All Boy

Here is a photo of my second Grandson, Chad. He is all boy. Why do I say that? It is obvious, is it not?

Apparently it is not always obvious, and sometimes the gender of an individual is in doubt. Take the case of Castor Semenya, a South African athlete who has taken the world track and field competitions by storm with her outstanding performance as a runner. Indeed, she is now undergoing two weeks of intense gender testing to see if she is a female. One would think that a five second check could straighten this out nicely, but there are some underlying factors that make it a little more complicated than that.

Performance enhancing drugs (steroids) became an issue in the '72 Olympics, but the '68 Olympics were witness to the very first gender testing, and it involved a Canadian swimmer, Elaine Tanner. She proudly displays the certificate to this day that states she is a female, but will Castor have the same outcome? This becomes a moral, ethical, sport, and now a racial issue and regardless of the outcome of the tests, there will be one or more of these areas that will remain an issue. There are many people holding their breath on this one. By outward manifestations, my guess is that she will fail the test, but fortunately for Castor, there are other criteria that will ultimately reveal all. Her/his future is at stake.