In the recently concluded World Athletics Championships, a controversial issue was raised regarding the gender of the women’s 800m champion, Caster Semenya. Here is the link to the reference article.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/684404
The writer, Cathal Kelly, frames the title of the article in the form of a question (“Is South African runner a he or a she?”) and in doing so aims to stir up discussion among her readers. Instead of merely presenting the facts like in linear model of communication, she creates a platform from which readers are prompted to give feedback, hence allowing the article to become interactive. The article generated 28 comments, thus showing her success.
Throughout her article, Kelly raises the issue about gender testing --- how it has evolved from 50 years ago till now, the change in testing procedures for it. She emphasizes on the fact that the practice of gender testing using a team of experts is so rare, for she quotes Dr Robert McCormack, chief medical officer of Canada’s Olympic teams, as saying that the practice was merely discussed at the Olympic Games, but never implemented. And she further stresses it by the statement, “That seems like a lot of testing.” By emphasizing that the most stringent of testing will only be carried out on Semenya, she implies that there are underlying issues to this entire saga: Why in particular Caster Semenya? And why has there not been anyone else subjected to the same amount of media scrutiny in recent years?
And I don’t understand the big fuss over her (Semenya), whether she’s male or female. Yes, she did break her previous personal best (PB) in the 800m by nearly 10 seconds (from 2:04.23 in 2008 to 1:55.45 in 2009), but there’s no reason to suspect her of not being female on those grounds. Athletes have been known to rise up and do way better than previously expected, doing what they thought they could never do, especially when the adrenaline kicks in and they are competing at high levels (in this case, the World Championships), so why the big fuss over her suddenly running much faster?
Then again, this issue would not have been raised had Semenya not won the 800m. And, would there have been the same amount of furor regarding Semenya’s victory if she was a white lady? It seems as though her critics are mainly of European and American origin. Perhaps her critics hold certain prejudices against blacks (thus falling into Bacon’s “Idols of the Cave”) and perceptual errors due to the organization of their information being influenced by personal constructs and prototypes: for example, a real lady to them may be one who is not so muscular as Semenya, not running so fast, not having certain facial features of a man, etc. Their perception of how a woman should look like, behave and perform has probably clouded their judgment. This brings us to the question, what’s the definition of a real woman? Is it entirely biological, or has nurture got anything to do with it? If it is entirely biological, then how about those who have had certain body parts removed due to illnesses? If nurture plays a part, then those who’ve been brought up as females even though they have certain male characteristics should rightly be considered as being female.
Reference article:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/684404
Videos of Caster Semenya’s year-leading run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1FIUxSBKRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk0Ai0fTjRY&feature=related
World 800m records:
http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records/inout=o/discType=5/disc=800/detail.html
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=RSA/athcode=242560/index.html
Hello!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it doesn't matter whether she's a female or male afterall she did won the gold medal for the world championship right? Isn't that supposed to be the issue for the news and not the gender dispute? Maybe because she's a black and that gives the reason for the big hoo-ha over her gender. However, the important thing is that she broke her own record and did her country proud.
Furthermore, they should respect her parents' recognisation of her and not him. How will the outcome of the investigation change the fact that she won the race? The testing is pointless.
Do comment on my blog too =)
http://commtalks.wordpress.com
Hey,
ReplyDeleteThis issue is just a total waste of time and resources. Anyone can train to break their own previous record given the time and will to do it. Let's face it, jealousy may be the cause of the whole entire issue. Get a grip, people! If you want it, work on youself first! Nothing's free in this world.
Comment on my blog: http://handwritingsonthewall.wordpress.com/
HEYY!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you totally. Especially how you suggested that it could probably be that fact that she was a black. I thought that was very interesting because there's still some issues with the blacks and the whites despite the change in presidency a few months back. My view is that this matter has been blown out of proportion. Enjoyed reading this post((:
I feel that both gender and racial stereotypes come into play in this case.
