On the Eurocentric nature of sex testing: the case of Caster Semenya

Defining ‘woman': A governmentality analysis of how protective policies are created in elite women's sport

“…In the context of sport, which possesses Eurocentric, colonial, and white origins (Carrington, 2015; Clevenger, 2017), racialized typologies, including those pertaining to sex and gender, are instrumental to techniques of (white) governmentality (e.g. policies) to both “mediate the experiences of the Blackened body” (Batelaan and Abdel-Shehid, 2021; Dar and Ibrahim, 2019: 1242) and biologize racial differences (Wynter, 2003). Entangled with “othered” social identities of sex, gender, sexuality, and nationality, “blackness designates a changing system of unequal power structures” (Weheliye, 2014: 4) which construct, regulate, and uphold normative standards based on white, male, European diasporic bodies (Wynter, 2003).…”

‘When whites catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia’: a look at racialized poverty, space and HIV/AIDS

“…The racialization of sport, and the anti-Blackness that pervades sporting culture is perhaps most succinctly demonstrated in the case of Caster Semenya, the South African high-performance track athlete who was accused of being a man after winning the women's 800 m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) reportedly requested gender verification tests because of Semenya's deep voice, muscular build, improvements in time and 'ambiguity' regarding her sex (Batelaan & Abdel-Shehid, 2020). While athletes are regularly subjected to different forms of testing, Semenya's case failed to maintain her medical confidentiality and human dignity, with several media outlets, fellow competitors, and spectators regularly commenting on the ordeal and her body/ appearance.…”

“…While athletes are regularly subjected to different forms of testing, Semenya's case failed to maintain her medical confidentiality and human dignity, with several media outlets, fellow competitors, and spectators regularly commenting on the ordeal and her body/ appearance. Many supporters of Semenya have stated that forcing her to undergo testing is racist and discriminatory due to the racist underpinnings of gender verification testing policies insofar as they reinforce Eurocentric standards of beauty, 9 as well as perpetuate stereotypes about Black women being unfeminine (Batelaan & Abdel-Shehid, 2020). 10 El-Malik (2014) and Schultz (2012) both argue that Semenya's body has been made into a spectacle and forced to undergo a sort of public 'lynching' at the hands of the media and the public.…”

“…11. Similarly, Serena Williams is often described as 'manly' or is compared to an ape due to her muscular physique (although if Williams were a white woman it is likely she would not be described in such a way) (Kendall, 2015;Batelaan & Abdel-Shehid, 2020). 12.…”

“…12. For more on the difference between 'sex/ gender verification testing' as well as on the differentiation between sex and gender, see Batelaan and Abdel-Shehid (2020). 13.…”