Comments on: “My good woman, you are a man!” http://www.vqronline.org/blog/2009/09/03/caster-semenya/ A National Blog of Literature & Discussion Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:47:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Alessandra http://www.vqronline.org/blog/2009/09/03/caster-semenya/#comment-3421 Alessandra Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:26:13 +0000 http://www.vqronline.org/blog/?p=3161#comment-3421 "Raised as a girl with every indication that she fully identifies with the female sex, " I think you are very wrong there. First because, compared to her entire life, there is only a tiny bit of anecdotal biographical information being circulated in the media. Secondly, and not less importantly, because the two issues are inextricably tied together, there are several contradictory accounts in the media on Semenya's own gender choices (and other people's perceptions of her/him). Moreover, several of her past coaches and teachers have been prohibited of talking to the media. Additionally, no one from her current university talks ***at all***. This is all very peculiar to say the least. And as a partial answer to your last question on testosterone, this is an excellent read on the monstrous doping program in East Germany, directed by none other than S.A's current head coach. http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/43/7/1262 Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government Werner W. Franke1,a and Brigitte Berendonk2 Abstract Several classified documents saved after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990 describe the promotion by the government of the use of drugs, notably androgenic steroids, in high-performance sports (doping). Top-secret doctoral theses, scientific reports, progress reports of grants, proceedings from symposia of experts, and reports of physicians and scientists who served as unofficial collaborators for the Ministry for State Security ("Stasi") reveal that from 1966 on, hundreds of physicians and scientists, including top-ranking professors, performed doping research and administered prescription drugs as well as unapproved experimental drug preparations. Several thousand athletes were treated with androgens every year, including minors of each sex. Special emphasis was placed on administering androgens to women and adolescent girls because this practice proved to be particularly effective for sports performance. “Raised as a girl with every indication that she fully identifies with the female sex, ”

I think you are very wrong there. First because, compared to her entire life, there is only a tiny bit of anecdotal biographical information being circulated in the media. Secondly, and not less importantly, because the two issues are inextricably tied together, there are several contradictory accounts in the media on Semenya’s own gender choices (and other people’s perceptions of her/him). Moreover, several of her past coaches and teachers have been prohibited of talking to the media. Additionally, no one from her current university talks ***at all***. This is all very peculiar to say the least.

And as a partial answer to your last question on testosterone, this is an excellent read on the monstrous doping program in East Germany, directed by none other than S.A’s current head coach.

http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/43/7/1262

Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government
Werner W. Franke1,a and Brigitte Berendonk2

Abstract

Several classified documents saved after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1990 describe the promotion by the government of the use of drugs, notably androgenic steroids, in high-performance sports (doping). Top-secret doctoral theses, scientific reports, progress reports of grants, proceedings from symposia of experts, and reports of physicians and scientists who served as unofficial collaborators for the Ministry for State Security (“Stasi”) reveal that from 1966 on, hundreds of physicians and scientists, including top-ranking professors, performed doping research and administered prescription drugs as well as unapproved experimental drug preparations. Several thousand athletes were treated with androgens every year, including minors of each sex. Special emphasis was placed on administering androgens to women and adolescent girls because this practice proved to be particularly effective for sports performance.

]]>