The XX Factor

Insulting Caster Semenya, Yet Again

South African runner Caster Semenya has returned to the track , and so has the griping about her gender. After her stunning world title victory last August , Semenya underwent a year of scrutiny and testing to determine whether she actually counted as female. The entire affair was conducted with maximum disregard for her dignity and humanity. The sport’s governing authorities confirmed some results- she had elevated levels of testosterone -but then shut down. Her advisers in South Africa responded by having her photographed in ridiculously girly poses in a local tabloid. Then the authorities said she could compete but gave absolutely no reason why they’d concluded that, citing, for the first time, concerns about her privacy.

Now, as a final insult, she has to endure the incoherent rantings of her fellow athletes. Says runner Jenna Simpson of Britain, who finished fourth: “It’s obviously a human rights issue, but human rights affect everyone in the race, not just one person,” Simpson said. “And for the rest of the field, it gets ignored.”

No Jenna, winning a race is NOT, in fact, a “human right.”