The Treatment of Caster Semenya Proves Sexism Is Alive and Well in Sports

Caster Semenya is a South African Olympic champion. She also happens to have a medical condition called hyperandrogenism, which means her body produces more testosterone than the bodies of other women. In 2019, international sports authorities at the Court of Arbitration ruled that this medical condition gives her a competitive advantage, and that Semenya is banned from competing unless she artificially medically intervenes to modify her natural condition.

I understand why the regulatory bodies would agree to hear a case about Semenya: They are acting to protect fair play. As a formal professional fencing competitor, I am familiar with the fundamentality of having just rules. The phenomenal dedication and motivation of all athletes would be undermined by unfairness.

But the assumption that Semenya might wrongfully benefit from her unusual biology is ungrounded. The international sports authorities relied on sexist social beliefs about testosterone rather than science to make their decision. Caster was prohibited from building a career as the result of the omnipresent toxic masculinity that we all observe in our society — specifically the conviction that men are stronger, and that testosterone is the reason why men have bigger muscles, lift heavier weights, and run faster. So logically, having more of the male hormone would mean that Semenya should be better on the track field than the other “normal” women.

But this effect of testosterone in female bodies is not scientifically proven. Julian Savulescu, a professor in biomedical ethics at Oxford University, told the BBC in September that the science behind this decision is “inadequate.” His work involves analyzing studies that establish a positive correlation between high-achieving women in sports and higher-than-average levels of testosterone. Savulescu has found that this link might not be a causal one, as there are not enough studies that prove that this hormone actually improves sports performance.

It’s also true that a causal link between high levels of testosterone and strength or endurance is not scientifically proven either. So if there is no objective proof about the effect of testosterone on women’s athletic ability at all, why did international decision-making organizations automatically favor the assumption that Caster Semenya has a competitive advantage because of her testosterone levels?

The cultural belief that men are stronger than women is so deeply-rooted that simply considering that Caster Semenya might not be a threat to fair play can seem socially unacceptable. The international regulatory organs in sports relied on their subjective, ultimately sexist, opinions. If these fundamental regulations are based on presupposed dominant masculinity, gender equality will never be achieved.

The 2019 decision was most recently upheld by Switzerland’s top court in September 2020, but in the meantime, we have all been entirely concentrated on fighting the COVID-19 virus. As the global population fights to regain our fundamental freedoms to be healthy and safe, we should not forget crucial social fights, like the one for gender equality. Recognizing omnipresent discriminatory assumptions and erasing them is as important for our mental and physical health as is eradicating diseases. Let’s defend equality.