Keep it in the Closet

No, is not a post about homosexuality (maybe next time, haha). I want to talk about Caster Semenya, the South African runner who made big news in the track world a couple weeks ago when her sex came into question. I realize I’m a little late on this one. But I’d read both my fellow Yardbarker athlete’s blogs on this issue and at first, I didn’t have an opinion on it. And I still don’t, about the track angle of whether she should be allowed to compete or not. I don’t care if she runs against women, men, or goes back home and works at McDonalds. No matter what she does, the situation should have been handled differently from a media standpoint.

Almost as soon Semenya found success on a national stage, her (lack of) femininity caused people to start asking questions. What was the deal? Was she on steroids? Was she a “real woman”? As subsequent (leaked) tests revealed, she was born with characteristics of both sexes. She is (again according to leaked reports) considered intersexual, which includes the more known classification of being a hermaphrodite. Given that this, condition, affords her more testosterone – similar to acting as her own natural steroid – than her fellow female competitors, I understand why many believe she should not be allowed to compete. But did people really have to come out and tell everyone the details? Out of respect for her privacy, there should’ve been a standard bland answer like, “she was deemed unable to compete at this time and we have no further comment on the situation.” Also, the people that leaked the story in the first place showed very little regard for any human angle on this issue (as is not surprising considering most people’s disregard for others they don’t know anyway).

And don’t tell me about journalistic integrity and the public’s right to know. Some things should not be reported. There are more buried stories about Jordan in his glory days than there are bodies in the nearest cemetery. You don’t actually think CNN or Fox News or even ESPN gives us the entire story, about anything, ever, do you?

For many of us, the issue of sexuality is blue and pink, boy and girl, man and woman. But that is not true. In reality, as many as one in fifty people are born with some variation of sexual characteristics. Where required, most are “dealt with” at birth, and as a vagina is easier to form than a functional p*nis, around 90% are assigned as female. Where the complications are internal, as in Semenya’s case, the doctors may do nothing, including tell the family. I won’t get all technical on this because I don’t understand it all and it’s beside the point anyway. The bottom line is that determining someone’s sex is way more complicated then asking them to pull down their pants.

She, like the rest of us, can’t help what she was born with – or without. You may argue she made the wrong choice in choosing to compete in a sport in the public eye. But the thing was, she didn’t know! Yes she is more masculine looking than most, but some women just are. She’s only 18 years old and had no reason to think the differences were sexual or unfair. And because some selfish people wanted to make news without first considering and/or respecting how this would affect her, she had to find out at virtually the same time as the rest of the world.

Can you imagine finding out you were not what you thought you were your entire life, and dealing with it in front of the world, when you’re a teenager and everything is already confusing anyway? I’d guess it would be humiliating, painful, and a few other adjectives, none of them good. She is now on suicide watch while trying to deal with this situation on a giant stage. All I’m saying is, how would you like it if the whole world knew a secret about you that is as potentially embarrassing as hers? There are certain things the public just does not need to know. And if they were going to find out, it should have been her choice to tell them.

P.S. Here's a link to a particularly interesting article about this subject.

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• AlanaG said September 18, 2009

  I feel for Semenya -- this situation was not handled with much tact. And it's not like she was an aspiring pop star or movie star who knew she was buying into the world of tabloid attention -- I'm sure she never expected to be in this situation as an athletic competitor.

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• STLnTDOT said September 18, 2009

  You have summed this up in the PERFECT way. This definitely should have been handled differently than it was. People didn't care how young she was (as if age would have even made this easier :( , didn't care about how she felt. And to this day, most of them still dont.
  
  Some people are so close minded that they only see one or the other... even though she was born the way she is. She has lived life as a female obviously and now everything she has always believed in and lived life as is in the air and in front of everyone with more than half the people criticizing her.
  
  It's all just so wrong and I feel for her. I would hope she is able to come out of this as a stronger person, but how is that even possible at this point? She has had her sport yanked away from her and her privacy gone.
  
  I hope that she pulls through this and is able to move on in a positive way and live life like she deserves.
  
  

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• pilight said September 18, 2009

  Jordan was a successful male athlete in an established sport. Reporters had to keep some things buried or risk losing access. Semenya has no leverage like that, so they'll dig up and publish anything that will get webclicks.

