In 1966 the first gndeer tests were conducted at the European Athletics Championships, when female competitors had to embarrasingly parade naked before a panel of medics. Originally this was simply to stop men competing as women (as had happened in the women’s high jump at the Berlin Olympics). Women hated this indignity of course, and in the 1968 Olympics the buccal (cheek cells) smear test was introduced. This was looking for Barr Bodies’ in at least 50% of 100 cells counted. In terms of the sex chromosmes’ men have an X and a Y; women have two X’s. But women don’t use both one X chromosome is always inactivated and put to the edge of the cell’s nucleus and called a Barr body, after its discoverer. And under the microscope that’s what is seen in the cells from the cheek smear.However, although this seemd fine it is an easy sample to take and in no way degrading there were/are problems. For example In a condition known as Turner’s Syndrome, a woman is born with only one X chromosome in her cells. So she has no Barr bodies. And failed the chromosome test. Also, there is a condition in men, Klinefelter’s Syndrome, where men have an extra X chromosome i.e. they have two X’s and a Y and one of the X’s becomes a Barr Body so technically such man could have passed the chormosome test (I don’t know if any Klinefelters tried to cheat I never heard of any!).So, the test was absurd in Turner’s syndrome and just as bad in the Androgen Insenstivity Syndrome’ or Testicular feminisation’ who were very female-looking women (a bosom, broader hips, tapering legs, often a carrying angle’) BUT who have an X and a Y chromosome i.e. the male complement in which, hoeever, the Y simply doesn’t work so these women (and there have been a number of them) were unfairly barred from competing.However, in 1990 an IAAF committee recommended dropping gndeer verification tests, and in the Sydney Games they were not done.Nevertheless Turners, Kilinefelters and the androgen insensitivity syndromes represent but three of several intersex’ conditions. And of more relevance to Caster Semenya would be that she might havethe Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (adreno-genital syndrome). This would be normal female XX in chromosomes but would have more androgen (so-called male hormone’ although normal women have it too, at about 10-20% of the male level indeed that is the hormone of women’s libido -as well as men’s!) This adrenal hyperplasia syndrome is associated sometimes with ambiguous’ genitalia, and usually with pronounced musculature.There is also a Polycystic’ condition in the ovaries, and it too is associated with higher levels of androgen.And there is genuine Hermaphroditism, which may have resulted from what should have been a pair of non-identical twins, of different gndeers, but who didn’t separate at an extremely early enmbryonic stage. This gives some cells with XX chromosomes, and some with XY. And a whole spectrum of body types from fairly female to fairly male. They may have breaasts and a penis. Some identify with male gndeer, others as females. But they do tend to be muscular.In the course of 40 years of sports physiology working with elite squads I have seen many very muscular women partly genetically, partly training (not counting those on anabolic steroids). Caster MAY simply be such a muscular woman some of my very muscular friends have had children. And there is another point We ALL, male and female, have a local muscle hormone Myostatin’ (Myo for muscle’; Statin for Stop’) whose job, oddly enough, is to STOP muscle growth. But there are beef breeds of cattle, e.g. the Blond D’Aquitaine’, and the Belgian Blue’ and some greyhounds which have too little myostatin, or perhaps lack the receptor for it and they are remarkably muscular like body-building animals, as it were!! There is evidence that such genetic myostatin deficiency occurs in humans. And Caster just may be like that.BUT in all of this, all sorts of Officials have behaved extremely badly, as Butcher’s Blog above indicates. In statistics, anything that is a very long way from the arithmetical average can be called an outlier’. And if you think about it that is exactly what Track and Field Athletics is all about finding the extreme performance outliers such as Usain Bolt!! He is an absolute outlier!! But Caster is not a man faking being a woman. She is an absolute outlier like Bolt. If she had, by genetic freak, a highly unusual percentage of type 2A anerobic fast muscle fibres no one would say anything but would praise her performances. Her outlier-ness MAY lie in an advantageous intersex condition but if she has been raised as a girl/woman and feels that in her own mind then, she IS a woman. A woman with outlier tendencies but a woman. (and did someone not say I know she’s a woman she wears panties’?) that’s not as facetious as it sounds one identifies with a gndeer by one’s behaviour.So, a lot of officials have behaved with appalling insensitivity. I have, as most of you will have a huge sympathy for the plight that she has been thrust into. And for me she’s a woman. As some man will find out if she does have high androgen levels she will have a heck of a libido!Anyway all good luck to her. It’s interesting that she is apparently studying sports science at Pretoria. She could do a study on intersexes for her dissertation and at least salvage something. In Professor Tim Noakes in Cape Town, South Africa has one of the greatest (and nicest!) exercise physiologists in the world. Possibly a quiet word with him, when all tests have been done, could be of real help to Caster.
