Berlin, August 2009, a young female from South Africa blew away the competition with a record setting time in the 800m. As amazing of a race she had, people seemed to be talking more about Caster Semenya’s physical appearance rather than her victory. Her shaded upper lip, flat chest, and carved abs had media, officials, fans and athletes speculating the gender of this young African idol. Semenya adamantly stated she was a woman, and has lived her whole life as one. News then leaked that Semenya was to undergo sex verification testing, and perhaps her medal, title and prize money were in jeopardy. Later on, Semenya was permitted to keep her medal and money, but hasn’t been cleared by officials to race again. With the chaos and secrecy surrounding this whole situation, it is evident that athletics is a two-sex world, which deems anything abnormal that is not strictly male or female. This story and it’s controversy proves that media, and our society is still concerned with defining individuals as male or female and until that changes, the normal will always be abnormal.
The problem is not that Semenya may or may not have intersex characteristics, but rather how poorly the situation was handled involving Semenya’s rights and privacy. This relates to our readings in relation to the lack of respect of Cal in Middlesex, as well as Sexting the Body. News about her testing broke to the public without her knowledge or consent. Although there is no doubt this situation should have been dealt with better, in regards to something such as sports, where hormonal differences can make a large difference, Semenya shouldn’t be able to participate if she does have male hormones and if it gives her an advantage over her female competitors.
The real question though is, Does Disorders of Sex development (yes I realize this is a 2 sex and old fashioned term but it is used in the news article) really give a clear-cut advantage? In a recent Time magazine article, a urological surgeon from Oxford stated, “There is no evidence that female athletes with DSD have displayed any sports-relevant physical attributes which have not been seen in biologically normal female athletes." The article goes on even further to state that most females have such varied levels of hormones that it is often difficult to determine what a regular level of these “enhancing” hormones are. With these statements, we have to ask, why isn’t Semenya permitted to participate yet?
Semenya has surprisingly dealt with the controversy surrounding her with great poise. In a feature article in an African magazine Semenya posed on the cover looking feminine and glamorous. Semenya explained her views on all the speculation about her sex, "It doesn't upset me. God made me the way I am and I accept myself.” The African community has supported her throughout this ordeal and it seems that although there is no true answer on her gender has been released to the public, they simply don’t care.
Semenya has lived her whole life as a woman, and if perhaps she is in fact intersex this could very well support the idea suggested in class that Gender/Sex are more of a social idea than we give it credit for. In fact, Semenya’s attitude and Africa’s response defies the normal treatment of a case like this. She has no desire to be one or the other, she loves how she is and accepts the differences. This indicates that the nurture vs. nature when undetected for so long can often only matter when a society sees it as a problem. Semenya’s situation is very different than Cal’s, and although Middlesex is fictional, it shows the many differences and broad spectrum of intersex and how it is treated and handled in Societies.
Perhaps Africa has dealt with it well, but the media and nations in other parts of the world have not. Semenya has been the punch-line in Jay Leno’s jokes, viewed as a freak in the athletic world, been slammed in sports talk shows, and much more. Not only that, the language in talking about intersex in the sports world is very male/female geared, the usage of “Disease” of “Disorder” when referring to intersex is only making our society think of it that way, rather than viewing it as a natural occurrence in reproduction. In the handout shifting the Paradigm of Intersex Treatment, it can be said Semenya’s approach on her controversy is very similar to the Patient-Centered Model. The quote regarding the ideal future of intersex somewhat describes Semenya’s views on the matter “Social acceptance of Human diversity and an end to the idea that difference equals disease”
Semenya’s case doesn’t often directly connect with the readings in class, however it ties into the big picture. The reaction by the media to her situation refers to the society and the stigma they automatically tag with intersex cases. The officials who are currently ruling on Semenya’s situation are similar to the parents of a child, trying to find credible evidence to prove Semenya is fitting into a male/female role. Semenya herself is that child, under the scrutiny and stress of being something everyone wants to scrutinize.
It is tough to come up with a verdict on Semenya being permitted to enter the competitive world of track again simply because of the lack of evidence released to the public surrounding her situation. What is evident though, is that she handled her situation with poise and dignity, when many media individuals were trying to strip her of it simply because she didn’t fit into male/female checked boxes. The young women won a medal, but perhaps she has accomplished an even bigger feat as of late, by showing the world that she is comfortable and embraces what is nature. Although that doesn’t help her to get back out on the track, beating her opponents, it does show the world that although nature and nurture sometimes do not align, acceptance and nature can.
Brittany does an excellent job summarizing the article while tying in the readings from class. When this event happened I remember hearing about it and watching late night talk show host make fun of Semenya. I however, did not not realize that she was not informed that her information was leaked to the media without her consent. This is terrible and does raise awareness to the patriarchal world with which we live. This women, who recognizes herself as such, was stripped of her rights because she poses as a threat... she is not normal, according to our societies norms. She does not fit the two check boxes of male/female. Because of this her voice and consent was ignored.
ReplyDeleteI thought Brittany also made a very interesting and important point stating from the article as well as her own conclusion, “'There is no evidence that female athletes with DSD have displayed any sports-relevant physical attributes which have not been seen in biologically normal female athletes.' The article goes on even further to state that most females have such varied levels of hormones that it is often difficult to determine what a regular level of these “enhancing” hormones areWith these statements, we have to ask, why isn’t Semenya permitted to participate yet?." If females all have different levels of hormones how do we know which level makes a female a true female and not something else? Also Anne Fausto-Sterling, continues to make the point that intersex is normal. It is something that happens naturally in nature. Thus these people who find themselves not fitting into the either the male or female check box should not feel ashamed, which is something our society forces them to feel.
It is great that Semenya had the courage and poise to believe in herself and not allow others to make her question herself. She has been true to herself and poses as a role model to all people, whether she wanted to be a role model or not she has become one.
I also did my News Flash on Semenya. I think that this News Flash touches on a lot of great points. It really points out the fact that we live in a society that is extremely judgmental. We find it hard to accept things that may not perfectly fit into a category. I think that it is a very interesting and important point in the article when the author addresses the fact that Semenya does not see herself as an "other", but rather she sees herself as a woman. Semenya believes that she has always been a woman and she is a woman that has unique and personal characteristics.
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