22 year old tennis player Sarah Gronert has stirred up some controversy, but it’s not about steroids this time; it’s about her gender. Seems Sarah Gronert was born with both male and female genitalia, but after undergoing surgery to remove her male genitalia, she’s medically certified as female.
Having won two of the nine tournaments she’s entered in the last three years, Sarah Gronert is poised to possibly become one of the top female tennis stars. But many feel she has an unfair advantage due to her genetic condition, even her coach commenting how she doesn’t serve like a woman.
My Take: I’m torn on this one. While I feel Sarah Gronert should be allowed to live her life as a woman, it does seem a little unfair to the other women in the tennis circuit. If another woman were to inject testosterone into herself to increase her ability, it would be considered cheating, but Sarah Gronert may have higher levels of testosterone naturally. But then again, all athletes who compete at the professional level are genetically gifted beyond the norm.
So I guess I say let Sarah Gronert play.
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Comments: 19
For the love of...SO WHAT IF SHE DOES HAVE MORE TESTOSTERONE? You don't even know if that is true, since the male sex organs have been removed and therefore there is little reason for the body to produce testosterone in large quantities. But SO WHAT?
The more body hair a woman has, the more testosterone is present as well. Maybe we should ban women with a lot of hair from the sport too?
The entire "controversy" is repulsive.
After her male genitalia were removed, she is pretty much like any other woman and of course, she should be allowed to play.
This is not at all the same question as a man who wants a sex change operation and vice versa.
She is one of the medical anamolies throughout history, sometimes referred to these days as
middlesex.
If she did have some masculinisation in the bone structure, she'd be at a slight disadvantage in tennis, as she'd have marginally heavier bones but with significantly lighter muscles.
Of course, I may be prejudiced, as I'm Intersexed too, and know some of the general persecution she faces every single day. And it's unlikely she'll ever know the joys of motherhood - a position that can be pretty devastating to young women her age.
STUPID! Just utterly and completely STUPID! Her body, and her medical conditions are hers. They are not for the entire world to scrutinize just because of a freakin' sport!
This is already true in the case of Serena Williams. So few players can compete with her that 90% her matches are boring. Professional Tennis is a spectator sport. People want to see matches that are played "on an even playing field" and nobody enjoys watching one-sided matches.
So I think IF it can be shown by science that Sarah has a significant (say 75%) advantage caused by her present physical make-up and measured by factors that are agreed to "matter" in the sport - then she should not be allowed to play tour events because it would not be good for the sport as a business (which other people rely on for their livelihoods.)