Caster Semenya has apparently come out of no where to beat the hell out of women running track everywhere. She just recently won the World's 800 meters title with a record time. The win is bittersweet, the International Amateur Athletics Federation questions if she is really a woman. She has a smaller chest, a deep voice, and racing times that rivals men's track. They are actually having her DNA tested to make sure she is a woman. Kind of insulting if you ask me. Here is a pic of Semenya, I personally can't determine from this pic she is a man:
I can see she is whipping ass on the track, but I don't know if she is a man. Is Semenya getting ridiculed and punished for being too good at her sport? I mean honestly it doesn't appear she is "tucking" anything away, why would I question her gender as that of a woman?
I always find it odd that when women are really good and dominate in a sport, their femininity gets questioned. Remember Serena and Venus? Everyone called them men and some folks call Serena fat. Last I checked having muscles didn't make a woman fat, but I guess since she doesn't look like Anna Chakvetadze, she must be a fat masculine woman. In tennis I guess you have to be blond, white, or skinny to be considered attractive. Not to mention she isn't quite dominating the sport, so I guess Anna's femininity must be in tact compared to Venus and Serena.
Then you have atheletic women who have deep voices. Think Nicole Bass or Robin Coleman. These women in some circles are called men, but in other circles considered attractive. Nicole Bass was in the adult business for a while and her audience was men, not women.
So do you think that if Semenya wasn't an extraordinary in track, they would even question her gender?
69 comments:
So do you think that if Semenya wasn't an extraordinary in track, they would even question her gender?
Yep, I think people sure would. First off, women of African descent dominate running. However, some are indeed more manly looking than others. There seems to be some reason why these tests are being done. my guess is they think she might be what we called "intersex."
Sorry but "she" looks like a man. The first thing I saw when I came upon this blog entry was her photo -- and, in my mind, I was looking at the photo of a MAN! Imagine my horror when I read that he is (supposedly) a she.
I saw a documentary on TV not too long ago about how during the 60's & 70's East German female athletes were given performance enhancing (albeit masculinizing) hormones to help them win international sports competitions. Years later, most of the women looked so much like balding middle-aged men that at least one took the path of least resistance by actually having a sex change operation and marrying a woman. She said it was the only way she could have a semblance of a "normal" life.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this Semenya person might also be using those same (or similar) performance enhancing hormones.
So do you think that if Semenya wasn't an extraordinary in track, they would even question her gender?
They wouldn't question it because they wouldn't care or even notice. I'm mildly surprised that they didn't ask first if Semenya was on performance enhancing drugs before questioning her sexuality. She could just have high testosterone levels, similar to bodies of female bodybuilders (chest is smaller, large muscles, lower voice, etc).
I think he is a man. I have been watching his races and interviews and he is a man. His build, voice, facial structure just points be being masculine. He could have been a hermaphrodite. In many cases, the parents will assign gender after birth. This is more common than you think.
I do have to say, back in the 80s and possibly before then, many athletic and muscular Eastern European women were accused of being men. Some even had facial hair. Did they have to go through gender testing? I am not sure, but there were many jokes about Russian women bodybuilders and weight lifters. So unfortunately, your argument that blond haired and blue eyed women don't get called men if they look masculine doesn't hold water.
Also, Serena and Venus are not considered conventional beauties, but there are many men who find them very attractive. Especially Serena, because she has a large chest, behind and a great smile.
O.k. I've seen this floating around blog land and I will say this....
Caster appears extremely masculine. Williams sisters, although muscular, were very feminine in appearance. However, Caster does not appear to have feminine characteristics.
Thru history there have been men who have posed as women in competitions. so, it's not unlikely. Caster is not the first to be accused of this. So, I don't think it's a racial issue. I think it's appearance issue.
If Caster is in fact proved to be a woman, her genetics will be studied as to why is she so masculine and doesn't appear to have visible feminine features.
my guess is they think she might be what we called "intersex."
She could very well be intersex. It is realistic, but do you think she would be the first athlete ever to be technically this way? Personally I don't think she makes for a pretty girl in all honesty, but I don't necessarily think man either. In track there are few women who get their hair, makeup, and nails done to run.
