Caster Semenya, a woman who wanted to be a man.

Since her childhood, Caster Semenya has always seen herself as a man in the body of a woman (what torment to make society accept this as such); then the IAAF (the International Athletics Federation) gave her what she (he) always wanted: declaring her as "a man." But Caster Semenya refused and went to court because she wanted to remain a woman (to compete with women).

This story saddens me a lot because it is about human dignity, consistency, and the demonstration of bad faith. The case of Casper Semenya must challenge us on the notions of self-acceptance, consistency, and how material interests can affect our decisions. Caster has been registered in the IAAF's database as a woman; for me, no matter her level of testosterone, the law is on her side to compete with women, case closed. 

The main concern now is about Caster's feelings.

Caster had accepted who she was and was at peace with her decision to live according to her feelings. Living in society and having to exercise a profession create parameters that determine our choices on earth (material considerations). It is at this moment that we see how our material-guided society can debase our beliefs and thereby create an inconsistency between our thoughts and actions. 

In bad faith, the IAAF granted Caster Semenya what she always wanted, which is to say to be a man. That was internationally recognized; what a victory! This bad faith of the world athletics body reestablishes justice for Caster, but the inconsistency that it produces calls out to us. Why does Caster still want to compete with women when she thinks she is a man? The problem does not start with the IAAF but with Caster, who gives in to his true nature for career concerns. 

Let's have a look at how the performance level of Caster compares to the best in men and women athletes:

We look at how the Caster record compares to the career records for men and women on 400, 1000, and 1500 meters:

400 m, Men: Wayde Van Niekerk 43:03 Women: Marita Koch 47:03: Caster Semenya 49:62

1000m, Men: Noah Ngengi; 2:11:96; Women: Svetlana Masterkova; 2:28.98; Caster Semenya; 2:30:70

1500 m: Men: Hicham El Guerrouj (3: 26.00); Women: Genzebe Dibaba (3: 50.07); Caster Semenya (3: 59.92). 

We see that if Caster competes with men, she won't be among the best. Recalling Serena William's claim that in tennis women are not treated the same way as men, but men play 5 sets (women play 3 sets), men can serve at an average speed of 184.1 km/h compared to 150 km/h for women, we can conclude that the reward comes with performance, and men in history have outperformed women, hence the origin of gender categorization (male & female) and the rule of men.

Caster, by agreeing to compete with men, would have set a precedent for equal rights and treatment between men and women, but remaining a woman allows her to be among the best women in her sport, not the best athlete. We are very different physically, which is why Casper's choice is understandable; the testosterone level cannot decide your gender. Therefore, it is clear that as humans we are all equal, but in terms of gender we are not endowed with the same faculties, which makes society ratify the dissociation of genders. The athletic body acted wrongly, as her high level of testosterone is not to Caster Semenya's credit; they cannot even base their judgment on her sexuality. It must have been painful what they did to Caster, given her sexual orientation. Someone's physical ability is a gift, not an advantage.

We are impatiently waiting for women to compete with men on the same ground, not physically but intellectually (this is where they can surpass us for the moment), therefore we are waiting for the next Marie Currie, Rosa Parks, Valentina Tereshkova, Margaret Hamilton, etc.

 

Marius C. Oula