Runner fails gender test, loses medal

[superconnected]

NEW DELHI, India - An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal.

Santhi Soundarajan, 25, took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second.

The Indian Olympic Association said Monday it has been told by the Olympic Council of Asia that the 25-year-old runner was disqualified.

"IOA has asked the Athletic Federation of India to return the medal as desired by the Olympic Council of Asia," the Indian Olympic group said.

More...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061218/ap_on_sp_ot/run_failed_gender_test

[Name removed]

1. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ReadTomPaine]

2. Here is Santhi's photo for the curious...

[originalpckelly]

5. It's a man baby, it's a man!

No literally, I'm not being a smart ass it's really a man!

[hang a left]

10. Adams apple check.

Hmmm what is that bump there in the throat.

[pnwmom]

27. And the brow bone structure. n/t

[cobalt1999]

3. This must be something new in last 20 years...

because I really doubt some of those East German "women" in the 70's and 80's Olympics could pass the gender test either. Many of them, I swore, had to be men.

[Ellen Forradalom]

6. The East German women were doped like you wouldn't believe

Tons o' steroids will give you that Ah-nold look.

[cobalt1999]

13. okay, that helps explain the 5 o'clock shadow on the female weightlifters.

I'm surprised they didn't think of the same stunt though. Poor women, I wonder what impact that had on them?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. The former East German athletes have had all kinds of health problems

since overdoses of steroids can harm your internal organs.

They were asked why they didn't notice how masculine looking they were getting (a lot of people did notice), and they said that they were kept isolated from the general public, so they saw only other athletes. They were told that the steroids were special vitamins.

[Ellen Forradalom]

38. Read here a NYT article

http://tinyurl.com/yjpbln

[originalpckelly]

4. Well, this is certainly an interesting story.

Oh my.

[superconnected]

7. I just want to see the test on Man Coulter.

[pansypoo53219]

11. i would not be surprised

to learn that 'it' has a genetic disorder. i think i saw it in my 40's oral pathology book i got at an estate sale.

[Big Kahuna]

12. Fricken nasty

[ReadTomPaine]

16. It's rumored she has Marfan's syndrome, which would explain her odd appearance.

What's inside her head, however, is all her own fault.

[CurtEastPoint]

22. MY EYES! Coultergeist warning on link above!! n/t

[silverojo]

26. You took the words right out of my modem

Ann's a MAN, baby!! :rofl:

[Nikia]

8. Some women are XY but never knew they were

The default gender for developing fetuses is female and there are some XYs that don't develop into males for some reason. The result is an XY female. Many of these women have no idea that they are not chromosomingly female. I wonder if she had idea. Maybe not. Even if she did, if she always identified as female, she probably wouldn't have come forward and asked to compete as a male, although she would not have reached national competition level, when everyone knew her as female.

[superconnected]

9. The article isn't clear though - wether it's a man who knew he

was a man, or wether he was a genetic accident.

[Quantess]

29. Looks like a case of dubious gender, to me.

I'm guessing not quite male, not quite female, if you know I mean. A hermaphrodite.

(I really hope I'm not pissing off any transgendered folks. Apology in advance if I am.)

[ecstatic]

15. I learned about that in biopsychology... I found it to be very interesting

Since prior to that point, I thought it was a cut and dry process. In order for the default female to become a male, a certain amount of "masculinization hormones" must be released in the mother's womb during pregnancy. This might also explain recent studies that showed that women in poverty or who weren't secure in their future were more likely to have girls than boys.

[mikelgb]

14. Get this from the article:

Instead, the official said Soundarajan appeared to have "abnormal chromosomes." The official also said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed.

apparently there is a gender test based on y chromosomes...

sorry Ann, one too many Y's, despite the vagina, you are technically a gay male...

[Thor_MN]

21. I wonder if she is a chimera

It is possible for two embryos to essentially fuse into one individual. I recall reading of a woman who was required to have DNA testing regarding the paternity of her child. The results came back indicating that she was NOT the mother of the child. The reason was that her internal organs originated from one embryo while her epithelial cells originated from another. Another test (using blood instead of a cheek swab) proved her to be the mother and a chimera.

