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

[Mags 112]

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.

Yup, every egg a woman produces is an X, the sperm is either X or Y. When the egg is fertilised the foetus will grow until at around 8 weeks the X or Y that was in the sperm activates the hormones that are either male or female, making the appropriate sex organs form.

I wouldn't say we had male or female sex organs early on in the womb - just a generic base for which either a male or female foetus can be "built" upon during pregnancy.

[HAL 9000 96]

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.

Yep. Look at you... all smart now.

And an XO signifies Turners.

This is the one to scare those men with taller than usual (a characteristic of these women)... wives that can't bear kids... sometimes a normally developed female turns out to be XY- genetically a man. This is discovered a lot of times when they never get a period or when they get tested for fertility issues.

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 #######?

Ugh... you might want to research that on your own there buddy... There is, IMO... no one true kind of hermaphrodite due to the various sources of the 'condition.'

[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.

Yup, every egg a woman produces is an X, the sperm is either X or Y. When the egg is fertilised the foetus will grow until at around 8 weeks the X or Y that was in the sperm activates the hormones that are either male or female, making the appropriate sex organs form.

I wouldn't say we had male or female sex organs early on in the womb - just a generic base for which either a male or female foetus can be "built" upon during pregnancy.

Well said- Mullerian and Wolffian tracts. That is a time when a great deal of cell death happens... ironically this also being the time when we see the greatest and fastest amount of cellular growth in our lives.

Don't poop on my party here.

[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.

Yep. Look at you... all smart now.

And an XO signifies Turners.

This is the one to scare those men with taller than usual (a characteristic of these women)... wives that can't bear kids... sometimes a normally developed female turns out to be XY- genetically a man. This is discovered a lot of times when they never get a period or when they get tested for fertility issues.

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 #######?

Ugh... you might want to research that on your own there buddy... There is, IMO... no one true kind of hermaphrodite due to the various sources of the 'condition.'

We just used to use 45, X in the UK for Turner Syndrome. Although often thought to be the equivalent genetic syndrome for males and females they actually differ quite a bit - the only real similarity is infertility. Both can function perfectly in society, although the Turner females can have significant characteristics; very short, webbed neck, certain gait and so on.

And I agree with HAL, Steven, you're on your own there buddy! I know a bit, but not much - it wasn't something we often came across in our lab to be honest. Lot's of XXX, XXY, X and so on, but hermaphrodites - nope!

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.

Yup, every egg a woman produces is an X, the sperm is either X or Y. When the egg is fertilised the foetus will grow until at around 8 weeks the X or Y that was in the sperm activates the hormones that are either male or female, making the appropriate sex organs form.

I wouldn't say we had male or female sex organs early on in the womb - just a generic base for which either a male or female foetus can be "built" upon during pregnancy.

Well said- Mullerian and Wolffian tracts. That is a time when a great deal of cell death happens... ironically this also being the time when we see the greatest and fastest amount of cellular growth in our lives.

Don't poop on my party here.

Sorry!

[HAL 9000 96]

Mags you got lots of XXX in lab?? That stuff wasn't blocked?????

[Mags 112]

Mags you got lots of XXX in lab?? That stuff wasn't blocked?????

Yeah! Working for the NHS had its bonuses!

[HAL 9000 96]

Mags you got lots of XXX in lab?? That stuff wasn't blocked?????

Yeah! Working for the NHS had its bonuses!

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaats why they're EVIL!! Although you could talk about this to some of the closet perverts in the hysteria crowd and you'll see how a public option gets support suddenly.

[Ban Hammer 14,667]

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 #######?

i can hear it now in the steven household "but jinky, i'm researching hermaphrodite sex organs for vj!"

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

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.

Without details, we are shooting fish in the dark, but I wonder if there is a possibility of sepsis, resulting from the incomplete differentiation of the sex organs. Heshe has no womb, and developed testis, instead of ovaries. Perhaps some remnants need to be removed, or relocated. Perhaps some adhesions need to be removed. Not enough information here.

[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.

Without details, we are shooting fish in the dark, but I wonder if there is a possibility of sepsis, resulting from the incomplete differentiation of the sex organs. Heshe has no womb, and developed testis, instead of ovaries. Perhaps some remnants need to be removed, or relocated. Perhaps some adhesions need to be removed. Not enough information here.

Actually if something doesn't fully develop in this 'anatomical' reality, it would just degenerate- absorbed by the body itself.

This is why a karyotype would settle the genetic (chromosomal) question once and for all.

[meowmeowmeow 1]

damn