– Casting Doubts: Responsible Media Representations In Vancouver 2010

 

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by Kelsey Blair

Is it a coincidence that Lady Gaga, the popular entertainer who has come up with such eloquent lyrics as, “kiss or hug you/I’m bluffing with my muffin,” and Caster Semenya, the South African runner undergoing gender testing, have both had to deny being intersex recently? God, I hope so.

 

Unfortunately, I live in a city, and contrary to popular reports, cities crush hope. There are newsstands everywhere, each of them filled with glossy magazines. Headlines report Gaga’s latest fashion choice and the twists in Semenya’s ongoing inquiry. It isn’t a coincidence is it?

Magazine covers often tout headlines that ask: “How do I get perfect curls?” “What lip gloss does Angelina Jolie use?” “How can I have abs like Brad Pitt?” Questions about the body and how it’s defined are everywhere. These specific daily questions, now largely addressed at actors and actresses, aren’t new; a keen interest in specific bodies has long dominated another forum: sport. Like celebrity and entertainment, sport garners an audience. There are many compelling reasons to watch sport, and surely one of them is to observe those who push the limits of the human body. It’s fun to see people dunk, propel themselves through water, through air, or land a triple axel.

With sport, the body is central, but the interest changes from “How good can a body look?” to “How much can a body do?” As such, conversations about the body take on a different tone. This is particularly true at the Olympics, which provides an international forum to observe the body.

How does this relate to Caster Semenya and Lady Gaga? The word “performance” is used in both sport and entertainment. Inviting spectatorship, it would seem, suggests that both Semenya’s and Gaga’s bodies should be judged along similar criteria.

How good was the performance? How did one look while performing? (Strong? Well Dressed? Confident?) However, what’s superficial for Gaga is considered something more fundamental for Caster.

When Lady Gaga is accused of being intersex—the modern term for hermaphrodite—the remarks are easily tossed aside as slander.

In September, an Australian DJ asked Lady Gaga to comment on the rumours, and she responded by saying, “My little vagina is very offended. I’m not offended, my vagina is offended.” That was that. On the other hand, when questions are raised about Caster Semenya’s gender, there is a formal inquiry.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (I.A.A.F) has forced her to undergo gender verification testing, with results to be announced in November.

Theoretically, the accusations against both women could raise questions about gender and identity, but it is Semenya’s case which invites in-depth debate and commentary. This is largely because Semenya’s body must be assessed in terms of fairness among athletes and the integrity of sport.

To answer my original question: In a culture which is so focused on the body, it isn’t surprising that both Gaga and Semenya have had to defend their bodies, and an important part of any body is gender.

However, there are a few important differences between their cases, and one of them is opportunity.

The way an athlete, such as Semenya Caster, uses her body forces inquiry into gender and identity in a way that similar accusations against an entertainer doesn’t.

According to Nick Davies, spokesperson for the I.A.A.F,, the inquiry into Semenya’s gender is based,
largely, on her improvements in the last year. “In the case of this athlete, following her breakthrough in the African junior championships, the rumours, the gossip were starting to build up.” Why were the rumours starting to build up? If it was really just a matter of concern about improvement, wouldn’t it be a simple matter of drug testing?

There’s an element missing. Caster Semenya has shown huge improvements in the last year. She also has a muscular build, a deep voice, wears her hair in cornrows, and has a very flat chest. Almost undeniably, Semenya is—at least partially—being judged, not on her athletic performance, but on her performance as a female.

On September 10th, You!, a popular South African magazine, printed a story with the headline that ran, “ Wow! Look at Caster now. We turn SA’s power girl into Glamour girl, and she loves it!”.

The article might seem crass, but it’s also useful to analyze. If one element of gender is appearance, how else could Semenya have publicly defended her gender? On the cover, Semenya wears make-up, jewellery, and has her hair done. It is a much better “female performance.” Unfortunately, it was ten months too late. I find myself wondering if her situation might have been different if the article had come out in July instead of September.

Given that You! is a South African magazine and Semenya is competing in an international forum, it may have had no effect whatsoever. This begs the question: If gender is, at least partially, about performance and appearance, then how is gender defined in different countries and different contexts? The I.A.A.F. has 203 countries in its framework. It is an international governing body in the truest sense of the term. This is important because it is one place where we can look for hints about global understandings of certain terms. One of these terms is gender. When the I.A.A.F. questions Semenya’s gender, it’s working off a definition of what it means to be male and female in an international context. So, what is it about Caster Semenya’s body that isn’t meeting the definition? Is it her deep voice or the fact she often wears track suits instead of dresses?

These questions are particularly relevant just ahead of the 2010 Olympics. With the upcoming Games, the focus on the sporting body is likely to intensify. Though Caster Semenya will be old news by February, there will be plenty of athletic bodies on display. I invite everyone, from media outlets, to scholars, to you, the reader, to marvel at bodies, but also to seize an opportunity. For two weeks, engage in conversations about the body and what it represents: power, strength, genetics, biology, gender, identity. At best, you’ll get a chance to engage in an everyday topic from a new perspective. At worst, you’ll get bored or frustrated, in which case I’m sure there will be a glossy magazine you could pick up at your local newsstand.