Runner Semenya Gender Test Result: She is a woman....and a man.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Caster Semenya talks to press during the Team SA Press Conference at the Holiday Inn on August 25, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

BY Oren Yaniv

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tests show that controversial runner Caster Semenya is a woman ...and a man!

The 18-year-old South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports.

The tests, ordered by The International Association of Athletics Federations after Semenya's 800-meter victory in the World Championships, determined she's a hermaphrodite - having both male and female organs.

Semenya could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph.

The athletics governing body is also expected to advise her to have surgery to fix the potentially deadly condition, the paper reported. The IAAF would not comment on the results that have yet to be released.

According to a source with knowledge of the IAAF tests, Semenya has internal testes - the male sexual organs that produce testosterone.

Testosterone is a hormone responsible for building muscles and for producing body hair and a deep voice.

Confirmation of the test results is sure to stoke the controversy that erupted after the university student's sensational track triumph.

She has been embraced in her home country - where she was declared "our girl" - and appeared on a magazine cover after a feminine makeover.

"God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself," she told You Magazine, which ran a photo spread.

"I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009...r_semenya_.html

[mawilson 2,133]

[mawilson 2,133]

"I don't want to talk about the testis. I'm not even thinking about them."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A watched part of a movie about a hermaphrodite the other night, called XXY. It was pretty good.

[Cerize 0]

That something new

[ScottThuy 140]

So she's got a #######? And I dont mean one of those store bought homewreckers..... This should get interesting since it was widely reported on after the race.. One must wonder if the major media outlets will run with it or run away from it....

[HAL 9000 96]

I'm amazed they didn't just karyotype her and be done with it. Not too hard. Is there a Y chromosome there? = more man than woman. No Y chromosome there? = Not a man.

Sexual organ differentiation actually has little to do with the genetics of gender and more to do with hormone balance throughout development.

ALL OF US HAD BOTH MALE AND FEMALE SEXUAL ORGANS EARLY ON IN THE WOMB. As we developed inside mommy, the genetic program (in most of us) controlled by the presence of XX (female) or XY (male) led to the degeneration of the particular set of organs.

[Jamaican JNR 2]

Caster Semenya talks to press during the Team SA Press Conference at the Holiday Inn on August 25, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

BY Oren Yaniv

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tests show that controversial runner Caster Semenya is a woman ...and a man!

The 18-year-old South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports.

The tests, ordered by The International Association of Athletics Federations after Semenya's 800-meter victory in the World Championships, determined she's a hermaphrodite - having both male and female organs.

Semenya could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph.

The athletics governing body is also expected to advise her to have surgery to fix the potentially deadly condition, the paper reported. The IAAF would not comment on the results that have yet to be released.

According to a source with knowledge of the IAAF tests, Semenya has internal testes - the male sexual organs that produce testosterone.

Testosterone is a hormone responsible for building muscles and for producing body hair and a deep voice.

Confirmation of the test results is sure to stoke the controversy that erupted after the university student's sensational track triumph.

She has been embraced in her home country - where she was declared "our girl" - and appeared on a magazine cover after a feminine makeover.

"God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself," she told You Magazine, which ran a photo spread.

"I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009...r_semenya_.html

Very Very Interesting.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hal,

In the OP, they said that remaining a hermaphrodite could be deadly. I've never heard that before. Do you know if there is any validity to that claim?

[HAL 9000 96]

Hal,

In the OP, they said that remaining a hermaphrodite could be deadly. I've never heard that before. Do you know if there is any validity to that claim?

Maybe if the testosterone imbalance causes circulatory issues for her... but women make testosterone and have fluctuations in their lives just like men do. And those would have to be factor of 10 imbalances I'd suppose to have serious consequences on the muscles in the heart and blood vessels... I have yet to hear of anyone dying while hermaphrodite.

[The_Dude 1,142]

So THAT is where AJ has been this whole time

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hal,

In the OP, they said that remaining a hermaphrodite could be deadly. I've never heard that before. Do you know if there is any validity to that claim?

Maybe if the testosterone imbalance causes circulatory issues for her... but women make testosterone and have fluctuations in their lives just like men do. And those would have to be factor of 10 imbalances I'd suppose to have serious consequences on the muscles in the heart and blood vessels... I have yet to hear of anyone dying while hermaphrodite.

Ah, ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I think if I were to have a child that was born hermaphrodite, I don't think I could put myself up to having them surgical turned to male or female.

[Mags 112]

A watched part of a movie about a hermaphrodite the other night, called XXY. It was pretty good.

An XXY karyotype signifies Klinefelter Syndrome - not hermaphroditism.

[HAL 9000 96]

Hal,

In the OP, they said that remaining a hermaphrodite could be deadly. I've never heard that before. Do you know if there is any validity to that claim?

Maybe if the testosterone imbalance causes circulatory issues for her... but women make testosterone and have fluctuations in their lives just like men do. And those would have to be factor of 10 imbalances I'd suppose to have serious consequences on the muscles in the heart and blood vessels... I have yet to hear of anyone dying while hermaphrodite.

Ah, ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I think if I were to have a child that was born hermaphrodite, I don't think I could put myself up to having them surgical turned to male or female.

If it was about the chromosomes then I'd have to roll with the punches... but if its an XX girl with hormonal hermaphroditism... I'd be OK with minimizing the effect of testosterone by having the male parts removed. Same thing with an XY boy with too much estrogen although even the testes make it so its a lot harder to manage.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Alright, Mags and Hal - then what is a true hermaphrodite and is the orientation or placement of the sexual organs always the same? ####### in front of #######?