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Discrimination in Sport
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Discrimination In Sport
Who is Caster Semenya?
Who is Caster Semenya?
Caster Semenya is a middle-distance runner from South Africa who has won multiple gold medals throughout her career. Prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics, her biology brought up the question of whether or not she should be able to compete in the women's 800m. Semenya has three times the amount of testosterone found in the average woman, leading people to believe that she has an unfair advantage over others and would win the race too easily.
The Issue
Many people began putting in their two cents saying that Semenya should not be allowed to compete due to her unfair advantage, or that she should be competing against men. They even say that her previous victories in previous championships should be revoked. However, Semenya fully identifies as a woman and her condition is not her fault, therefore she has a rightful place in the women's 800m. However, people argue that other competitors should be able to artificially elevate their testosterone levels in order to be on the same playing field.
What Was Done?
What Was Done?
Semenya was subjected to lots of medical testing and scrutiny, which she found to be humiliating and a huge invasion of her privacy. Politicians from South Africa even expressed their disgust for the way she was treated. Eventually, the IAAF decided that an athlete's right to compete in female events was to be regulated by testosterone levels. Semenya complied and took drugs to lower her testosterone levels, decreasing her muscle mass and lowering her time.
What Next?
Dutee Chand, an Indian sprinter who is also hyperandrogenic, found the new regulations set in place by the IAAF to be unfair. She and the Indian Government took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They ended up winning the case, and the Court suspended the regulation because the relationship between hyperandrogenism and improved performance was not sufficiently supported. Semenya stopped taking drugs to lower her testosterone levels, and was able to bounce back well.
The Result
The Result
Following all the controversy, Semenya was still able to win a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is setting new personal records, and is happy in her personal life as well. She claims that she does not have time to worry about her gender, and is happier not thinking about it. Although not many big changes have occurred, many people are looking into what the next steps in big sporting events should be regarding gendered competitions.
The Bigger Picture
The Bigger Picture
This issue fits into the bigger problem of gender identity discrimination. Nowadays, gender is more of a spectrum and is not limited to biological sex. Many people do not understand that gender and sex can be different, and often try to group people solely based on biological characteristics corresponding to male and female. In sports, where competitions have been split into male and female categories for years, it is difficult to know how to reform the system to adjust to modern times.
This also ties into the bigger issue of allowing transgender athletes to compete, which is a debate that is split nearly 50/50. I believe that this incident will become more common, and that it highlights a flaw in the system that needs to be changed. Unfortunately, I do not think this kind of discrimination will stop existing from sport. Many people are ignorant and do not educate themselves on the gender spectrum, and may not even know about intersex or hyperandrogenism. In addition, many people grow up in an environment where male/female is the only normal, and are not willing to make changes to be more inclusive. However, if sporting events begin reforming competition catergories in an inclusive way, people will adapt to it.