By now I’m sure you all have at least heard about the controversy about South African runner, Caster Semenya.  She ran the 800-meters in like 1:55:45 and tore past the other women. Now officials are questioning whether or not Semenya is actually a woman. Serious? Are you serious?  I’ve actually read some crazy theories about Semenya, ranging from offensive to just stupid. People have been arguing on how to answer this apparently necessary question, not knowing what’s the best way short of just asking her to drop her shorts. The damn girl (who is only 18) just won the 800-meters and we can’t even let her enjoy it.

Yesterday morning on KGMB9, their morning crew discussed and unintentionally poked fun at the recent controversy. I’m not really sure what was the point of this dicussion? Maybe just some filler for time? But nevertheless, it ends up being a bunch of people making fun of Semenya for looking different. Honestly, I think somewhere in the middle of their “discussion”, they feel bad about poking fun at Semenya. The mood changes when Billy V. says he’ll refer to her as “she” until proved otherwise and offers his congratulations. Everyone else perhaps feels they’ve overstepped a boundary and the anchorwoman notes that Semenya was teased heavily while growing up for her “masculine” appearance. Yeah.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really offended by what they said. I don’t think their comments were hateful, but just the fact that speculation on Semenya’s gender was necessary to air on the morning news seemed unnecessary.

Now, I get called sir (or even one time, ma’am-sir — whatever that is) once in a while. It irks and sometimes amuses me, depending on how it goes. Once at a McDonald’s drive-thru, I was called “ma’am-sir” by the very gay Filipino boy who gave me my food.  I just sort of looked at him–mainly because that was the first time I had heard that term before. I told him “thank you” to see if he’d change his response to “ma’am” (which most do after they hear me talk – I have a pretty girly voice), but nope. He just stuck with ma’am-sir. Which could have meant transsexual for all I know? I can’t imagine someone arguing with me that I’m a guy after I’ve told them I’m not.

People will say to me, “well, you dress like a guy, so why are you surprised when you get called sir?” First of all, I don’t dress like a guy–I dress like myself. Ideas of gender, especially in fashion, are pushed on us by society and change according to a number of different variables. They are not, as some might think, fact or absolute.

Why must we feel the need to label others? Is it because it is therefore easier to categorize and group people in to us versus them?

I’m not going into protocol for these types of events and whether or not this could have been avoided because I’m not familiar enough with the process. My point is that Semenya’s situation–to a lesser or greater degree, depending on the individual—is unfortunately not unique.  Whatever happens with Semenya should be a lesson to all of us in sensitivity.

Seriously, do you want to be the jerk who rags on someone just because they’re different?

Filed under: News
Posted: August 25th 2009