semenya-she-has-xy-chromosomes/
Now it also seems clear that Caster, while "assigned female at birth", was treated in their childhood as a boy, when girl's sports was offered as a chance to shine, the family and others went with it.
Interview like this 2015 video confirm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvg50P4FwTk
Meanwhile new interviews questioned, Caster accepts higher Testosterone levels are unfair, but says "So what?" And that's where we lose sympathy, if we had any.
I see every "sympathetic" media will see any criticism of Caster as wrong, and the fact "she" is being attacked, is proof enough that "she" (and everyone like her) has to be defended from the brutes who want to diminish DSD athletes for being different.
Sadly the reality of Caster also shows the problem that EVERY SINGLE successful female athlete can now be questioned by rumors "What if 'she' is XY too?" any woman who hasn't become a biological mother at least. Maybe simple blood tests can tell, but those won't be done at lower level sports. Should all high school female athletes be given a blood test to prove they qualify?
Maybe most DSD cases in the US and other wealthy will be caught long before high school sports by medical checkups? I don't know.
We say these cases are so small, they can be handled in a case by case basis, but someone has to be brave and hopefully there are no perverse incentives (like female sports) that encourage others who feel they are boys, but say they are girls because of opportunities.
This is independent of transgender, although I suppose it does challenge the question of "gender identity" and "sex assigned at birth". But I accept if genetic tests are sufficient, it is best to encourage a DSD child to identity gender with their genes, and minimize medicalization unless there are health issues.
I agree about the unpleasant outcome that cases like Semenya's present—that then every successful girl might be rumored to be DSD. Clearly sex testing every high school runner is wrong and impractical. It seems like sex verification would only be done at the elite levels of sports, though at least in more developed countries, if a high school girl had not started having periods, her parents would no doubt bring her to the doctor, which might reveal a DSD
The answer is statistical evaluation. We have a ton of data of what normal male performance is, and normal female. Examine the person's percentile rank within the distribution of male and female performance. This can lead to suspicions about specific cases. Also note that the DSD cases seem to be VERY prevalent in African areas, and in specific parts of Africa. Persons who are unusual from those areas should be examined more carefully.
Stop referring to this male as "she"! You are contributing to this nonsense by continuing to refer to this man as "she".
Semenya is not alone. If persons watched the final of the Olympic 200M female category, Mbome came from behind in a way that was completely unreal. That's because Mbome is a male as well, pretending to be a female. Mbome took 2nd, and displaced a woman from the medal stand.
Both Mboma and Semenya are male with DSD, so it's highly likely that the doctor or midwife attending their births, their parents and Semenya and Mboma themselves thought they were in fact female. They were likely unaware that they were male until after puberty, when they did not start having menstrual cycles. It's likely they did not understand their 5-ARD DSD condition until they first started racing internationally. So, at least early on in their lives they were not pretending to be female.
Yes, that makes sense. However, that does not mean that the pretense must continue. Fairness for actual women is the main issue.