Male or Female? World Record runner's gender questioned...

Imagine being able to run fast enough to break a world record, or just fast enough to be able to compete in the Olympics at all. Caster Semenya was able to do both of those things. Semenya is an 18 year old runner from South Africa, who blew everyone away in Berlin at the World Track and Field Championships in August. She won the 800 meter race by a wide margin of over 2 seconds, with a time of 1 minute and 55:45 seconds. Once she came into the Olympic track scene, people started to question her gender. It wasn't until after she won Worlds and set that unbelievable record that she was subjected to taking the gender tests. "The gender test, which requires a physical medical evaluation, and includes reports from a gynecologist, endocrineologist, psychologist an internal medicine specialist and an expert on gender." (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/32477147/ns/sports-olympic_sports//) That is a lot of tests for an 18 year old to be subjected to, and not to mention the fact that they didn't tell her the reason for all of this testing. Semenya found out through the media. The only reason Semenya could be built like that -unless the tests prove she actually is indeed a man - is because of a condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. This is an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of hormones, meaning that she could have unusally high amounts of testosterone produced in her body, and still be considered a woman.
Hearing about this did bother me a great amount, because the only reason they are subjecting her to these tests is because of the way she looks, and because she broke a world record. If she looked a little more feminine, or she was an average runner these tests wouldn't be going on. It was said in the article that people were questioning her gender from the time she came into the Olympic scene, but would it really matter to anyone if she wasn't as good of a runner. Caster is 18 and a great athlete. She trains hard just like any other person would have to, but now just because of the way she looks her hard work and dedication is being questioned.

Physical abilities of basketball players

In basketball, not many rules differ between girls' and boys' leagues. However, there are many noticeable differences between the level of respect that is shown towards the players, the expectations of the coaches, and the outlook that the athletes have toward their own teammates.

Boys basketball is highly recognized. Have you ever been to a girls game? In high school, the bleachers are filled with screaming fans during boys' games, yet scattered with a few supportive parents during girls' games. Everyone must pay a few dollars to be admitted to boys' games, and everyone does, but many people won't attend a girls' game unless it is free, which most are at the high school level, because they have few fans that girls' basketball manages to salvage. Even in the professional leagues, the NBA is massively more popular, while the WNBA grasps mild success with the tips of their fingers. In fact, many of the fans at WNBA games are simply NBA players who wish to sit back and relax during their off season. In one of my classes we talked about girls' versus boys' basketball, and the popularity of each. My class came to the conclusion that if a man had the oppritunity of tickets to the worst NBA team in the league or WNBA championship tickets, they would most likely pick the NBA game for the sole fact that guys are playing. It is safe to say that the most popular women's basketball is that of the collegiate level, although still nowhere near as widely publicized as men's.

Do you watch basketball? Have you ever watched a male play and question their physical abilities? Probably not, because you can most likely see that their coach helps them with strength training when their muscles pop out with every step that they take. But if you see the same physical characteristics in a female player, it is an oddity. A friend of mine who plays high school basketball becomes agitated at these differences. Her coach periodically tests the team members to see if they can do 10 pushups, something that half of the team cannot accomplish. As someone who is physically capable of more than 10 times this feat, she feels insulted at the expectations of her coaches. If a boy can't do 10 pushups, he is probably 6 years old. All in all, girls should be given the same amount of respect as boys are given from their coaches. Yes, boys are physically bigger, faster, and stronger, but if they can run, we can run, and our coaches should recognize this.

Notoriously, girls are stereotyped as caddy individuals. This comes to mind in basketball, when a teammate is trapped and nobody runs to an open area to help. Often times, girls fight with each other at practice for such reasons as "I'm having a bad day," "she pushed me really hard," or "I have my period." Besides the fact that boys don't have periods, they simply play the game. If they get pushed, they get pushed and if they are having a bad day, they do what they have to do and hope that tomorrow is better. When their teammate is trapped, they think, "Hey! That's my boy. I gotta go help him!" and run to an area where his teammate will be able to pass him the ball.

To have any type of equality between male and female sports, or anything close to equality, people need to start respecting females' athletic ability, drive, and talent as much as they do males'. However, to accomplish this, female athletes need to start respecting themselves as players and as people. If we work hard, our coaches will realize that we are physically capable of competing with boys, and even if we lose, we can say that we tried out hardest, and hopefully, someday, fans will respect us also.

Women are too delicate?

The differences from rules to customs in male and female sports are infinite. From high school to the professional level woman and men have always differed in athletics. Men are clearly stronger than women and thought to be better suited to handle sports. In history women were thought to be solely the caretakers of their husbands and other men in the family; even in athletics women are still looked upon as fragile and delicate, and respectful towards their opponents and coaches. In physical sport, like lacrosse, women are not allowed to hit or check their opponents even though the rules in boys lacrosse say the opposite. Women who participate in sports are just not looked at to be as strong as boys or as tough to be able to handle the physical activity that comes with the territory.