read it

[stateofwonder]

For those of you who have been following the Caster Semenya gong show... here is a fantastic article about the whole horrible mess with some truly beautiful analysis of gender transgression: The Unforgivable Transgression of Being Caster Semenya.

Comments

[eumelia]

Thanks for this, I'm putting together a post about Semenya and this article really helped me articulate things more accurately.

She's basically being punished for being a good athlete and for having gender non-conforming features. Add the issues of Race (and the venue being Berlin) and it's one big cluster fuck and intersectionality FAIL... and her life being put under the microscope and her privacy invaded in such a callous manner.

[kimberkwick]

I'll have to come back to this article... I've been following the whole Semenya issue on the CBC and Globe&Mail websites, and what some of the people/commenters are saying in the sections below the articles are ignorant and ridiculous. It's so sad this has to happen in the public light. You would think that this would be an opportunity for national newspapers to start discussing intersexuality, but no, it's all about enforcing Male-female sex binaries. Blech.

[kimberkwick]

And I've now read that article, and yes, it's so true.

That's one thing that has always bothered me about sports - how gender/sex binary focussed it seems to be, and in this case, it seems like Semenya might never be able to compete at the supreme level of sports again, simply because the sports organizations will not want her competing as a female, and I doubt she'll ever compete as a man (woulc South Africans even let her do that?), and so one has to ask, what next for her?

It would be a grand pity if all of that athleticism were to go to waste over issues regarding her genitalia. :(

[stateofwonder]

That's the really sad thing about it -- what's going to happen to Semenya afterwards? I'm pretty sure that, if they determine her to be "female" through their ridiculous and intrusive tests, she will technically be allowed to compete in female categories in future competitions, but there will always be people talking shit about her after this no matter what happens. It really is a waste.

[openmindedmale]

At the article, did you read comment #7 by Rich? (I am not he)... I think if I were to comment on this issue, I could probably do no better than what he's written.

[moonblisser]

Thanks for posting this. The whole situation with Caster has been pretty upsetting, especially when that magazine gave her a makeover to maker her look more "lady-like."

[stateofwonder]

I know, right??? I'm actually kind of shocked she went along with it, but hopefully they gave her a good chunk of money for that.

[stateofwonder]

Go ahead! I just added you back :) I update pretty infrequently these days, just to warn you, but I still read a lot on LJ.