I want to publicly apologize for my comments about Glenda Reiser.
I feel bad bringing up the topic, because it is kind of a 'secret' here in Canada. Nobody likes to talk about it.
So I really hope I don't get into any trouble for mentioning her story.
Both Semenya and Reiser were born female.
Meaning, they have external female organs. At birth the doctor saw a vagina and told the parents 'it's a girl'.
I again, want to state, I am trying to discuss this while remaining respectful.
Later, when the girls grew up, they found that they were significantly better than other girls their age in sports.
Another thing that happens, is, because they had no internal female organs, they don't get a period (don't menstruate).
The average age for menarche (first time a girl gets a period) is between 10 and 16.
I don't know Semenya's story. But Reiser went to see a doctor when she was in her late teens (18 or 19). Because she had not had a period yet.
The doctor did a pelvic ultrasound (the basic test to check for an etiology) and found that she had no uterus. What she did have was internal male organs - testes.
These testes secrete testosterone that is three times that of an regular female teenager.
Reiser, then decided to quit the sport and disappeared from track and field at the age of 19.
Semenya's story is different because even though she is also a hermaphrodite, she continues to complete and win medals and set records etc.
This is the key difference between Semenya and Reiser.
I want to pay tribute to Reiser, because in my opinion, she did nothing wrong. She was a teenager, she competes in sports, was extremely good at them, ran track, set records. All this, while not knowing of her medical condition.
Once she discovered she was a hermaphrodite, she did the moral and ethical thing and left the sport.
Semenya? Not the same. She knows of her medical condition, as all the tests have been done on her. But yet she refuses to walk away from the sport.
This is the key difference.