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I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this Semenya person might also be using those same (or similar) performance enhancing hormones.
I wouldn't doubt it either, doping is a big thing and it would be naive to think it didn't happen. It could also explain off the "manly" features.
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I'm mildly surprised that they didn't ask first if Semenya was on performance enhancing drugs before questioning her sexuality.
I am shocked by this as well. I would think that before thinking she was a man.
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So unfortunately, your argument that blond haired and blue eyed women don't get called men if they look masculine doesn't hold water.
The women from East Germany were being fed steroids and other drugs from the time they were adolescents. They had mood swings, facial and stomach hair, as well as got physically larger, they were basically turned into men, unknowingly for the sake of a gold medal. Those women took almost lethal doses of drugs, and it isn't surprising that large muscular women with facial hair on steroids would get mistaken for men.
We haven't determined if doping is involved with Semenya..... yet. Why haven't we assumed doping before assuming her being a man?
This is a public lynching. Whoever it was/ is at the IAAF that is responsible for doing this ought to be fired post haste.
If they absolutely had to do this they should have done it behind closed doors.
I have no doubt that Caster Semenya is a woman. But even after the so-called gender DNA test reveals that she is can you imagine the chilling effect this will have on her career? The stunning stupidity of the officials is beyond belief.
So the point is if we don't conform to certain ideals of gender or we are too good at what we do then our gender is questioned? That's certainly one way to try to keep women in our place.
I just watched the youtube video of the race, yes she looks masculine but you can see before the race that she looks like a girl.
Hey Sid, this mess right here is racist and sexist, and that's just what it's all about to me. You raised a great point by tying the Williams sisters into this story. Serena more than Venus caught all kinds of hell enough so for her to make a conscious effort to appear more feminine in my opinion.
I totally disagree with the argument that gender is ONLY being questioned because of Caster's amazing athletic accomplishment (i.e that people are just hating). After looking at photos of this person and hearing this person speak I think there is justifiable reason to question gender. Outwardly, Caster has absolute no feminine attributes and is NOT recognizably female. I read on another news site that Caster's gender has been questioned since childhood and that, for years, the headmaster at the former school had no idea Caster was a female. I believe, as some people here and on other boards have suggested, that Caster is intersexed - commonly called a "hermaphrodite" (though human beings are not true hermaphrodites as they can not self reproduce). I remember briefly learning about these chromosomal abnormalities in Advanced Biology class in High School and a few years ago I read the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and saw a Discovery Channel documentary on it. Gender is far more complicated than many people are aware of. The question is, if Caster is discovered to be intersexed and neither clearly male nor female, what happens to her career? Arguably she wouldn't be able to compete in either men's or women's league and her talent will go to waste; she may be denied her only escape from a life of poverty; and most likely subjected to ridicule, discrimination, exploitation and even violence in her community. I'm also wondering if this couldn't have been done in a more discreet manner.
I saw this elsewhere, and most of the comments there were about the same as the comments here.
There isn't too much I can add beyond that this will always be an issue if a female (and it really doesn't matter what race she is) is very muscular looking and she happens to dominate her chosen field of athletics.
Personally, I would give her the benefit of the doubt.
This should have been done more discreetly, they are publicly humiliating her.
This isn't going to be well received but I've seen plenty of photos of females in Africa with very short cropped hair where I couldn't tell whether they were women or men, girls or boys, and I've heard lots of others, including African Americans, say the same thing. Semenya is very muscular but it's also very much her face that makes her look masculine - the face, the same as all the other times I couldn't tell African females from males.
In some photos I seen, the only way you can tell sometimes is if the photo shows the clothing the person is wearing. If you notice a dress or earrings, etc, then you figure you're looking at a female.
Caster Semenya is just more of an extreme case than usual, IMO.
I have to agree with Lion-ess after viewing the Youtube video as well. She does look like a young girl to me. Her arms are muscular yes, but they are still the arms of a young woman in my opinion. Quite a few female track stars are flat chested and actually have a very similar body build (even the six pack abs) to Caster regardless of their racial background. If you Google for pictures you will see exactly what I mean. :)
As Siditty pointed out with the links to Robin Coleman and so forth there are masculine looking women in the world and this has always been the case. Honestly, I really feel bad for this young woman. Finally, I do think that a change of hairstyle would do wonders for her facial features (soften them), but that is only my opinion.