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  • Chantelle7 replied September 18, 2009

    good point. but that's what i mean. there's no regard for how it would make her feel. just the drive to make news and "get web clicks". i understand journalism is a business but sometimes, they should be more considerate.
• SMH12289 said September 18, 2009

  Hey thats how it is...Gotta take the good with the bad regardless of the moral aspect..To me, age shouldnt be an issue because nobody would be complaining about her age if this never was an issue and she kept dominating and was on the front page of newspapers & magazines for her wins on the track...and regarding this being a huge story, I really dont see ESPN or any other sports shows talking about this...The way I heard about this story was over the net where I read about ppl mad about the coverage this was getting lol

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• Yuri28 said September 18, 2009

  I totally disagree, you can't just say "Hey, that's how it is and take the good w/the bad," unfortunately for her, it's not that easy. I'm sure she can't just simply brush off having her private life put on display; on an international stage, to be judged by the whole world. Though it's totally obvious, i'd be offended if anyone even thought about questioning my manhood, so I can't even begin to imagine what its like for her having her womanhood called into question and then finding out along with the WHOLE WORLD that not only is she not totally female, but that she's also partially male! That's gotta be devastating. That's personal and in any case, should not have been reported by the media and even worse, her doctor.....I vaguely remember there being a such thing as a dr/patient confidentiality agreement. There was a total lack of respect for her as a person and total disregard for how this would impact her life. I can't help feel that b/c she's a poor little village girl from AFRICA, it was much easier to exploit her (i.e., she was lied to, they never told her they were testing her gender when the initial testing was done ) and put her spread her personal business. The bottom line is, someone's a sore loser! You can't get mad and gender test everyone that beats the crap out of you. She won race fairly and shouldn't be penalized for what God created her to be. She considers herself a woman, so that's all that should matter. Besides, if a gay guy can petition the Supreme Court and win the right to be housed in a female prison b/c he FEELS like a woman inside, then this chick should be able to compete as what she partially IS and was raised to be.

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  • SMH12289 replied September 18, 2009

    Tell me what athletes personal life is not on display? She's no different..Thats how it is and always have been...Cameras been on LeBron since he was in 7th grade..Personal info started coming out about his moms personal life and his as well..Same with Sebastian Telfair...This aint new...
  • Chantelle7 replied September 18, 2009

    SMH - you're right. it's not new for athletes personal lives to be discussed. but there are things the media doesn't discuss. like how everyone knew Jordan had a thing for blondes despite being married or the "work" Lebron is doing off the court. those things are off limits until someone gets killed for it.
    
    i'm not saying the personal lives of athletes should be completely closed off. but there are some things the public doesn't need to know. and if the media is going to tell them, they should have some consideration and do it with tact.
  • SMH12289 replied September 19, 2009

    Chantelle I agree the media doesnt cover everything but they sure do cover alot..While they did not cover Jordan and blondes like you say, they did cover his divorce and how much his wife was getting paid..They covered his gambling problems and tied it in to his fathers death....
    
    The media ppl at a Florida Gator press conference asked Tim Tebow if he's a virgin. Oklahoma State player had his character question in a editorial because according to the writer the players mom was feeding him like a little kid. To me theres no point now trying to draw a line what the media can and cannot cover or say in a athletes life when its been going on so long without any major backlash...Semenya is just another young athlete on the long list..
    
    
  • Chantelle7 replied September 19, 2009

    there is a COMPLETE difference between asking Tebow about a personal choice he has made, or talking about the food someone eats, and leaking what should have confidential test results that cause a barely adult young lady to question everything she's ever known about herself. huge difference. there has to be some moral ethics somewhere.
• 1way2play said September 18, 2009

  Yeah u made me feel bad for her>>>I think the media initially thought it was a funny joke but it turned out to be true...I wonder why these kind of test arent run before they even can compete?

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• Wheelman said September 19, 2009

  She can`t compete, now. She has a biological uniqueness that`ll be called into question every time she runs and wins. Athletes usually have healthy egos, and few will allow her to win without objection. Its not her fault and it may be unfair to exclude her from competition, BUT, like it or not her fame will cloak her wherever she goes. From the purely human standpoint, for her own peace of mind, she might be better off at that McDonalds you mentioned.

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• speedwell said September 19, 2009

  the south african athletic federation, who i am SURE knew about this condition, should have considered this before throwing this relative neophyte into one of the world's biggest stages for track and field competition. if there is anyone to blame, it is south africa for trying to exploit this person's unique situation despite the obvious fact that it would come up against resistance from other competitors.

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  • Chantelle7 replied September 19, 2009

    ya they knew about it. i just saw a report on BBC where the president of the south african athletic federation admitted he lied because he was trying to protect Semenya. but most people, myself included, are having a hard time believing his reasoning. i think he was blinded by the country's search for gold at the world championships and as you said, sacrificed Semenya for that. it's disgusting really.
• Yuri28 said September 19, 2009

  Seriously dude, that has to be the most ignorant thing i've ever heard. Lebron being in the media since 7th grade is in no way remotely close to being an 18yr old put on blast (by the whole world) for being intersex.......seriously, its completely asinine to even compare that to something of this magnitude! Even if she is a dude, its unfair for anyone to have their patient confidentiality rights violated by their physician.
  
  @1way2play, they use a regular urine test to screen for elevated hormone levels, the issue is that if they did this for everyone even true females would comeback positive as males b/c of their elevated DHT levels.....intersex people aren't the only ones that chemically screen as sexually ambiguous (chicks with facial hair, high muscle tone ex)

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