Girl Meets Boy

The great thing about blogs is that you don't really have to worry about whether what's been said is in bad taste or not. I'm not so sure how I feel about this next story. No, I do know how I feel, sad actually. Sad for a perfect stranger.

So Caster Semenya has been all over the news since her Gold Medal win in the women's 800 at the World Champions in Berlin, Germany. Its a pity that it was handled so poorly by all involved, and by everyone I mean everyone. Even the South Africans who lashed out in her defence, crying racism and jealously - dare them to have held their tongues before they played their hand?

Now, I am in complete defense of Miss Semenya, her pride, dignity and right to privacy. There really is no other way to describe the situation other than unfortunate. Testing by the International Association of Athletics Federation revealed that Caster is technically a hermaphrodite. With no ovaries, she has internal testes and a large amount of testosterone. Although its not deliberately cheating according to the IAAF, it might still mean that she'll be stripped of her gold.

What pains me is what else she'll be stripped of. Her dignity and the pride of her family are high on the list of things we lost in the gender fire, but here's what concerns me...an 18 year old girl, who runs like a warrior, from no money, a rural village in fact, might not have a career as an athlete - as planned. Now we all suffer disappointment, the swimmer who lost a limb in a car accident and manages to swim in world class sporting events against able bodied swimmers - that's a success story. It's inspiring. But where to for Caster?

Gender is gender. Its one of the only things that still divide us. Across cultures, continents and public bathrooms. Sexuality is flexible, gender is unavoidable. So if you can't perform as either a man or a woman, what then? Give up your athletics career? I just don't see a way out for Caster. Sure, she can forget the whole thing and study sports science and blah blah blah. But I mourn for her and her family. She who brought gold home to a village in Africa, in more ways than just one, is now on the corner of Embarrassing and West Sh*t Street with nothing but a previously promising future.

Man, that makes me sad. Although the matter is not yet resolved, and her situation doesn't call for immediate disqualification, it's still shocking. Athletics South Africa has my vote when they were quoted as saying that the matter has been dealt with appallingly and that first and foremost, Miss Semenya should have been consulted and counselled before the story made the news. But its done. The finish line has never been so blurred or so dissatisfying.

What to do? Need a life lesson out of it? Might not be great advice but when it's the only thing left to do...just keep on running.