Maybe they need to add more classes for chromosomal abnormalities and /or chimerism.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. I recall an article in Discover magazine about a Mexican village

that had a high percentage of XY females. Their condition would become obvious only at puberty, when they would apparently develop breasts and other outward signs but never menstruate. They lived as women, and no one realized that they were genetically male until just recently.

[POAS]

17. The sad case of Stella Walsh comes to mind

She was an Olympic champion form the 30's who was killed while being robbed in Cleveland in 1980. Her bio can be found HERE. Here is a portion of her bio.:

Walsh's life ended tragically on December 4, 1980, when she was 69 years old. On a shopping trip in Cleveland, Ohio she was in the wrong place at the wrong time--in the parking lot of a discount store, unloading her shopping cart during a robbery attempt. An innocent bystander, she was shot and killed by a stray bullet. The results of her autopsy by the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office were startling and confusing. According to the autopsy, Walsh had a condition known as mosaicism, which meant that, chromosomally, she was mostly, but not all, male. Ironically, she suffered from the very condition she had accused Stephens of having. This condition, which is still not fully understood, has been the source of much confusion about Walsh. Some sources report that Walsh had both ovaries and testicles, while others say that she was "really" a man. It seems clear that she did have some level of physical androgyny but lived as a woman.

The confusion regarding Walsh has not abated. She is still widely regarded as an Olympic "cheater" and a man posing as a woman. Although her androgyny was the result of a medical condition and not a deliberate attempt to "cheat," Walsh was not inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame. (Although she was admitted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, and the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame). Some of the members on the induction committee felt that her genetic androgyny gave her an "unfair advantage" over other female athletes.

[Poll_Blind]

20. I didn't even realize you could have BOTH ovaries and testes.

  Wow. I wonder if there are certain environmental conditions under which the likelihood increases for such a rare disorder. I am familiar with less-elegant forms of life which may change sex (some fish, for instance) during their lifetime due to environmental conditions but I don't think that humans have ever displayed characteristics of that nature. Still, it's amazing to me that at least in utero such an ambiguity could express itself in a (presumably) otherwise-viable fetus.

PB

[justice1]

31. I remember seeing an interview with the first "successful" operation.

The person had both organs, so the Dr.'s thought it would be easier to perform reconstructive surgery while an infant, making them appear female. They also prescribed female hormones to be taken for the rest of the child's life.

As an adult, the person said they alsways felt like a male, and the surgery had ruined his life. He quit taking the drugs, and married a woman.

[cutlassmama]

37. Ambiguous genitalia

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) – 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency - CAH is caused by decreased or absent production of certain adrenal hormones. Early detection can prevent death in boys and girls and sex misassignment in girls. Treatment involves lifelong hormone replacement therapy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. I smell a wacky Adam Sandler movie.

[krispos42]

30. It was part of a Dean Koontz book...

A hermaphodite decides she's the new Virgin Mary and, um, "self=fertilizes". All her(?) kids are born with paranormal mental powers like telekinesis and teleportation. Weird...

<edit: spelling>

[RebelOne]

33. What Koontz book is that?

I have read all of his books, but I don't remember that.

[krispos42]

36. Tooks a few minutes, but here it is

"The Bad Place", 1990

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Place

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rodeodance]

25. the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed.

Instead, the official said Soundarajan appeared to have "abnormal chromosomes." The official also said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed.

Soundarajan was not immediately available for comment.

[LeftyMom]

28. I know you didn't write the headline, but it should read "...fails sex test..."

Gender is a person's perception of their maleness or femaleness. Sex is a person's reproductive and genetic male or femaleness.

[underpants]

32. Princess Anne is the only Olympic athlete who has not had to take this test

since it was initiated in the 1976 Olympics. Anne was in the Equestrian event.

[MilesColtrane]

34. "Anne was in the Equestrian event."

Really?
Who was her rider?

Hey, I kid cause I love. She's actually OK, with all the charitable work she does.

On a real note, I think it's called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS).

[Ezlivin]

35. We need Shemale Sports!

Transgender sports are the wave of the future.

Have genitals, will travel.