Compass Gender: Caster Semenya Challenges Exclusion from International Sports in Court
Runner Caster Semenya is appealing a court decision that would prevent her from competing in international track and field events due to high testosterone levels. (Wikimedia Commons)
Caster Semenya, a South African 800-meter runner, is appealing her exclusion from World Athletics track and field events to the European Court of Human Rights. The two-time Olympic gold medalist announced on February 25 that she will challenge the rule that she must take a testosterone-reducing drug in order to be allowed to compete.
In 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that women with XY chromosomes, “differences in sexual development,” and testosterone levels above 5 nmol/L will be excluded from all track events between 400-meter and the mile. Although Semenya has not made the details of her anatomy public, the court ruling specifically mentions her as an affected athlete. The ruling also states that in order to compete again, Semenya must undergo hormone therapy to reduce her testosterone levels.
Semenya’s lawyers will argue that the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling violated her human rights. In addition to the discriminatory ban on intersex women with high testosterone, Semenya has experienced rampant intersexphobia. Several public news outlets invaded her medical privacy by publicly speculating about her anatomy, including a Time Magazine article titled, “Could This Women’s World Champ Be a Man?”
Semenya has dealt with public bigotry and media degradation since she first competed in 2009 at the age of 18. Along with the regular misgendering and humiliating speculation about her anatomy, she has faced heinous attacks from her competitors. Elise Cusma, an Italian runner who came in sixth to Semenya’s first, rejected her identity. “For me, she is not a woman. She is a man.”
Some experts agree with the ruling that prevents Semenya from competing. Ross Tucker, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of the Free State in South Africa, believes that intersex women are advantaged in athletic events due to their higher levels of testosterone. Higher levels of testosterone give men a competitive advantage of about “10 to 13 percent,” which most women simply cannot compete with.
A Swedish study similarly concluded that women who were given a topical testosterone-boosting cream showed a statistically significant improvement in aerobic endurance. World Athletics bans all athletes from using testosterone-boosting therapies to improve their prospects in track and field competitions.
Semenya refused to accept the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s suggestion that she undergo hormone therapy. Despite the roadblocks in the way, Semenya remains confident that she will be running the 800-meter event in the Tokyo Olympics. “This fight is not just about me,” she tweeted. “It's about taking a stand and fighting for dignity, equality and the human rights of women in sport.”