Thinking about gender

[bovine]

This will prove to be an interesting piece of news as we will see how cultures view gender, and how they view gender in ultra-segregated sports.

LINK

It only really matters if she is a woman because she ran in an event that was only for women. Does it matter if she does not possess all of the biological equipment that "regular" women have? If she self-identifies as a woman, why is this not enough?

I, personally, am interested to see how this plays out.

[RentCavalier]

Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.

[Julius Seeker]

Oh my God... Here I thought all that talk about her being a man was nonsence brought up by jealous female runners.

[SineSwiper]

Any what about the chemical differences between gays/lesbians and heteros?

[Julius Seeker]

Semenya produces semen, ya?

[Flip]

Its a man, baby!

[Kupek]

Does it matter if she does not possess all of the biological equipment that "regular" women have? If she self-identifies as a woman, why is this not enough?

Semenya also has three times more testosterone in her system than a normal female.

It's the same reason that the runner with no legs below his knees can't wear his prosthetics: unfair advantage. (Although in his case, it's a mechanical advantage, not a chemical advantage.)

What I don't know is what's the most fair thing to do for her and all other competitors. In most cases, a person's sex is either clearly male or clearly female. Because of this, we can make assumptions about that person based on their sex - such as expected levels of various hormones. But when a person's sex is not clear, those assumptions fail. And I'm at a loss to say what's fair to her and the other competitors.

(Also note that "sex" is the biological distinction, and "gender" is the cultural one.)

[SineSwiper]

(Also note that "sex" is the biological distinction, and "gender" is the cultural one.)

That's the first time I've heard of a distinction between the two terms.

[bovine]

Think of the most transitive form of gender in the term "transgender". The person is transitioning between genders while (optionally) remaining the same sex.

This is important because someone can be of one sex, but self identify as a different gender.

Gender, as Kup states, is HIGHLY cultural as it heavily defines roles and tropes.