Sarah Gronert Causing a Tennis Controversy; Player Born with Male and Female Genitalia
Some Believe Sarah Gronert Has an Unfair Advantage in Tennis
The 22-year-old beautiful blond haired tennis player Sarah Gronert was born with both male and female genitalia. Sarah had surgery a few years ago to remove her male genitalia and is now considered to be a woman. Some in the tennis community are upset that Sarah Gronert is allowed to play in women's tennis circuits.
Fanhouse.com reports that Schlomo Tzoref, the coach of Julia Glushko said, "There is no girl who can hit serves like that, not even Venus Williams," Does Sarah Gronert have a unfair advantage to compete with other women or are some upset because she is just really good? If the World Tennis Association believes she should compete as a woman that's should be good enough.
It seems by all counts that the World Tennis Association knew of her unique situation and made a decision it was acceptable for her to compete with woman. Should Sarah be penalized for her medical issue she was born with? She has not made a conscious choice to gain a advantage in tennis.
A person like Sarah Gronert born with both male and female genitalia is often labeled a hermaphrodite or a intersexed person. The Intersex Society of North America quotes the incidence of children being born as a hermaphrodite or intersex is 1 in 1,500 to 1 in 2,000 births.
The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines indicate when a child is born with both male and female genitalia the infant should be referred to as "your baby" or "your child "not "it," "he," or "she." Some parents choose to have surgery to "correct" the genitalia at a very young age. Some parents and doctors choose to perform the surgery between 6-18 months old. Other parents choose not to have their children have any surgery at all. Sarah Gronert did not have surgery until she was 19 years old. No reason has been given as to why her parents waited so long or why she decided to have surgery at all.
You can view a recent pictures of Sarah Gronert here and another picture from what appears to be a earlier time here.
Sources
www.wowowow.com Tennis Player Sarah Gronert in Gender Debate
Fanhouse.com Tennis Player Sarah Gronert Enveloped By Gender Controversy
Lalate.com Sarah Gronert picture
Lalate.com Sarah Gronert PHOTOS!
www.isna.org The Intersex Society of North America "How common is intersex"
AAP.org American Academy of Pediatrics Evaluation of the Newborn With Developmental Anomalies of the External Genitalia
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Colleen Starr is a native Floridan who is slightly obsessed with celebrities and pop culture. She always knows the latest news and gossip and will keep you informed. View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI'm glad she made her choice. Better one than both. Good for her.:)
I did recommend the Intersex Society of North America. I agree with you Robyn. We do have narrowly defined definitions as to male and female. I honestly believe people are upset because she is very good. Sarah Gronert is also quite beautiful.
First, the headline "Sarah Gronert Causing a Tennis Controversy" is misleading. Sarah G. isn't the one causing a tennis controversy, our overly-narrow definitions of what are "men" and "women" create this controversy. Sarah is just a person -- a woman -- who likes to play tennis and is very, very good at it. I applaud her for her gift. For those who want to learn more about intersex people, I recommend the website of the Intersex Society of North America (http://isna.org/).
You ARE kidding aren't you Darlene? You really think somebody makes such an important decision about the future of their life based on whether it's easier to beat women or men in Tennis. You idiot!
So far, none of the Intersex or Transsexual sports people reported in the media have been absolute world-beaters, but sooner or later one of us will be. The shame of course will be that when this happens, an ill-informed, ignorant and bigoted society, of which Darlene seems to be a part, will always look towards our supposed "advantage" being the reason rather than our ability, because we were born with a condition that society refuse to understand is not easy to deal with given the bigotry and prejudice.
I like your take on the Sarah Gronert case. It would be one thing if she had been born as a biological male and consciously changed in order to have an advantage. But she didn't ask to be born with both male and female parts.
I've heard of this 'birth defect', but I've never heard of someone making the decision so late in life. It could be that this was a conscious decision on her part, such selection changing the tide in her favor to win against a woman, where she probably knew she couldn't in the mens circuit.