Come To Think Of It: Dude Looks Like a Lady... Lady Is a Dude

Yes, never judge a book by its cover...for on Thursday it was determined that South African running champion Caster Semenya is a he. No, wait—he's a she. Actually, she's both. Man, this is confusing.

Semenya has been dogged by questions about her gender since easily winning the 800-meter gold medal last month in Berlin at the world championships. A test has since confirmed that Semenya has both sets of sexual organs.

That's right, as Ripley would say, believe it or not, this 18-year-old has both male and female organs. Yep, if someone told Semenya to go screw herself, I suppose she actually could!

All jokes aside, now we know that there is a reason why he/she won by a massive 2.45 seconds in a world-leading 1 minute, 55.45 seconds.

So now that she's stripped and the truth discovered, should her gold medal also be stripped? Well, that's for the International Association of Athletics Federations, or IAAF, to decide.

Meanwhile, this hermaphrodite's testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female. Competing as a woman, her muscular build and deep voice raised concerns about her gender identity.

Semenya's dramatic improvement in times have combined with her appearance to fuel suspicions that have turned out to be valid. Well, sort of.

For she's not a man. She's not a woman. She's both. I don't know about you, but this hurts my head. I mean, she could have been her own date at the prom for crying out loud.

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports the following comment from the whoa-man:

"I don't know who said it... I don't give a damn about it," Semenya told a television crew after the race in August.

It is too bad that all this couldn't have been settled before the race. That way, Semenya wouldn't have to face a roller coaster of emotions, as the joy of victory is now likely to be snatched away by the IAAF.

South Africans have rallied behind Semenya, who returned home to a hero's welcome Tuesday. Even Nelson Mandela met with the runner to congratulate her. Or him. It?

I'm sure this controversy has been tough on the teenager. One side of me feels empathy toward her plight, while another side understands that, hey, she knew that she was a hermaphrodite.

But the question I wrestle with is this: does this constitute cheating on the part of Semenya? After all, she does have female organs (though no womb or ovaries) and has the right to live her life as a woman if she chooses, right?

I don't know. But I do know this is one strange story, come to think of it.