I am so sorry that she is going through this and would feel horrible if my young daughter were being questioned in such a way. I think she is handling herself in a very dignified way about all of this.
People like Maria Mutola were never gender tested and they do fit the bill.
Maria Mutola
There is sure something going on with her hormones that is not ordinary. She may have the same level of testerone as men. But can they rule her non female for a hormonal imbalance?
This is going to be a tricky one. They have to check her chromosomes too to make sure they are female. So her gender is going to be determined by these people despite the fact that she is physically female. If she is a hermaphrodite then that is a different story.
So her gender is going to be determined by these people despite the fact that she is physically female.
The only thing that can possibly be physically female about her outward appearance is her genitalia; the rest of her appears 100% male from what I see.
"This is a public lynching. Whoever it was/ is at the IAAF that is responsible for doing this ought to be fired post haste.
If they absolutely had to do this they should have done it behind closed doors."
I agree with you, Monie. This should have been the greatest day of her life. Winning gold. Now the whole world ask her about her gender instead. They humiliate her.
Siditty said:
In tennis I guess you have to be blond, white, or skinny to be considered attractive.
Menelik asks:
"considered" by who? Not only is Serena Williams my dream queen, the brothers in the UK go ape shit whenever the sista appears on our screens.
Doesn't what we consider "attractive" count?
Menelik Charles
London England
When I first saw pictures of Caster I didn't automatically think "she's a man"...I just figured she was just very athletic and a touch on the masculine looking side. But what I don't get is why the IAAF didn't test for performance enhancing drugs before doing a gender test....and why the heck does the public know about it? With drug testing they normally keep that quiet until the samples come back positive so why wasn't this afforded to Caster as well? How humiliating this must be for her, even more so if she passes the gender test and is not intersex.
So while she does look rather manly (in build), when I realised she was from an African country I immediately thought she's definitely not a man ( since homosexuality, cross dressing and certainly transgender/sex change surgery is punishable by death in most African countries) but now that I see she's from SOUTH AFRICA, then YES, it actually is quite possible that she might be a man.
Now I am not concluding this based on her amazing ability as I think it is very possible for a woman to be that fast.
I am only concluding this suspicious manliness based on her physical structure. She's rather man-shaped. And yes, I know she's an athlete. It's very possible that her manly structure might come from years of dedicated training.
I'm just saying.
This is definately a man. There are no breasts what so ever. And the mannerisms are purely male, this coming from a black woman.
And that voice, thats a man talking!
In that first Pic. lol
Look how hard those other women are running. Caster is an amazing athlete.
I was always suspect about Amilie Mauresmo being a man.
Honestly, she looks like a man to me. But I, like others, don't agree with the way this is being handled. No need to sprawl this through the press.
I don't understand why people didn't question her "gender" before she won and I agree with everybody that she is being publically humiliated. What are the officials at the IAAF going to say if the tests come back that she is indeed female??? Gee Semenya we're sorry we embarassed you with unecessary global attention and we hope that it doesn't effect the way you view yourself as a human being and woman from this day forward...OOPS...our bad, how awful for you. Now go run along dear and try to forget this unfortunate incident in your life now that the world (with our help) has labeled you a freak.
Having said all of that however..IMO, she "looks" like a man and as trivial as this may sound I have to question why she is running in long track shorts as opposed to the bikini like bottoms all female track competitors wear during races. If you look at pictures of her and you cover her face with your hand and just look at her from the neck down...there is nothing "feminine" about her body at all. Female athletes who are not on performance enhancing drugs can get very muscular and cut but they all retain a certain level of femininity to their bodies that Semenya just doesn't have. Jacke Joyner Kersee, Flo Jo (RIP) and Serena Williams for example are all very muscular women but they still look female.
I think most likely Semenya is intersexed.
