(Picture from Rod 2.0.)
I am fascinated and saddened at the same time by Caster Semenya’s story; as everybody and their dog knows, Caster is a South African runner who competed in the 800m women’s race, won it, then became a centre of gender controversy that revealed her (unofficially) to be intersexed with no uterus or ovaries. She is now reportedly on suicide watch and receiving trauma counselling which is hardly surprising considering that she is 18 years old, her world fell into pieces and her face is plastered all over the media for all the wrong reasons.
The case poses a lot of questions. First, how to give Semenya justice? She has won the race she has partaken in, but as an intersexed person she supposedly shouldn’t compete against women, because that gives her an unfair advantage. But then, should she compete against men? Why? That would result in an unfair disadvantage.
Should her medal be revoked? Semenya herself did not know about the possible gender test results, but it has been now widely published that the president of Athletics South Africa, Leonard Chuene, knew — and decided not to share the test results with anyone, including Semenya. It would seem a major injustice to revoke her trophy… well, it would seem so to everyone but the girl who took the second place. And third. And fourth. (I recall reading somewhere that the jury was considering awarding two golden medals. That is a solution of some sorts, but doesn’t it devalue both runners’ achievements in a certain way?) Isn’t it extreme cruelty to subject the runner to this kind of media scrutiny by letting her compete despite knowing that media will devour her if she wins? Was Chuene hoping for her to take fourth place and remain relatively unknown?
How will Semenya’s life continue? Apart from her career, this is a young woman aged 18 who has been just told (together with entire world) that she has internal testes, no uterus or ovaries. There aren’t exactly crowds of role models she could refer to at this point, nor does her treatment so far strike me as entirely humane and helpful. Will she forever remain a “South African freak” or will she find a way to lead a fulfilling life? Involving, perhaps, being a runner? How does one overcome this kind of stress?
I am also not jealous of the team that has been tasked with determining her gender. How does one REALLY determine someone’s gender? Was Michael Jackson the same gender as Mike Tyson? What testosterone level decides whether one is a man or a woman? How would the sports world treat a transsexual runner that is undergoing hormone treatment but hasn’t had surgery yet? Or one that has?
I have thought of myself as transsexual when I was 12 — before I discovered what gay people were and I went, in my head, very relieved, “ooooh THAT is what I am! How handy to know!” — and it wasn’t easy at all. Was I the same gender as all other boys who seemed to like nothing more than football, getting dirty and shooting guns? I wanted a Barbie, hated football and the only sports I was happy to do were hopscotch and badminton. After growing up in Poland it has taken me two years of therapy to find relative happiness and peace with myself and learn to accept myself for what I am. Is there enough time in the world to provide the same happy ending to Caster Semenya? If I was religious, I would pray for her to find a way to live a happy life. Since I am not, all I can do is hope.
