Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Indian Runner Fails Gender Test

This has been in the news for a few days now. Asian games are going on in Doha, Qatar. Indian runner Santhi Soundarajan won a silver medal in women's 800m event. She was stripped off her medal after she failed a "gender test".
I was not even aware that there was such a thing as a gender test in sports. I guess it makes sense considering that the events are broken down into women's and men's. The thing that bothers me most, is the insensitivity with which this was reported. Especially in a country like India, where questions like these can have a very negative effect on a person's life. Apparently
"Soundarajan appeared to have “abnormal chromosomes.” The official also said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16258993/
People are speculating if she had a sex-change procedure.
"Santhi, like many Indian track and field athletics, took up sport to find a secure job and escape grinding poverty.

One of five children of brick-kiln labourers in a rural village in southern Tamil Nadu state, she overcame malnutrition as a child to become a middle-distance runner.

Her family could not even afford a television and watched Santhi's Doha race at a neighbour's house."
To me that does not seem to be an environment where someone's focus was to get a gender-change procedure. She probably never went to a gynecologist or endocrinologist or even thought she had a problem.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

i always thought they looked in your pants for these things

Jasleen said...

Well in today's world what you apparently have in your pants is deceptive.