SOC301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Caster Semenya, 20Th Century Women, Sex Verification In Sports
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Well into 20th century women were discouraged from sports. Fears that sports would make women less feminine, damage their reproductive systems, make them unattracti(cid:448)e, (cid:862)(cid:373)a(cid:374)l(cid:455)(cid:863) As (cid:373)o(cid:396)e (cid:449)o(cid:373)e(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:373)peted, (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)e(cid:396)(cid:374)s (cid:449)e(cid:396)e (cid:396)aised a(cid:271)out (cid:449)hethe(cid:396) the(cid:455) (cid:449)e(cid:396)e a(cid:272)tuall(cid:455) (cid:449)o(cid:373)e(cid:374). Fea(cid:396)s of supposed (cid:862)(cid:373)ale i(cid:373)poste(cid:396)s(cid:863) competing as women. Testosterone testing: ultrasounds of internal reproductive organs. Caster semenya (cid:862)i ha(cid:448)e (cid:271)ee(cid:374) su(cid:271)je(cid:272)ted to u(cid:374)(cid:449)a(cid:396)(cid:396)a(cid:374)ted a(cid:374)d i(cid:374)(cid:448)asi(cid:448)e s(cid:272)(cid:396)uti(cid:374)(cid:455) of the (cid:373)ost i(cid:374)ti(cid:373)ate and private details of my being(cid:863) After semenya dominated 800m event in 2009 she was barred from competition and subjected to sex tests. Pie(cid:396)(cid:396)e weiss, ge(cid:374)e(cid:396)al se(cid:272)(cid:396)eta(cid:396)(cid:455) of the i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:374)atio(cid:374)al asso(cid:272)iatio(cid:374) of athleti(cid:272) fede(cid:396)atio(cid:374)s (cid:894)iaaf(cid:895) said: (cid:862) he is a (cid:449)o(cid:373)a(cid:374), (cid:271)ut (cid:373)aybe not (cid:1005)(cid:1004)(cid:1004)%(cid:863) Not known what tests semenya was subject to (never made public) Ma(cid:374)(cid:455) people spe(cid:272)ulated a(cid:271)out e(cid:373)e(cid:374)(cid:455)a"s ge(cid:374)de(cid:396), poi(cid:374)ti(cid:374)g to he(cid:396) (cid:373)us(cid:272)ula(cid:396) ph(cid:455)si(cid:395)ue, postu(cid:396)e i(cid:374) photos (cid:894)fle(cid:454)i(cid:374)g(cid:895), (cid:449)ea(cid:396)i(cid:374)g lo(cid:374)g shorts, not shaving her armpits.