She runs like a man and she looks like a man... chances are she is a he.
ya definitely unnecessary to do this in public if (s)he is male or female (s)he still has the right to privacy as a person. they should have just done this in private. i know even if (s)he is proven to be female, then the hate comments are going to come in and i'm sure its going to fall back on the black woman, people will start talking about how masculine we supposedly look...etc you know what's gonna happen. you know its coming...
Sorry to insult her, but she doesn't look like a female at all. Is she transgendering from male to female?
Haven't read all the posts, but she is the most manly looking female I have ever seen (if she is really a woman).
http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/09/21/images/2004092100440301.jpg
this looks a bit like a man to me too
she does sound like a teenage boy...
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/img/national/2012_gender_g.jpg
here's another one
She could very well have Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or Androgen Sensitivity Syndrome; often times when women who dominate a sport as if they are men. There DNA is tested to see whether they are as a commenter stated "inter-sex". Science shows there could be up to 5 possible sexes instead of the standard male and female.
Biological sex, when an individual is not clearly man or woman occurs in 2% of the population.
The more I look at "her" the more I'm thinking someone certainly has a lot of nerve offering up this extremely masculine-looking man as a woman -- a mustache, a six pack, narrow hips, a very heavy brow ridge, a square jaw and square chin, masculine legs, a rough skin texture, and he doesn't even bother to pretend he has breasts. I can run with a shaved head and not wear a bit of makeup or nail polish, NO one will think I'm a man.
And the black women who are pretending that he doesn't look like a man are not doing black women a service with this charade! With all the walking on eggshells, you're making it seem that he's well within the range of what a black woman looks like -- and he is most definitely well OUTSIDE of that range. It doesn't matter what the test results will be -- this person does NOT have the physical appearance of a woman. And, unless he's mentally challenged, he most certainly already knows he doesn't. He's actually much more manly than many other 18 year old boys. I first thought he was an adult man in his mid-twenties!
For BW to carefully mince around and pretend he looks like a woman is outright insulting to women who are recognizably female, and mostly especially black women!
After looking at photos of this person and hearing this person speak I think there is justifiable reason to question gender.
I think that I would look at her photos, listen to her voice, and assume she was on performance enhancing drugs before I would assume her a dude trying to pass himself off as a woman. Honestly she is masculine, but I don't see her tucking anything. I am more inclined to believe she is undiagnosed as inter-sex like you other folks have said.
she may be denied her only escape from a life of poverty; and most likely subjected to ridicule, discrimination, exploitation and even violence in her community.
Yes, but isn't she being ridiculed by folks making this such a public ordeal. Why not do it privately and then based upon the results release the information. It seems they are intimidating her and punishing her for being talented.
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This should have been done more discreetly, they are publicly humiliating her.
I agree!!!
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People like Maria Mutola were never gender tested and they do fit the bill.
Maria Mutola can look kind of "hard" LOL, but she does carry herself more feminine in terms of she gets her hair done, and her body is a bit softer.
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There is sure something going on with her hormones that is not ordinary. She may have the same level of testerone as men. But can they rule her non female for a hormonal imbalance?
This is going to get tricky. There is going to be question on what defines male and female if that is the case.
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"considered" by who? Not only is Serena Williams my dream queen, the brothers in the UK go ape shit whenever the sista appears on our screens. Doesn't what we consider "attractive" count?
You are one of the few, not all brothers go ape shit over Serena, I have seen more make fun of her than drool over her.
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I was always suspect about Amilie Mauresmo being a man.
I agree, they need to test her. Amelie is hard looking too.
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And the black women who are pretending that he doesn't look like a man are not doing black women a service with this charade!
I never said she was pretty, but I do think they are questioning her because of her success on the track. If she was timing like the other girls, they wouldn't be doing this, and why are they making it so public before the results are even out?
I believe that Semenya is either a man or a hermaphrodite. At the very least, he/she is doped up with testosterone.
Amen to the women who would question why any bw would say Semenya looks like a woman. It is my opinion that bw do not look masculine. However, I think that if she's proven to be a woman without steroids, then it could come back to bite bw. If she's proven intersexual, that would be harmful to religion. If she's proven male, then she's had an unfair advantage in all his competitions. That is the main reason why she SHOULD undergo genetic tests.
