The Price of Being Different

In the The New Yorker article of Either/Or, Caster Semenya participates in one of the most controversial ethical issue that sport has faced.  Semenya is a young woman that grew up in South Africa and has been competing in the 800 meter. This is a very normal scenario other than the fact that Semenya does not fit the physical or biological norm of a female athlete.  Semenya has a genetic disorder where she does not have all of the female reproductive organs but has triple the amount of testosterone.  Semenya was raised as a woman and considers herself a woman but whether or not she can compete as a woman is a different story.  She has been questioned throughout her athletic career and was used to having to “prove her femininity” to several judges.   In the world championship at Berlin she was once again confronted with the question of whether or not she was a woman, but this time she was forced to take a genetic test where her results confirmed a genetic disorder.  Unfortunately her results were leaked and Semenya’s participation in the competition became questioned.  Having tripled the amount of testosterone than any average women competitors was seen as an advantage.  She was ridiculed for her looks, toned figure, and deep voice.  She was told by complete strangers that she was a man, even though she was socially raised as a woman.  Semenya was only 18 at the time.  I cannot begin to imagine the situation this young women went through to cope with this tragedy.  The pressure of being called a cheater and not understanding how or why things came to be must have had devastating effects.  However, Semenya has proven to be very mature and has handled this situation to the best of her abilities.  She has not competed since the incident and hope that the situation will calm down before she decides whether or not to continue with her athletic career.  I think that this young woman should compete with other women in sports.  Every athlete has a different body type and different testosterone levels.  Semenya may have more muscles but she has worked hard for them just like any other athlete.  The choice, however, is up to society.