Cartoon: Leave Caster Semenya Alone!
Click to enlarge
Seriously, screw gender testing, and screw those IAAF jerks telling this world champion runner she's not a real woman. The only reason she was tested was because she didn't match some visual standard of European femininity. I'm not sure how much to trust the media on any of this, but I read reports today that she is "shattered" by the humiliation of the gender testing and possibly on suicide watch.
More reading and background on this:
- "An Intersex Perspective on Caster Semenya"
- Feministe: "Caster Semenya Case Opening Old Wounds"
- Feministe: Essentialism, gender and Caster Semenya
- The Root: "Caster Semenya's Race and Sex Struggle
- Feministing: South African Runner's Makeover
(Thanks to the Transadvocate feed for many of these links).
Labels: cwa, feminism, gender, intersex, LGBT, sports, transgender
7 Comments:
So she is some sort of intersex. Big whoop. I still don't get why sports have to be gender segregated anyway, especially in this day and age.
Well the problem is that since she is biologically male, she has had steroids in her body (particularly testosterone) which would certainly earn any woman a ban if she had been injecting herself with them. Also, Semenya and the South African "Athletics SA" conspired to cover these facts up so that she could win a gold medal.
This is fraud. You can't say that people are entitled to commit fraud because they're transgendered -- unless you're saying that being transgendered makes you a superior human being with special rights over others. Which, I thought, was what we South Africans fought the struggle to stop.
Anonymous #2--Caster Semenya is not "biologically male", nor is she transgender. She is intersex. While her case has certainly become more complicated now that it's revealed that South African sporting officials knew she was intersex before allowing her to compete, I still stand by this cartoon. I don't believe in gender testing, or in insisting that a woman fit some exact arbitrary exacting genetic standard to be considered a so-called "real woman."
I feel so bad for this woman, though in the bigger picture this incident may help to further a more sympathetic & positive view of those who are intersexed. The fact is that she was recognized as a woman from birth, raised as a woman and chose to work hard to become an outstanding athlete. That alone speaks volumes.
She is not biologically male (and this is coming from a biologist). She has androgen insensitivy disorder (AIS), which means that testosterone and those other steroids in her body don't do anything. For testosterone to have an effect on a cell, it has to bind to a receptor on the cell membrane. Individuals with AIS have a broken receptor due to a mutation. The testosterone can't bind and they develop female characteristics, including feminine fat and muscle distribution. If anything, Semenya is at a disadvantage over other female athletes who can at least uptake testosterone for greater muscle density.
I agree with you! Leave her alone and let her run! It's sad that she had to become a media joke. It's not like she started running as a male and changed sexes to make the gold! I wish she could be left alone!
Actually, Semenya does posses an advantage over the other competitors. While Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome does hamper one's ability to process testosterone, this young lady has a pair of internal testicles that have contributed to her masculine build and deep voice. This is known as Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Whether or not she matches a "European standard of beauty" isn't the issue.
However, this advantage is no different than other natural advantages. Usain Bolt has more long twitch muscle fibers than I do, which is part of the reason he is what he is, and I'm not.Given that she has no control over this, there is no issue. She didn't take any substances that lead to her physical advantages, and she doubtlessly worked hard to get where she is. Potential alone doesn't set world records.
She should keep her medal and continue to be allowed to compete, but lets not turn this into some odd issue over beauty. Last time I checked, these contests were radically different than the Miss America pageant.
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