How many of you know what hermaphrodite means? Stop snickering in the back.
You know who you are...
Remember Biology 101 in high school? Our teachers tried desperately to maintain decorum when we could not.
That was many years ago, and one would think we had grown past that.
Obviously not.
The Sydney Morning Herald already has its morning edition out with Caster Semenya´s smiling face imprudently splashed on the website under the heading of "Semenya´s Secret", teasing into the article entitled "Secret of Semenya´s Sex Stripped Bare".
Hate to burst your vegemite bubble, fellas, but it´s only a secret if she knew.
Tabloid at best, shameful at worst.
But what do you expect when the International Association of Athletics Federations slithered around like snakes in the grass trying to determine Ms.
Semenya´s sex while allegedly implying they were checking for dope? If that happened in the United States there would already be a league of lawyers involved and at the very least an invasion of privacy charge.
Let´s be grown up for a minute.
Merriam-Webster defines hermaphrodite as "an animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs".
Seems pretty straightforward.
Not so fast.
Hermaphrodite is an antiquated term now replaced by the term "intersex".
Intersex is merely part of a larger group known as disorders of sex development or DSDs.
It does not simply present as genitalia ambiguity, but as a complexity of natural development presenting in a variety of ways.
For example, there may be no overt appearance of any physical difference from what appears to be a typical male.
However, the testicles may not descend and upon further inspection they are really hormone secreting ovaries.
Vice versa there may be a woman who for all intent and purposes appears to be female, when her ovaries are actually underdeveloped testicles.
Why is understanding this important? Because there are many people who live their whole lives then die never knowing their bodies hid an anomaly.
There are many different forms of DSDs and it is difficult to calculate how many people are affected.
The chances of developing a particular DSD can range anywhere from 1 in 66 to 1 in 150,000 individual births.
In 1993 the Intersex Society of North America formed in the gallant attempt to offer information and advocacy for those who have DSDs.
By 2006 their advocacy paid off when the "Consensus Statement on Management of Intersex Disorders" was published in Pediatrics! followed by the 2008 formation of the Accord Alliance which offers a rich resource of collaboration among patients, families, healthcare providers and academicians continuing the research.
Back to Caster.
Ms.
Semenya grew up simply in South Africa´s northern province of Limpopo, an area rich in agriculture and mineral deposits, home to Waterberg Biosphere (a UNEXSO designated reserve) and a wealth of archaeological finds dating back to the Stone Age, and evidence of man´s evolutionary origin.
She is proud from whence she came and has a family, a community and a country supporting her, proud of her achievements.
Achievements that took her into a world she never saw coming.
So why is Caster Semenya embroiled in this gender bending controversy? Because she looks different.
She prefers to dress in masculine clothing.
She runs fast and she is improving her times, winning and setting records.
There has to be an explanation.
A woman certainly can´t be capable of that.
Or can she? Yes, there are rules in the world of sports, especially when it comes to the differences in gender.
Face it, we are different.
A female´s center of gravity is in her hips, while a male´s center of gravity is in his chest.
There are natural reasons for that.
And the rules apply to keep gender fenced into the manmade boxes of sports.
Or have the rules just not caught up with our natural abilities and differences? Yes, there are rules.
But just how far do we go to enforce those rules? Certainly most all testing necessary to ensure the girls play with the girls and the boys play with the boys are blood based for hormones, electrolytes and genetics; and, utilizing ultrasound verifies the presence or absence of internal reproductive organs.
These tests can alleviate some of the strain by avoiding an internal gynecologic examination.
Why would one require that if one is being screened for dope? We all know the answer to that one.
The stress and humiliation Caster Semenya continues to endure by the IAAF´s subterfuge is unconscionable and immoral.
The extensive testing she succumbed to, if coerced, may in fact be a violation of her human rights.
She has been outed publicly and for something she may never have otherwise had the chance to know.
So now what? IAAF spokesman, Nick Davies, is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald saying, "This is a medical issue and not a doping issue where she was deliberately cheating.
" Duh.
One might be almost willing to bet he and his cronies are from the same province as Ms.
Semenya, but closer to the Stone Age region.
Oh, and she may be able to keep her gold medal.
Like that should be in question.
As tough as Caster Semenya is, this debacle can not help but leave a scar.
One can only hope that time and the unfailing support of her family, her community and her country will help these wounds heal.
Besides, this storm may have a silver lining.
As much as she is already a hero to many in South Africa for her running ability, she could easily become a hero to those who share her previously unknown condition.
For in the midst of all this calamity, she remains stoic, gentle and true to herself: an unwitting role model.
Beautiful--just like she is.