During class last week we discussed how gender affects sports. The recent case, and reading, that directly pertains to this subject deals with Caster Semenya. The article is "Runner Caster Semenya has heard the gender comments all her life" was written by Robyn Dixon and was published in the August 21st, 2009 issue of the Los Angeles Times. Semenya is an 18-year-old female runner from South Africa.
Recently, controversy has surrounded Semenya and her success because she "looks like a boy." In my opinion, if she wouldn't have won at the World Championships in Berlin this wouldn't be an issue. But she did win; not only did she win, she completely destroyed the competition. In the 800-meter race, her closest rival finished 2.45 seconds behind her. Semenya will be put through a rigorous gender test to prove that she in fact, is a woman. The article goes on to tell the story of how these 'gender comments' are nothing new to Semenya, she has always been teased about looking like a boy and not the stereotypical girl. Semenya's mother, Dorcas, stated her disapproval of these claims, "She's a girl. I'm the mother of that girl. I'm the one that knows about Caster. If they want to know about Caster, tell them to come to me."
The claims are not completely unjustified. Semenya does resemble a male in many aspects. First of all, her appearance and muscle definition stand out the most. Compared to other competitors, she does resemble a man, in my opinion. Now, I believe if Semenya has been teased and ridiculed about looking like a male her entire life, this claim should be nothing new. If she truly is female, and argues this fact, a gender test should be no problem. Although it is a very personal thing to go through, she is a professional athlete and put herself up to this criticism in joining the South African team.
While she may have been teased her whole life, that (to me) is more a reflection of society's discomfort with those who do not fit neatly into binary categories of male and female. When you say that she resembles a man in many respects, isn't that what we have come to accept as "manly characteristics or traits?" In other words, many females are discouraged from developing the kind of musculature that Semenya displays, because it is not seen as being "traditionally feminine." Since Caster's mother proclaims that she is a female, I have to think that she did not know she was born intersex. There are a number of tragic consequences that Semenya is having to face, including the fact that she will not likely be able to continue to participate in elite levels of competition.
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