Sarah Gronert (Picture) Is Tennis’s Woman-or-Man Gender Controversy
Posted Mar 20, 2009 by Lindsay Britney
Sarah Gronert, pictured above, is a German professional tennis player. The 22-year-old beautiful player is involved in a woman-or-man gender controversy. The dilemma caused to Sarah Gronert was because she was born with male and female genitalia. Though later she was medically certified as a woman after her manhood was removed, Gronert’s fellow female tennis players and their coaches continued to believe she is “a man” and accused her of having the technique advantage as a male player. Read full story Tennis Player Sarah Gronert Enveloped By Gender Controversy @ Fanhouse
Update: Sarah Gronert’s condition may be the same as Jamie Lee Curtis. It is called Hermaphroditism, according to About.com
What is a hermaphrodite?
Hermaphroditism (from Hermes, Greek god associated with male sexuality + Aphrodite, Greek goddess associated with female sexuality) is an obsolete medical term (clinicians now prefer intersex) for a set of conditions characterized mainly by genitalia which are either “ambiguous” (i.e., not clearly male or female) or at odds with the subject’s chromosomal gender. Depending on the specific symptoms, hermaphroditism / intersexuality may be the result of either a genetic anomaly or a hormonal excess (or deficiency) during gestation. It has been estimated that as many as 1 in 2,000 children born in the United States are diagnosed with ambiguous external genitalia, of whom a small percentage undergo “sex reassignment” surgery in infancy.
The specific condition most often attributed to Jamie Lee Curtis is AIS, or Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. People born with AIS are genetically male (defined as having one X and one Y chromosome) but are resistant to androgens, the hormones responsible for male sexual development. As a result, they display female physical characteristics despite being genetically male. “In its classic form (complete androgen resistance), the person appears to be female but has no uterus, and has sparse armpit and pubic hair,” states the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. “At puberty, female secondary sex characteristics (e.g., breasts) develop, but menstruation and fertility do not.”
Update: Women’s Tennis Association Tour (WTA) had ruled after a careful review on Sarah Gronert’s gender issue that she can compete in the women’s tennis game.
Gronert was born female, has remained a female, and has been legally certified as a female.
Following the ‘gender verification’ ruling, she is eligible to play in whatever tournaments her rankings, or any wild cards, allow.
#Permalink Tags: Beauty, Gender, Germany, Hermaphrodite, Hermaphroditism, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Gronert, Tennis, Woman or Man
