[BIOLOGY | Week #4] "I Am a Woman" + Gaia Theory
Caster Semenya: "I Am a Woman"
Conversations around sex and gender continues to be a taboo subject in our society. Much of those conversations are based on sexist and patriarchal ideas of what it means to be a "man" or "woman." It's only fitting that these same issues will arise in institutions such as the Olympics. Requiring female athletes with naturally elevated testosterone levels to inhibit their hormones through drug therapy and surgery completely negates the IAAF's goal of equality amongst female competitors. For Caster Semenya and other female intersex track Olympians to endure the regulations imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is an injustice. This quote by Pidgeon Pagonis in a May 2019 article from Vox that summed up my thoughts on Semenya's fight with the IAAF. Pagonis is an intersex activist and founder of the Intersex Justice Project:
"Certain bodies are never allowed to be female, are never allowed to be women, are never allowed to just be. What I think this comes down to is, Caster's faster than white girls and she made them cry...I see a lot of intersex phobia that is heightened because she's a black woman. Had Caster been a gender-conforming, straight-identified white girl who just was faster than the other people, they would have never invaded her body." (Pagonis, 2019).
Semenya has to endure rigorous drug therapy and blood tests in order to compete. As if she hasn't been humiliated enough, her body continues to be specimen forcefully displayed with even private medical records leaked to the general public.
Caster Semenya's fight to compete naturally highlights the continued racism, sexism and double standards women face in sports. Tennis athlete Serena Williams is a great example of this. She is the best in her league, though continues to be vilified as "too" muscular, "too" emotional, and is even ostracized for wearing clothes that are revealing. A more recent example of this was after a controversial loss against Naomi Osaka and Australian journalist Mark Knight published an offensive caricature of Williams.
Thoughts on Gaia Theory
Gaia theory suggests "the combined physical, chemical and biological components of the earth system regulate the planet so as to maintain it as a habitat for life" (Lovelock)
I find it quite interesting that scientists would argue otherwise that our every living thing on our planet is interconnected and play a role in maintaining balance to our existence. This is ancient wisdom that many of us have forgotten because of our disconnection to the land and our physical environment.
Conversations around sex and gender continues to be a taboo subject in our society. Much of those conversations are based on sexist and patriarchal ideas of what it means to be a "man" or "woman." It's only fitting that these same issues will arise in institutions such as the Olympics. Requiring female athletes with naturally elevated testosterone levels to inhibit their hormones through drug therapy and surgery completely negates the IAAF's goal of equality amongst female competitors. For Caster Semenya and other female intersex track Olympians to endure the regulations imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is an injustice. This quote by Pidgeon Pagonis in a May 2019 article from Vox that summed up my thoughts on Semenya's fight with the IAAF. Pagonis is an intersex activist and founder of the Intersex Justice Project:
"Certain bodies are never allowed to be female, are never allowed to be women, are never allowed to just be. What I think this comes down to is, Caster's faster than white girls and she made them cry...I see a lot of intersex phobia that is heightened because she's a black woman. Had Caster been a gender-conforming, straight-identified white girl who just was faster than the other people, they would have never invaded her body." (Pagonis, 2019).
Semenya has to endure rigorous drug therapy and blood tests in order to compete. As if she hasn't been humiliated enough, her body continues to be specimen forcefully displayed with even private medical records leaked to the general public.
Caster Semenya's fight to compete naturally highlights the continued racism, sexism and double standards women face in sports. Tennis athlete Serena Williams is a great example of this. She is the best in her league, though continues to be vilified as "too" muscular, "too" emotional, and is even ostracized for wearing clothes that are revealing. A more recent example of this was after a controversial loss against Naomi Osaka and Australian journalist Mark Knight published an offensive caricature of Williams.
Williams has always been outspoken about sexism in tennis and how umpire's treat female players. Through that process, racist attacks towards Williams have also surfaced despite Osaka being a bi-racial woman of Haitian and Japanese descent. Would Williams and Semenya's experiences be different if they were men competing in their field or if they were white women who were exceptionally strong athletes?
Gaia theory suggests "the combined physical, chemical and biological components of the earth system regulate the planet so as to maintain it as a habitat for life" (Lovelock)
I find it quite interesting that scientists would argue otherwise that our every living thing on our planet is interconnected and play a role in maintaining balance to our existence. This is ancient wisdom that many of us have forgotten because of our disconnection to the land and our physical environment.
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