I find it odd that people would be upset that folks would defend a woman who claims to be a woman. This might piss some people off, but I have seen many a manly women in all races, who didn't take testosterone. Not all black women are beauty queens, and no one is trying to say she is a beautiful woman, but we are instead asking, that if her gender is indeed in question, why would the IAAF make the accusation so publicly? I think it serves no purpose but to humiliate and degrade her. The IAAF could have been discreet in their concerns, and if she was a woman, no harm, if she was a man or intersex, then go public.
If she comes back defined as a woman, it would not negate the fact that BW can be beautiful, it would just say that Semenya is not one of the beautiful black women. She doesn't represent ALL black women, I don't think most of us knew who she was until this story broke.
Why is it we can't say any black woman is ugly. Or why are we embarrassed for all black women, if this black women is not attractive, there seems to be no logic in that.
the reason is because people will use semenya as a case and point for black women being ugly, that's why. sometimes its possible that hormonal imbalances can cause an unnatural amount of testosterone in females and they can actually get hairy and masculine looking, its a real condition that has to be corrected with medication. they can appear very masculine, but still be female that could be the case with her. then couple that with the fact that she is highly active and probably works her muscles alot she probably will look like a man.
the reason is because people will use semenya as a case and point for black women being ugly, that's why.
They did that before Semenya ever came into the spotlight, let's get real. Folks are going to be racist with or without Semenya and let's be real, she probably isn't the symbol of femininity.
You should be more pissed off that folks like Nicole Bass and Amelie Mauresmo don't have to represent all white women, but Semenya has to represent all black women to racists. Fight that, not her.
Siditty,
I find it disturbing that there are black women who automatically jump to defend anyone who claims to be a black woman. It has become almost knee jerk. There are black women who are unattractive (whoopie, tiny of tiny and toya). In fact I agreed with Iman when she stated that Michelle Obama is no great beauty. However, I personally stop short of calling anyone ugly. However, I've never seen a bw (or any other race) who looked completely male. Can anyone imagine if Arnold Schwarzenneger claimed to be a woman? Michael Jordan?
The question I would ask is why should we rush to the defense of anyone who claims to be a bw (or even genetic bw)?
I agree with Siddity.Caster Semenya does not represent all black women.
Caster Semenya looks like Caster Semenya. And she is a human being.
I am a very feminine female and I dont see anything wrong in defending anyone, especially a female who is being treated unfairly.
Anyhing else smacks of fear and insecurity.
The idea that if black women defend her, it makes us look bad in the eyes of the international community because they would begin to perceive black women as not being feminine and unattractive is foolish.
Everyone who has eyes, especially those who do not live under a rock can see that they are many beautiful black women all around the globe.
The problem here is not that Ms. Semenya is ¨ugly¨, but if she is really a female.
I imagine most people over twenty living on this planet have seeing men and women who do not look the part.
There are also many white and Asian female athletes with very masculine physiques.
Let us be real here. All of a sudden, it is strange, practically out of this world, to come across a female looking like Caster Semenya.
We should wait and see the results of the test. And if Caster Semenya is a female, the IAAF owes her an apology.
And please, Caster Semenya is no disgrace to black women. We need to remove those chains from our minds and necks.
Saludos,
Ana
The question I would ask is why should we rush to the defense of anyone who claims to be a bw (or even genetic bw)?
Because of the manner in which she is being treated. The IAAF is making this an international issue. They have gone to the media with speculation and not fact. The fact is so far Semenya is really good. Too good to be true. If this had been another race of women, they would have done testing in private, and usually when they question someone, they question if the person is on performance enhancing drugs, which Semenya very well could be, they rarely check gender. They would have waited for the test results to go public for any other women.
The East German women of the 70s and 80s were very masculine, but they went to the obvious answer, drug testing, they never once questioned their femininity. People joked, but there was no outright accusations that those women were men, and those women were huge and had facial hair.