tonireavis.com 
In 1966 the first gndeer tests were conducted at the European Athletics Championships, when female competitors had to embarrasingly parade naked before a panel of medics. Originally this was simply to stop men competing as women (as had happened in the women’s high jump at the Berlin Olympics). Women hated this indignity of course, and in the 1968 Olympics the buccal (cheek cells) smear test was introduced. This was looking for Barr Bodies’ in at least 50% of 100 cells counted. In terms of the sex chromosmes’ men have an X and a Y; women have two X’s. But women don’t use both one X chromosome is always inactivated and put to the edge of the cell’s nucleus and called a Barr body, after its discoverer. And under the microscope that’s what is seen in the cells from the cheek smear.However, although this seemd fine it is an easy sample to take and in no way degrading there were/are problems. For example In a condition known as Turner’s Syndrome, a woman is born with only one X chromosome in her cells. So she has no Barr bodies. And failed the chromosome test. Also, there is a condition in men, Klinefelter’s Syndrome, where men have an extra X chromosome i.e. they have two X’s and a Y and one of the X’s becomes a Barr Body so technically such man could have passed the chormosome test (I don’t know if any Klinefelters tried to cheat I never heard of any!).So, the test was absurd in Turner’s syndrome and just as bad in the Androgen Insenstivity Syndrome’ or Testicular feminisation’ who were very female-looking women (a bosom, broader hips, tapering legs, often a carrying angle’) BUT who have an X and a Y chromosome i.e. the male complement in which, hoeever, the Y simply doesn’t work so these women (and there have been a number of them) were unfairly barred from competing.However, in 1990 an IAAF committee recommended dropping gndeer verification tests, and in the Sydney Games they were not done.Nevertheless Turners, Kilinefelters and the androgen insensitivity syndromes represent but three of several intersex’ conditions. And of more relevance to Caster Semenya would be that she might havethe Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (adreno-genital syndrome). This would be normal female XX in chromosomes but would have more androgen (so-called male hormone’ although normal women have it too, at about 10-20% of the male level indeed that is the hormone of women’s libido -as well as men’s!) This adrenal hyperplasia syndrome is associated sometimes with ambiguous’ genitalia, and usually with pronounced musculature.There is also a Polycystic’ condition in the ovaries, and it too is associated with higher levels of androgen.And there is genuine Hermaphroditism, which may have resulted from what should have been a pair of non-identical twins, of different gndeers, but who didn’t separate at an extremely early enmbryonic stage. This gives some cells with XX chromosomes, and some with XY. And a whole spectrum of body types from fairly female to fairly male. They may have breaasts and a penis. Some identify with male gndeer, others as females. But they do tend to be muscular.In the course of 40 years of sports physiology working with elite squads I have seen many very muscular women partly genetically, partly training (not counting those on anabolic steroids). Caster MAY simply be such a muscular woman some of my very muscular friends have had children. And there is another point We ALL, male and female, have a local muscle hormone Myostatin’ (Myo for muscle’; Statin for Stop’) whose job, oddly enough, is to STOP muscle growth. But there are beef breeds of cattle, e.g. the Blond D’Aquitaine’, and the Belgian Blue’ and some greyhounds which have too little myostatin, or perhaps lack the receptor for it and they are remarkably muscular like body-building animals, as it were!! There is evidence that such genetic myostatin deficiency occurs in humans. And Caster just may be like that.BUT in all of this, all sorts of Officials have behaved extremely badly, as Butcher’s Blog above indicates. In statistics, anything that is a very long way from the arithmetical average can be called an outlier’. And if you think about it that is exactly what Track and Field Athletics is all about finding the extreme performance outliers such as Usain Bolt!! He is an absolute outlier!! But Caster is not a man faking being a woman. She is an absolute outlier like Bolt. If she had, by genetic freak, a highly unusual percentage of type 2A anerobic fast muscle fibres no one would say anything but would praise her performances. Her outlier-ness MAY lie in an advantageous intersex condition but if she has been raised as a girl/woman and feels that in her own mind then, she IS a woman. A woman with outlier tendencies but a woman. (and did someone not say I know she’s a woman she wears panties’?) that’s not as facetious as it sounds one identifies with a gndeer by one’s behaviour.So, a lot of officials have behaved with appalling insensitivity. I have, as most of you will have a huge sympathy for the plight that she has been thrust into. And for me she’s a woman. As some man will find out if she does have high androgen levels she will have a heck of a libido!Anyway all good luck to her. It’s interesting that she is apparently studying sports science at Pretoria. She could do a study on intersexes for her dissertation and at least salvage something. In Professor Tim Noakes in Cape Town, South Africa has one of the greatest (and nicest!) exercise physiologists in the world. Possibly a quiet word with him, when all tests have been done, could be of real help to Caster.