The media should just let Cassie Samenya be
Roar Pro
By Edward Norton, 12 Sep 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Athletics, Cassie Samenya
I wonder if any of the people that have been writing about Cassie Samenya’s gender have stopped to consider where she comes from. Her parents live in a small village outside of a rural town in Northern Limpopo, which is about 400km north of Johannesburg.
There, a school teacher spotted her running in races at the school, and from there, she progressed to where today she is in the middle of this huge controversy.
I am sure if you had to ask her what the difference between gender and sex was she would probably not have an answer, let alone testosterone.
Anything that may be uncovered in these supposed tests are entirely her own business. Can you imagine being told that you are not a woman when everything you see is female!
I believe the journalists have been completely insensitive to her as both a woman and an athlete competing out of the bush of Africa.
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sam.gilbert said | September 12th 2009 @ 2:13am | Report comment
yeah its definitely been harsh. if it turns out shes a man, or a hermaphrodite as they’re saying now, is that not a gross invasion of her privacy?
dasilva said | September 12th 2009 @ 2:29am | Report comment
Are they going to let her keep on running?
I think they should let her keep running
She is a Hermaphrodite and therefore have both male and female reproductive organs components
You simply can’t have a separate event solely for hermaphrodite
Therefore in this scenario people who are hermaphrodite should be allowed to choose which gender they want to race in and therefore allow her to run in the women division.
She will have an advantage but not an unfair one (I just see this as a person being born with superior athletics traits just like other people who are born naturally gifted).
Working Class Rugger said | September 12th 2009 @ 2:47am | Report comment
It’s the end of her running career. According to the unconfirmed reports I have read she possesses internal male genitals and no womb or ovaries. Meaning she naturally produces the same level of testosterone as male athletes. I doubt any other female athlete’s would want to race against her. Even if she has the organs removed the stigma will stick. That’s the price she will now pay for how this was handled. Poorly I might add.
From reading these reports there is a suggestion the IAAF will allow her to keep the Gold she won. But are considering disqualifying her winning time or even awarding a dual Gold medal to the second place getter. Complete joke really. Though it is a tough position to be in but definitely could have been managed better.
mushi said | September 13th 2009 @ 12:11am | Report comment
Not entirely true, she doesn’t produce the same as a male, and that is where the problem begins we have the hideously ilinformed all throwing their views now and she will essentially be thrown out of of all sport becuase of our ignorance.
LeftArmSpinner said | September 12th 2009 @ 7:46am | Report comment
its okay to do the tests, but who has the right to publicise the details, anatomical and all, for everyone to know. way over the top. she got lucky, let her run.
MVDave said | September 12th 2009 @ 8:20am | Report comment
Very sad case for her and her family but her athletics career is over. Having testosterone levels 3 times that of a female means she cannot race vs females as it is not like v like. Team sports may be different and what she needs now is some good management to help her (and her family)become at least financially comfortable from this unusual series of events. l am sure media will be clamoring to find out more and there is a genuine interest in the story from people around the world.
sheek said | September 12th 2009 @ 8:59am | Report comment
Agreed….. leave her be.
hammer said | September 12th 2009 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
it should never have got this far … the SA athletic authorities should really be hung out to dry on this ….
Hansie said | September 12th 2009 @ 8:01pm | Report comment
Exactly. The poor girl is now the subject of world attention, and should not have been put in such an embarrassing position or subjected to such a stressful situation. The matter should have been handled quietly in South Africa.
Midfielder said | September 12th 2009 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Very sad … the media just cannot help itself at times… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9SgDoypXcI
dasilva said | September 12th 2009 @ 2:08pm | Report comment
What makes having an advantage unfair?
Phar Lap was born with a much greater size heart then his competitors. We don’t consider that unfair
Some people were born in high altitude areas giving them advantage over competitors
Some people are just born more naturally gifted (either taller, faster, stronger) then other people.
There are males who are born with XX chromosomes and females born with XY chromosomes that caused people to be intersexed. To have characteristics of both genders. If she race with other males, that would give her a disadvantage as she is not a pure male either.
If she was born with higher testosterone then other females, then that’s her naturally born gifted ability that makes her good at athletics.
BigAl said | September 12th 2009 @ 4:11pm | Report comment
Dasilva . . . I think you’re missing something basic – if this athlete is allowed to continue competing as a woman, within 5 years womens athletics will be the sole preserve of sex change athletes from third world countries.
Sad for the individual involved & let her keep what she has won to date – but . . . that’s it .
dasilva said | September 12th 2009 @ 4:59pm | Report comment
There’s a difference with sex change and people who are genetically born with characteristics of two genders
You can easily put that type of differentiation into the law.
BigAl said | September 12th 2009 @ 5:14pm | Report comment
‘. . . differentiation into law’ will lead to law cases and lawyers ‘interpreting’ that law !
There are plenty of places in the world where its just as easy to get a dodgy birth cerificate as it is a sex change operation.
Pippinu said | September 12th 2009 @ 4:23pm | Report comment
Although in this particular case, she has been a female all her life, treated as such by everyone around her, and she has seen herself as female her whole life. All her documents, since the day she was born, have shown an “F” against her name.
BigAl said | September 12th 2009 @ 4:37pm | Report comment
True – so let her keep everything she has won to date – but to let her continue competing would open up a legal can of worms for (womens) athletics which would dwarf the drugs in sport issue.
It is a blight on South African politicians & athletic officials that it was allowed to get to this stage as they were warned by the IAAF before the World Camps.of her ‘status’!
sittingbison said | September 12th 2009 @ 8:34pm | Report comment
The real issue here is that she really needs modern complicated surgery and drug regimen now that she is approaching adulthood for her own health and longevity. She does not have ovaries and cannot produce the requisite oestogen to be female. Get her the proper help she requires, and stop using her as a political tool.