Comments on: Caster Semenya’s Gender: What would the science be?

By: Sexual dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 10:24:26 +0000

This post provides clear idea for the new viewers of blogging, that truly how to do running a blog.|

By: Sex workers' rights

Sex workers' rights — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 10:24:26 +0000

Hi! I’ve been following your blog for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Atascocita Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the fantastic job!|

By: greg laden

greg laden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:49:50 +0000

Calli: That is a very, very good point.

By: Calli Arcale

Calli Arcale — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:41:17 +0000

Greg @ 49:
My own analysis suggests that if there are categories, there are dozens of them, and there are no culture that has enough. The cultures with three or four “gender categories” are overstating how cool they are. It’s like saying “I own nine stamps! I’m a great stamp collector!!!”

Like you, I don’t think it’s really worthwhile to have additional genders; it’s more productive to recognize that gender is a continuum, and that there will forever be “edge cases” like Ms Semenya.

But for those who think it’s somehow noble or enlightened for a culture to provide a third (or even fourth) gender, consider carefully what most of those third genders are, and how their society treats them. There should be a place for such people, but I would hope that place was not consistently at the margins. Consider the hijras in India. They are a third sex. And they only got the vote in 1994. (Indian women, by contrast, got the vote in 1947.)

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:35:56 +0000

People with total AIS do grow muscle (with growth hormone).

When I was first thinking about this I used Google to look for “AIS athlete.” Turns out that this condition is prevalent in Australia.

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:30:26 +0000

To tell you the truth, she doesn’t fit any of well-known categories of intersex to my knowledge.(I am not a gender/endocrinology specialist)To be a complete AIS, she’s just too masculine. Could her muscles be not testosterone-reponsive? She might be partial AIS ?

By: Timothy (TRiG)

Timothy (TRiG) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:49:15 +0000

Some related information on various intergender categories are discussed in the article What Is a Man? What Is a Woman? TRiG.

By: Anonymous (for my sisters' sake)

Anonymous (for my sisters' sake) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:32:37 +0000

Thanks for the clear and shock-free explanation! I have some AIS sisters and I’ll defend their right to identify as female to all comers (Dawn, that means you).

One of my sisters had always wanted children before she found out; she’ll probably adopt but if she wants a surrogate I’d consider doing it for her. Another is really sporty. Her childhood dream was to be a professional soccer player, which is pretty unlikely if you’re female in any case, but the question of gender in sports was always an uncomfortable cloud over that, too. I’m grateful to anyone who explains this issue with clarity and without prejudice. You’re helping to create a world where my sisters can be ‘out’ to their closest friends and/or boyfriends without as much hassle as they would otherwise get.

By: Daniel Hollis

Daniel Hollis — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:03:10 +0000

Questions: I seem to recall hearing that a woman’s pelvic girth is disadvantageous in running. Is there evidence of this? Provided that Caster Semenya has AIS, her testosterone levels may or may not give her an advantage over XX women. But, could her male pelvis give an advantage?

By: james K McIntyre

james K McIntyre — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:17:48 +0000

Caster Semenya has a unique condition of possessing remnants of both male and female genitalia. Intersexuality, as it is known scientifically, is indeed a rarity in ‘higher’ animals. With this condition, if an individual can not function as both a male and a female reproductively, it is more correctly termed pseudohermaphrodite. The rarest of this pseudohermaphrodite condition is a male pseudohermaphrodite in which an individual appears, phenotypically, female but whose internal genitalia are those representing â??maleness.â? Caster Semenya appears to be this type. A colleague and I have been studying a unique form of intersexuality on remote islands of the archipelago of Vanuatu in the Southwest Pacific since 1993.( See http://www.swpacificresearchfoundation.com)
On certain isolated islands intersexual pigs are found possessing this condition. On Vanuatu, pigs are woven into the very fabric of traditional life. Male pseudohermaphroditic pigs can be found here in relative abundance and nowhere else in the world. Occasionally intersexes are identified in pig and cow slaughter houses throughout the world. Because these unique pigs are revered by the villagers in Vanuatu that still practice â??Kastomâ?, this condition is purposely bred for, thus perpetuating the condition. A man’s value in a Vanuatu village is proportional to how many pigs he owns. These intersexual pigs are worth one hundred â??normalâ? pigs and are, indeed, a valuable commodity.
Because of our research, another mammal species with this condition has been identified which will enable us to learn more about this condition in humans.
For more information contact;
James K. McIntyre
Director
Southwest Pacific Research Foundation
1009 White Street
Fernandina Beach, Fl. 32034 USA
jmcint6317@aol.com
904-261-5630