So far the only thing Caster Semenya is guilty of is being talented, and maybe being unattractive, why would I defend the unfair treatment of her? Why would I vilify her because she is manly? That does nothing for the solidarity of black women. If she is a woman I have nothing but respect for her and her talent, if she isn't, I hope she works out whatever is going on. Why would I do anything differently?
The question I would ask is why should we rush to the defense of anyone who claims to be a bw (or even genetic bw)?
Because of the manner in which she is being treated. The IAAF is making this an international issue. They have gone to the media with speculation and not fact. The fact is so far Semenya is really good. Too good to be true. If this had been another race of women, they would have done testing in private, and usually when they question someone, they question if the person is on performance enhancing drugs, which Semenya very well could be, they rarely check gender. They would have waited for the test results to go public for any other women.
The East German women of the 70s and 80s were very masculine, but they went to the obvious answer, drug testing, they never once questioned their femininity. People joked, but there was no outright accusations that those women were men, and those women were huge and had facial hair.
So far the only thing Caster Semenya is guilty of is being talented, and maybe being unattractive, why would I defend the unfair treatment of her? Why would I vilify her because she is manly? That does nothing for the solidarity of black women. If she is a woman I have nothing but respect for her and her talent, if she isn't, I hope she works out whatever is going on. Why would I do anything differently?
My only question is why wasn't this issue an issue BEFORE this race?
Semenya does look quite masculine, whatever the reason. And she has run previous races with similar astounding records.
The IAAF released a statement at one point indicating they were "certain" she was a woman, so I would like to know what has changed.
If they wish to give her a gender test, very well. The rules permit for it, and I can understand the concern. It just seems this is all rather after the fact--- and it would/will be quite sad to watch Semenya's short career be destroyed if it is discovered she doesn't qualify as female.
lighten up... I said from looking at a youtube video before the race, she looks girl. Not because she is a bw, but because she looks like a girl. That's my opinion.
Lighten up.. the truth will tell when the results come out.
Come on, there are many bw in the media... so if people want to use her to define how all bw are, too bad for them. That doesn't define me as a bw.
I really don't care. People will always try to put you in a box. No matter what. Whatever!
Sid, if Caster was a white woman, and kicked ass looking the way Caster did. They would not test her or even suggest it. Instead, she would get a endorsement contract from Nike or some shit like that.
I understand that he/she should not be villified (unless it is revealed that she is male since that would mean she knowingly had an unfair advantage). But, I'm just concerned that too many bw will jump to defend a bw when we blame black men and the bc in general for rushing to defend bm.
Just to clarify re the religious issue, it is often preached that God only created males and females...meaning no third sex. With so many people scientifically proven to be intersexed, it damages religion even further. I noticed that Christians can't seem to debate this issue.
Serena and Venus are looking hot! Take a look at their magazine pics.
Ann
Monica Roberts breaks it all down TWO YEARS AGO at;
http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2007/06/transgender-athletes-get-into-game.html
Her whole "Transgriot" site is filled with information concerning this issue.
"Just to clarify re the religious issue, it is often preached that God only created males and females...meaning no third sex. With so many people scientifically proven to be intersexed, it damages religion even further. I noticed that Christians can't seem to debate this issue."
why only christians...christianity isnt' the only religion...
"Science shows there could be up to 5 possible sexes instead of the standard male and female."
Lady_M could you elaborate on what these 5 sexes are? I'm not doubting you, I just think that's interesting.
she could be a butch woman who looks like a man with a hormonal imbalance or she could just be a little unattractive, but the point is i agree it was disrespectful for them to humiliate her like that and if she does turn out to be a normal woman, then it is still embarassing and to top that off its embarassing ot black females to be treated this way. no she doesn't represent all or even most black females but you know how things go and it will impact the image of bw because if they can disrespect one black female for winning and excelling at a sport, then the rest of us don't stand a chacne
Someone out there cracked that now they should test if Bolt is human.
I'm with graphixie on this one. What happen to the drug questions first.
Somebody's jealous, I think.
Also, her name "Caster" doesn't help.
Off topic;
Was Chris Brown's sentence too harsh? I think NOT.
Chris Brown
Sid,
Are you there????? Hope all is well.
