Website to Support Caster Semenya

Winner of the 800m gold medal race Caster Semenya is on suicide watch now after the media have publicly discussed her intersex status. She has been referred to as a "hermaphrodite" which is offensive and biologically impossibility since someone cannot have all male and female genitalia, but only parts and chromosomes. She has also been the butt of jokes on various late night shows which have completely taken advantage of this tragic situation.

Semenya.net has been created to show support for this athlete, and to let her know that she has supporters out there. Leave a message of support for Caster.

Photo courtsey of Erik van Leeuwen of Wikimedia Commons.

Urge IAAF to Apologize to Caster Semenya

Athletics South Africa (ASA) has called on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to apologize for the treatment of one of their athletes Caster Semenya.

Semenya, 18 who the won 800m gold medal was thrust into the public spotlight when she won and a controversy over her gender erupted. The IAAF forced Semenya to undergo a test to determine her sex, which resulted in the report that Semenya is intersex and has internal testes responsible for her higher levels of testosterone. The IAAF did not adhere to the human rights of the athlete and did not keep her confidentiality in mind.

"The ASA Council noted with concern that, contrary to its position as the custodian of athletics in the world, the IAAF did not follow its constitution and procedures in dealing with the matter, failed to observe the confidentiality required to handle the matter of this sensitivity; and the human rights of the athlete," read the minutes of the meeting. The ASA concluded: "The Council therefore called on the IAAF to apologise to the athlete, her family and the people of South Africa" (Guardian).

Urge the IAAF to apologize to Caster Semenya for their way of handling the situation.

Open Forum: The Fallout from Caster Semenya

South African track & field star Caster Semenya who won the 800m gold medal in Berlin last month has been the subject of much controversy with people questioning her sex and gender due to her gender expression and speed results. After being forced to undergo a series of tests to determine her actual sex, it has been revealed that she is intersex and has internal testes which are responsible for the output of testosterone.

It is tragic that Semenya was forced into the public spotlight in terms of scrutiny over her identity and had to undergo sex assessment. What is the fallout from this, now that we know that she is intersex, does this help the movement by creating awareness or just further create a sense of hostility towards this minority? The media has already used offensive and biologically impossible terms such as "hermaphrodite" instead of the appropriate term intersex to describe Semenya. How does this news coverage boad for the intersex and gender variant communities?

Photo courtesy of Erik van Leeuwen on Wikimedia Commons.

Tackling Gender Binarism When it Comes to Gold Medal Runner

Gold medalist runner Caster Semenya of South Africa has come under intense scrutiny after exceeding her own time record and winning a gold medal . She has been accused of falsifying her identity and being charged with being born a male. The spotlight on her is misogynist and completely disregards the multitude of gender expressions. Semenya is being forced to undergo a long and difficult process known as sex-determination. She has been very depressed and even wanted to boycott her own award ceremony.

Velvet Park posted this video below of Dave Zirin, sports writer for The Nation who does an excellent job explaining how sexist, and transphobic this news item has become and tries to break down gender binarism by explaining that there are multitude of sexes and gender identities.



Photo courtesy of Erik van Leeuwen on Wikimedia Commons.