Should she be allowed to play?

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moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
Should she be allowed to play or does she have an unfair advantage?


German tennis player Sarah Gronert embroiled in gender controversy

Friday, March 20th 2009, 10:44 AM


A beautiful young German tennis player is stuck amid a gender scandal that could stunt her promising career: the sporting world can't decide if she is a man or a woman.

Sarah Gronert, 22, was born with both male and female genitalia but later had surgery to remove the male organs and is now legally certified as a woman.

But even with the surgery, the tennis world is locked in a debate over whether she belongs on the women's professional circuit.

The coach of one player who was bested by Gronert says no way.

"There is no girl who can hit serves like that, not even Venus Williams," said Schlomo Tzoref, who coaches player Julia Glushko. Glushko recently lost to Gronert in a tournament in Israel.

"When I heard her story, I was in shock. I don?t know if it?s fair that she can compete or not. She does have an advantage, but if this is what the WTA have decided, they probably know best. If she begins to play continuously, within six months she will be within the top 50," he said.

Gronert nearly quit the sport at age 19 after being ridiculed for her physical state, but instead underwent the surgery, according to the sports Web site Fanhouse.

She is ranked No. 619 in the world and has played in nine tournaments in the past three years and won two of them.

There is growing unrest among those in the sport who feel her male attributes may have given her an edge over other female players.

"This is not a woman, it's a man. She does not have the power of a woman and no woman has such a technique," Tzoref said.
Click to expand...

http://www.nydailynews.com/spo...rah_gronert_embro.html



Pic She is in the pink striped sweater
 
blurredvision

blurredvision

Lifer
Oct 19, 2000
17,860
4
81
If her muscular structure most resembles a man's, then I say she shouldn't be allowed to play. But I have no idea how all of that works.
 
GagHalfrunt

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
If she's ranked #619 behind 618 "real" women I guess that she doesn't have much of an advantage.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,580
982
126
Honestly, she doesn't look as butch as the Williams sisters. I say let her play.

Does she have ovaries? If so, she's a woman.
 
S

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
It's not like she's just a man dressing up like a woman. This girl isn't producing testosterone like a man would, the parts are missing. In fact, had the story not pointed it out, I doubt anyone would've even guessed for a second.
 
TehMac

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
9,976
3
71
Yeah, let her play. Srsly, sounds like some people are just looking for a pretense to excuse their incompetence.
 
G

glutenberg

Golden Member
Sep 2, 2004
1,941
0
0
Does anyone feel like the article has basically diminished the continued growth in female physical prowess by claiming that no woman could ever do what she has done. Also, being 22 and still ranked 619, as Gag pointed out, means she's not dominating the woman's tour. Basically, people will find any excuse to justify their loss.
 
Newbian

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
Question... how is she on the inside such as is she able to give birth or have the right innards of a women but because of the fluke she is sterile.

If she has all the women parts then go for it.
 
nublikescake

nublikescake

Senior member
Jul 23, 2008
890
0
0
Ouch. I feel for her. This comment made me laugh though:

"This is the kind of press that will lead Sarah to quit the sport and do drugs. Enough already! Leave him... err her alone!!!! :("

I think this is an aspect of her personality that cannot be overlooked in the career/profession she has chosen. There's a reason men and women play/compete with each other in sports and not with members of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, she falls in the "grey zone", if you will and there is no way she can have a career free of controversy as there will always be extremely polar views of the issue.

BTW, physically, her hips resemble more a man's than a woman's.
 
MoPHo

MoPHo

Platinum Member
Dec 16, 2003
2,978
2
0
No. This is clearly setting up the future for when Bender gets a sexbot change and fights for Robonia in the female olympics.

But seriously, yes. Even if her body is creating more testosterone than the other women, she's still a woman. The Williams sisters seem less like women than this girl does.
 
rh71

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
"technique" of a man? A butterfly goaltender is the same technique whether you're a man or woman in hockey... tennis must be special.
 
Cogman

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
145
106
Originally posted by: nublikescake
Ouch. I feel for her. This comment made me laugh though:

"This is the kind of press that will lead Sarah to quit the sport and do drugs. Enough already! Leave him... err her alone!!!! :("

I think this is an aspect of her personality that cannot be overlooked in the career/profession she has chosen. There's a reason men and women play/compete with each other in sports and not with members of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, she falls in the "grey zone", if you will and there is no way she can have a career free of controversy as there will always be extremely polar views of the issue.

BTW, physically, her hips resemble more a man's than a woman's.
Click to expand...

And you know what the difference is? Testosterone. Without it, any man will have about the same physical characteristics of any woman. She doesn't have it/doesn't produce it. She doesn't have the advantages that a male has (mainly testosterone). So I don't see why she should be treated as if she does.

As was said earlier, if she was #1 and completely dominated the #2, then there might be some question. But she isn't and doesn't. Let her play.
 
C

chusteczka

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2006
3,399
3
71
Originally posted by: Cogman
Originally posted by: nublikescake
I think this is an aspect of her personality that cannot be overlooked in the career/profession she has chosen. There's a reason men and women play/compete with each other in sports and not with members of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, she falls in the "grey zone", if you will and there is no way she can have a career free of controversy as there will always be extremely polar views of the issue.

BTW, physically, her hips resemble more a man's than a woman's.
Click to expand...

And you know what the difference is? Testosterone. Without it, any man will have about the same physical characteristics of any woman. She doesn't have it/doesn't produce it. She doesn't have the advantages that a male has (mainly testosterone). So I don't see why she should be treated as if she does.

As was said earlier, if she was #1 and completely dominated the #2, then there might be some question. But she isn't and doesn't. Let her play.
Click to expand...

I was thinking this decision is entirely subjective unless it is based on something that can be measured and compared between men and women. She has decided to live life as a woman but I was wondering if waiting until she was 19 years old to decide may have allowed for full male development that would provide her with an unfair competitive advantage. Possibly the best way to measure the amount of man in her body is through testosterone levels. Looking at her does give the impression of an undeveloped teenage boy but there are women with far more muscle mass than this girl has.
 
I

iGas

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2009
6,240
1
0

Schlomo Tzoref, who coaches player Julia Glushko. Glushko recently lost to Gronert in a tournament in Israel.
Click to expand...

Should be allow to play if the birth cert said female.

Poor loser.


 
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