Dear IAAF
via TIME:
Caster Semenya was greeted by a rapturous crowd on Tuesday when she returned to her native South Africa after claiming the women's 800-m gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. But speculation surrounding the legitimacy of her title continues to rumble on after a British newspaper revealed that doping officials had found the 18-year-old athlete's testosterone levels to be three times as high as those normally expected in a female.
On Tuesday, The Daily Telegraph reported that the hormone tests had been carried out in South Africa before the World Championships and that the results had contributed to the decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to request a detailed gender-verification test of the athlete. Semenya came to the world's attention after winning the African Junior Championships in Mauritius and then the World Championships by a massive 2-sec. margin.
Now, we can all make jokes about ugly women. We can all whisper about mysterious bulges, and unlady-like muscular definition. We can even talk about the ridiculous victory she earned over the other women in the 800M event at the World Championships. However, is it that far-fetched that this woman, is in fact, a woman? Come on now. We've seen worse on our own soil. We're knee deep in the WNBA season and I'm sure if you turn on ESPN2 on a weekday evening, you can be privy to some talented, albeit homely women gracing the hardwood. To say that Semenya isn't a woman is insulting. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she/he (shim??) has some extra testosterone floating around in her blood, or God forbid some extra appendages between her legs, locker rooms and other women (for the most part) don't lie. I'm sure at some point, she has to have done something remotely effeminate. What irks me the most about this situation is that Semenya herself hasn't come forward in disgust at the allegations of her manhood. Most women would probably cry at the prospect of being ugly enough to be a man, much less being outright called a man. I know that her victory raised some eyebrows, but damn. Leave her alone and let the woman enjoy her medals. Or does she have to put out a fucking sex tape and parade around drunk with no panties on for you guys to fall back?