So, for the uninformed, Caster Semenya is a top female track athlete from South Africa, who won gold in the 800m at the WC 2010. This caused a serious controversy because of her masculine bodytype and naturally elevated testosterone levels.
Critics argued that the enhanced strength and endurance caused by her testosterone levels should disqualify her from competing in competitive athletics, as more 'traditional' female athletes are disadvantaged.
What do you think?
Personally, my opinion is that this is just another example of society trying to prescribe to women what the ideal female form should be. Semenya is undoubtedly female and as such should be allowed to compete as she wishes. As long as she does not use performance-enhancing substances no one should be allowed to tell her whether she may compete or not.
What limits, Annachie? The only standard previously set for women's events were that the competitors be female and that they haven't used performance-enhancing substances.
Now, because Semenya's body enables her to perform better than her opponents, she should be banned from competition?
As Lord Skimper wrote, in that case ALL top athletes should be banned.
Just about every professional sport has limits on many of the bodies hormones and other chemicals. It's one of the ways they test for drug cheats. Testosterone is one of the hormones they test for, and her natural body chemisty tests as positive for drug cheating.
(Not just her aparently, a few women at Rio are testing positive)
Ergo, under the rules as they are she's out.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You are so going to die. :p ~~~~ runsforcelery ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ still not dead.
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Thing is high testosterone doesn't win events. Other wise all high testosterone individuals would be winning all their events and they are not. Even shows up more in Men who have low testosterone levels and win events.
We could just say that blacks can't compete against whites. Or asians against blacks or whites in events that favour the small.
Or we could just mix up all the criteria...
I say we should have mixed events, men and women, mixed races. And have every event work in pairs. Unless big teams are involved. Could be harder to implement though. Muslim states would freak out, Sweden has a hard enough time finding anyone not white and blonde... I do know a Norwegian girl I went to college with. She is Chinese looking. That was decades ago.
As for cheating every athlete cheats naturally through selection. Think Phelps would win if he was 5'9" or any shot putter would win anything if they were actor thin?
________________________________________ Just don't ask what is in the protein bars.
The onus of responsibility is to the sport. Not to the athlete. She should not be allowed to compete. Those rules are emplaced to protect the sport, not the athlete.
Countries like Russia have already shown that there is no limit to the length that they will go to win gold medals.
Allowing her to compete may encourage countries like Russia to seek out that type athlete - now that a precedent has been set. Before long we would have lost the female event completely...
There goes the sport - the way of the NFL and Baseball. Whose magic has lost some of its glory from unrealistic records posted by athletes who were doping.
Russia has that MAlign mentality. The super soldier concept was always led by the East. So, if you give them an inch, they'll take a kilometer. And if she is allowed to compete, will expose the Games to an assault, at the very least, by the Russians.
The Olympic Games are no place for a racket. Jesse Owens taught Hitler that in 1935 - let's not go back.
The spirit of the Games shouts in the wind and the flame flickers.
Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble.—cthia's father. Incident in ?Axiom of Common Sense
Cthia, the moment you can provide me with an objective scientific standard that says 'THIS IS WOMAN' is the moment I'll agree with you.
As long as the applied standard remains non-scientific, arbitrary and subjective, it will remain a matter of opinion and reinterpretation, and therefor never truly resolved.
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Point 1, check that there is no cheating with banned substances. Point 2, check that the competitors are women. By inspection and if needed, no Y chromosome. Point 3, shut up and let them compete.
If you ban people for this, then where do you stop?
