Free Republic

Three years ago, the Washington state association that regulates fair play in high school athletics faced an unusual query from administrators: what should they do about four boys who wanted to participate on girls' teams. One had his eye on volleyball, two wanted to be cheerleaders and a fourth did not specify his area of interest. After consultation, it developed a novel policy that says all students should be able to participate in sports "in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student's records." Upon a student's request, the idea is...

While the debate continues over whether Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African track sensation who blew away the field and took the gold in the women's 800-meter in Berlin in August, is a man or a woman, we soon must confront an even more complex issue: Are elite athlete humans or androids? International Association of Athletics Federations will decide Semenya's fate later this week as it announces the result of her gender test. Semenya will no longer be able to compete as a female if the association rules that a hormonal imbalance resulting from alleged intersexuality offers her an unfair...

Caster Semenya, woman who rocked athletics world, 'is hermaphrodite' Rick Broadbent and Fred Bridgland in Johannesburg Sex tests carried out on Caster Semenya, the world 800 metres champion, show that she is a hermaphrodite, a source close to the case claimed last night. If the allegation is backed up by the official results, the South African may find herself stripped of her gold medal and banned from racing. The IAAF, the world governing body, refused to comment on the claim last night, but earlier in the day its general secretary, Pierre Weiss, said: “It is clear that she is a...

HE controversy over gender row champion runner Caster Semenya deepened today — after reports claimed sex swap tests have shown she is a HERMAPHRODITE. South African gold-medallist Semenya, 18, has both male and female organs, it was claimed. And sources close to the International Association of Athletics Federations — who ordered extensive tests on the teen after her amazing 800m win at the World Athletics Championships last month — say the results mean she could still be stripped of her medal.

The controversy over South African athlete Caster Semenya's gender has given the public a view into the complexities of gender. At first blush, the issue should be fairly straightforward: a person is either a male (with an X and a Y chromosome) or a female (with two X chromosomes). But the reality is that a number of conditions can blur the gender line. After her 800-meter final on August 19 at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the International Association of Athletics Federations announced that they had asked Semenya to undergo tests to verify that she was female, with IAAF...

The BBC has seen the birth certificate of South African athlete Caster Semenya, which states that the new 800m world champion is female. Ms Semanya, 18, has been told to take a gender test after several remarkable improvements in recent performances.

Here is a video report on the controversy over whether South African teenager Caster Semenya is actually a female - important because she just won the Gold Medal for the 800-meter World Championship race in Berlin. She won the race by a massive 2.5 seconds. A "gender test" has been ordered. At the end of the video, Semenya was asked directly about the accusation she was "born a man": "The South African teenager caught up in the gender-test flap has received her gold medal for winning the 800-meter win at the world championships. Caster Semenya won by a huge margin...