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4:34	The New Yorker - Welcome to Cover it Love! Ariel Levy is here to talk about her piece this week on Caster Semenya. We'll try to answer as many questions as we can. Enjoy!

4:34	ariel levy - Hello everyone.

4:36

[Comment From Mimi McGurl]
My only question for you is will you continue to follow her story and write about it? I've yet to see an article about this case as well researched and even-handed as yours. I think the "I know it when I see it" method of consensus is about the best we'll ever do on this subject. The answer to the question "what is a man or a woman?" will change with every collection of judges in every different cultural context and each historical era. For me, I think Semanya is an extraordinary woman who should be welcomed with open arms by the athletic community as the extraordinary athlete she truly is. Thanks again for your heart-breaking article.

4:38

ariel levy - Hi Mimi. I will continue to follow this story, absolutely, because I'm obsessed with it. But I doubt I'll write about it again--I feel I've said what I had to say on the subject. In terms of 'I know it when I see it,' I think in sports what is needed is a very clear policy so that every time an athlete's gender comes into question he or she doesn't have to get dragged through the mud like Semenya has while athletics officials scramble to figure out what to do.

4:39	[Comment From Daniel] So did you end up thinking of Caster Semenya as a woman, or a man, or something else?

4:40	ariel levy - Hi Daniel. Well, I think that Caster Semenya thinks of herself as a woman and since nobody can say for sure, I guess I figure why not go with her own sense of identity? Who is a bigger Caster Semenya expert than Caster Semenya?

4:41	[Comment From gt3] what will they do? Will she compete as a woman or man.

4:41	ariel levy - She'll compete with women in South Africa-- sports officials there have already announced as much. The country is very much behind her. In terms of the IAAF your guess is as good as mine.

4:42

[Comment From Madeline]
We've known for a long time that sex is fluid - and it's becoming more and more so as we make scientific progress. Do you think backlash from the Caster Semenya case will impell the athletic community to define hard and fast rules regarding intersex athletes? Or will they manage to keep the flexibility they have now?

4:44

ariel levy - I don't think the flexibility they have now is working. I think Semenya's case will force the IOC and the IAAF and various other sports bodies to come up with very specific guidelines for such cases. At least I hope that's what will happen. You can't have one set of rules for one person and another set of rules for someone else. Otherwise every case like this is an opportunity for chaos.

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