I debated with myself as to wether I should publicly state my opinion about this. Today I have decided yes I should.
Caster Semenya is not a normal woman and thus should not be allowed to compete at the Olympics.
This was my original stance and I have gained reassurance from reading articles from others who seem to share a similar opinion.
First, I will share why I think she should not be allowed: plain and simple she is a hermaphrodite. Now I don't know what is the politically correct term this month, and it does not really matter. But bottom line is that she has internal testicles. Those testes secrete testosterone that is three times the level of the average woman.
As a result she has no female secondary sexual characteristics, her voice sounds like a man, she looks like a man and runs faster (almost effortlessly) then the best female 800m runners on the planet.
Now, since my opinion is simply not enough, I will share some excerpts from articles I have read about this issue:
[1] Denise Lewis of the Telegraph wrote here:
“I am no scientist and I don’t understand all the intricacies of how different substances enhance performance, but you cannot deny that if someone has inflated testosterone levels, it must give them an advantage . . . the excess testosterone must be helping her and I’d be lying to say I wouldn’t feel aggrieved if I was one of her rivals.â€
[2] World famous and best-selling Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell (who is a former OFSAA champion in the 1500m himself) in this article:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/caster-semenya-and-the-logic-of-olympic-competition
was asked ‘Do you think (Caster Semenya) should be allowed to compete as a woman?
Gladwell’s answer was:
“Of course not! And why do I say of course not? Because not a single track-and-field fan that I’m aware of disagrees with me. I cannot tell you how many arguments I’ve gotten into over the past two weeks about this, and I’ve been astonished at how many people fail to appreciate the athletic significance of this. Remember, this is a competitive issue, not a human-rights issue.â€
Gladwell went on to say:
"Semenya is equipped with an extraordinary and anomalous genetic advantage. The previous policy of international track was that she could compete as a woman if she took medication to lower her testosterone to “normal†levels. That restriction has now been lifted. And so we have a situation where one woman, born with the biological equivalent of a turbocharger, is now being allowed to “compete†against the ninety-nine per cent of women who have no such advantage.â€
In Conclusion:
this is not an issue of racism. I am the first one to call out racism. But protesting against Caster Semenya’s participation at the Olympics is not a race issue. If she was white, or even from India (like Dutee Chand), I would say the exact same thing.
( I did not speak publicly about Dutee Chand and her case of hyperandrogenism because she did not take a medal away from anyone, she was eliminated in the opening heat of the 100m. )
A post-apartheid, hypersensitive South African government is making this a race issue, and that is wrong and the IAAF and Seb Coe should not be so scared of them.
Finally, this is also not an issue of sexism. As a strong feminist, I am the first to stand up for women rights. Growing up in Canada I have seen the significant progress that women have made in sports. But this is not an issue of women rights.
It is an issue of an unfair advantage, that Caster Semenya continuously takes advantage of. Only to take away a medal from real women - like Canadian Melissa Bishop - who have dedicated their lives to the sport and to the motto of fair play.
Want a level playing field? Ask Semenya to consult a good surgeon who can remove those internal testicles, thus normalizing her testosterone levels. But . . . she will never do that.