Offtopic.
Microsoft has stepped in it.
Microsoft's racist pic
Santhi Soundarajan - 2006
"Soundarajan won a silver medal in the women's 800m race at the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar in December 2006 clocking 2 minutes, 3.16 seconds. However, she underwent a sex test shortly afterwards, and the results indicated that she "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman". Soon after the results of the sex test came out, she was stripped of her silver medal"
There is precedence for this, and they have targeted women of all races.
Joe Clyde but why openly humiliate her??
@ Rippa - Really? It's racial?
Start with Babe Didrickson and move foreward.
White women have been tested for decades.
Woman? Maybe. Normal? Nah.
@Anon August 26, 2009 4:26 PM
Its the age we live in. Everybody and there momma has a Blog. Twice as many people have a Youtube account.
The embarrassment is most likely coming from outside sources. How do you know they didn't try to quietly test her. But it somehow leaked, and then in the microwave news era. People sensationalize the story to what it is today.
In my opinion. She is manly looking. I saw the video link with her talking. She has a deep voice, and a whiskers. Her getting tested is not out of the question.
Trust me. Usain Bolt was tested for steriods after he broke the record also.
One last thing.
She does not represent all black women. To be real about it. She is not even American.
In the next Olympics. I will be rooting against her hard. Hell, if she is positive. It is just another opportunity for America to get a medal.
Grata said
Off topic;
Was Chris Brown's sentence too harsh? I think NOT.
Menelik asks:
Is Chris Brown a Black man? I think so.
Let's stay on topic, yeah?
Menelik Charles
London England
Santhi Soundarajan - 2006
Have you ever seen Santhi Soundarajan? She is not a white woman in the least. She might be darker than her, believe it or not there are darker skinned folks in this world that are not black. I will say this though, they didn't publicly humiliate her before her results were known, but they made it public after it was found she was intersex.
Hell she should have been a damn case study for them. She became depressed and suicidal after she lost her medal. They should know the consequences of what happens when things are handled badly.
I can't see how anyone thinks this was handled in the right way, it wasn't, even they admit they messed up, now that it has come to bite them back.
Anonymous said...
This isn't going to be well received but I've seen plenty of photos of females in Africa with very short cropped hair where I couldn't tell whether they were women or men, girls or boys, and I've heard lots of others, including African Americans, say the same thing. Semenya is very muscular but it's also very much her face that makes her look masculine - the face, the same as all the other times I couldn't tell African females from males.
In some photos I seen, the only way you can tell sometimes is if the photo shows the clothing the person is wearing. If you notice a dress or earrings, etc, then you figure you're looking at a female.
Caster Semenya is just more of an extreme case than usual, IMO.
August 20, 2009 9:48 PM
Wow,this was a straight up racist and akin to the whole black people and National Geographic jokes from racist whites insult and nobody sees nothing wrong with this comment, but me.
WOW.
I find this hard to believe because I've seen photos of African women with short hair and I can definitely tell they are women.
And how telling that you used females instead of women.
Black people truly disgust me at this point.
lormarie said...
Siditty,
I find it disturbing that there are black women who automatically jump to defend anyone who claims to be a black woman. It has become almost knee jerk. There are black women who are unattractive (whoopie, tiny of tiny and toya). In fact I agreed with Iman when she stated that Michelle Obama is no great beauty. However, I personally stop short of calling anyone ugly. However, I've never seen a bw (or any other race) who looked completely male. Can anyone imagine if Arnold Schwarzenneger claimed to be a woman? Michael Jordan?
The question I would ask is why should we rush to the defense of anyone who claims to be a bw (or even genetic bw)?
August 22, 2009 12:20 PM
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So who is supposed to be this 'great beauty'?
Jackie O?
Because she wasn't that great looking.
As a matter of fact, VERY few people are 'great beauties', so for you to single Michelle Obama out as not this great beauty is strange and frankly, insulting.
Siditty said...
That does nothing for the solidarity of black women.
This comment really jumped out at me
Women like Lormarie amaze me. They see NOTHING wrong with insulting another black woman, but get upset when women are treated like trash by men.
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