ReplyDeleteWhether we like it or not, it has always been a cumbersome social problem in the world. Blacks are always being stereotyped as 2nd class citizens in the world.
But I believe the situation is improving, especially since president barrack obama stepped into office at the white house.
Comment on my blog too yeah!
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This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Runner!
ReplyDeleteRECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN
And Cathal Kelly is just jealous.
I suppose everyone in the world posseses some form of prejudice. I too am not excluded from this flaw, unfortunately. But as a retired sportsperson I can empathise with Caster Sermenya totally. It must hurt that people are speculating damaging rumors about her just because she won.
I don't think there is a problem with investigating and making sure that every competing athlete plays fair, but if the organizing authorites do so because they are secretly biased and have the intentions of stirring up negative feelings for people they dislike - then that is complete lack of sportsmanship. If they cannot stand Caster Sermenya winning so much then why not just compete within their little prejudiced 'all-perfect' circle of approved champions?
What Carthal Kelly did was utilize the media and the 'gender' excuse to indirectly further probe into the delicate issue of race.
Oh dear now I sound as though I am totally against Carthal Kelly. Well of course we would never know for sure, but if Carthal Kelly really was prejudiced and used her gift of writing to ruin others than I am just plain disgusted at her behavior.
Good point about how Europeans may have certain perceptions of how women should look like and all. I've never really thought about perception from their point of view. Growing up in Singapre, really, anything goes. I do hope they can be more open minded to accept people for who they really are - from biological or nurtured point of view.
I don't see why there is a need to raise such a big fuss over this issue. She broke the records, she did it fair and square without the use of any illegal drugs, and it means that she is good. Let's just end it here! The big fuss must be aroused by jealousy and prejudice like what you have mentioned and these are all not necessary and just purely a waste of time, money and a harm on the runner's reputation. What she should do is sue them for defamation!
ReplyDeleteThe issue of gender testing raises a wider issue beyond the realm of the Olympics and Sports. The question: “Why in particular Caster Semenya? And why has there not been anyone else subjected to the same amount of media scrutiny in recent years?” yields no easy answers.
ReplyDeleteIt could be an isolated attempt to garner readership for Cathal Kelly’s article, an ethnocentric bias of the culturally-acceptable female, national pride or a “nurture versus nature” debate on what is a real woman.
The above criticisms are valid, but it points to a Postmodern tendency to explore and break the mold of salient issues; a relevant (but not direct) example being Queer theory which challenges the dominant position of heterosexuality in society.
The nascent progress towards universal suffrage and the apparent “emancipation” of women worldwide will bring to trial the current assumptions of the female gender - chief among them the ontology of female identity. Thus the recent intensified media scrutiny may reflect the increased social readiness to debate, explore and define womanhood beyond mere curiousity and novelty of the public.
this is indeed an emotional hell for this athlete. how can someone who has not been disproved by any of her friends and teachers, or even coaches be subjected to a foreclosure? it is simply unfair to pass any judgment and cynical remarks on anyone. what more, she has definitely put in a lot of training hours and has broken records.
ReplyDeletejournalists are paid handsomely to produce ground breaking reports as well as interesting stories to keep the general public aware of the issues and stir the public's appetite for more interesting affairs. this is an abuse of power as they have not considered the emotions of this athlete, who is bearing all the brunt because of the media and officials.
similar to every social science, there are gray areas in concepts and this is no different. there will always be the nurture nature debate. in this case, how to define one's gender? through the sex roles one play, biological setup or by the physical attributes?
i guess they made such a big fuss because she's a so-called celebrity and it'll taint her image. also some race issues, but that's deeper than what we think.
ReplyDeletebut also, this business is concerning herself, her life, and we have nothing to judge about.
I find this whole episode rather ridiculous [Hahas~ Adieu to objectivity] I'll just say it is very easy for others to criticise especially when they have achieved something no one else has done before. & that's my take on this episode.
ReplyDeleteWorse still, what is at stake here is not only her reputation but possibly her ability to take part in more competitions in the future. Whatever happened to sportsmanship?