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Earlier this week the media announced that runner Caster Semenya had been “cleared” to return to competition by the International Association of Athletics Federation. “Good,” I say, but for me there’s still something unsettled and unsettling about the whole thing.
First of all, why was the timeline so long? It all started last August and at that time the IAAF was already conducting its gender tests. The statement that genetic testing takes a great deal of time and effort is correct, but 10 months? I think not. What has happened in the interim is conjecture and rumor, which has wounded Semenya and tainted the IAAF’s credibility.
Is Caster a hermaphrodite? Does she have Androgen Sensitivity Syndrome--these are the same rumors that have plagued actress Jamie Lee Curtis for decades.
My guess is that Caster, her doctor and the IAAF are the people that know the answer, but should anyone else know? Statements of privacy are understandable, but what exactly has been kept private? Only the final answer that ultimately determined that Semenya is a woman.
For this reason would it help to know that answer to broaden the narrow definition of male and female currently held?
I don’t know the answer to that one and I’m not sure that Semenya will ever have the answer, but I wonder what would happen if she spoke up. Can the truth be any worse than conjecture?
For me there are still too many questions about all this that point a spotlight on the bigger questions of gender definition and discrimination. I look at the makeup of our Supreme Court and wonder how they would rule in this case. Who knows what kind of bias the IAAF members brought with it.
For now I’m going to try and drop the subject, as I’m sure Semenya wants us all to do and focus on her running. She will be competing in Finland at the Lappeenranta Games on July 15th. Run, Caster, run!
