What Makes a Woman?
August 24, 2009 by Barbara
Filed under News and Analysis
Analysis …
Photo by David J. Phillip/AP
Caster Semenya’s spectacular win in the 800m World Athletics Championships brought her more than a gold medal and fame; the 18-year-old South African was required to take a gender test after suspicions were raised that the athlete is actually a male competing as a female. The row over the questions about Semenya’s gender has raised questions about what makes us female or male, whether biology can be the final word on what our gender might be, and what issues of race and sexism might be at play.
The Guardian (U.K.) | “Even though we know that a Y chromosome is only an X that has lost a leg, we still think in terms of male = perfect, female = imperfect. In plainer terms what the academic feminists could be taken to be saying is that (a) you’re a woman if you think you are and (b) you’re a woman if other people think you are. Unfortunately (b) cannot be made to follow from (a).”
Womanist Musings | “The fact that Black women have historically been saddled with the baggage of being considered less than female vis a vis the vanilla flavored beauty standard only adds to this drama. Add archaic and stereotypical notions about what athletic feats a woman is capable of producing, throw in a little borderline racism and you have a recipe for negative behavior and judgmental commentary to come out of people’s mouths.”
The Nation | “What these officials still don’t understand, or will not confront, is that gender–that is, how we comport and conceive of ourselves–is a remarkably fluid social construction. Even our physical sex is far more ambiguous and fluid than is often imagined or taught. Medical science has long acknowledged the existence of millions of people whose bodies combine anatomical features that are conventionally associated with either men or women and/or have chromosomal variations from the XX or XY of women or men. Many of these “intersex” individuals, estimated at one birth in every 1,666 in the United States alone, are legally operated on by surgeons who force traditional norms of genitalia on newborn infants. In what some doctors consider a psychosocial emergency, thousands of healthy babies are effectively subject to clitorectomies if a clitoris is “too large” or castrations if a penis is “too small” (evidently penises are never considered “too big”).”
The Intersection | “For now we’ll have to wait and see how the controversy plays out, but regardless, let me be completely clear about one particular point: Appearances. The human body comes in many shapes and sizes, packing a cocktail of genes and hormones that drive the behavior and traits we perceive as masculine or feminine. In other words, what we observe is not merely determined by X and Y chromosomes, an affinity for dolls or trucks, and so on. Before jumping to conclusions, remember that lesson from grade school and don’t judge a book by its cover.”
The Huffington Post | “Any scientist who’s studied gender issues can tell you biology doesn’t always play by its own rules. The International Olympic Committee dropped mandatory gender exams before the Sydney Games because the standard in place before then – chromosome testing – could be interpreted several ways. In place now is a case-by-case analysis that brings together a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, an internal medicine specialist and gender expert.”
- Related link: How to Perform a Gender Test | Slate
News & Analysis …
- The history of race and gender integration in the U.S. Armed Forces (Read more).
- Frank Rich @The New York Times talks about Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn and the vein of violence running through U.S. conservative politics (Read more).
- The resurgence of anti-government militias in the U.S. (Read more).
- Schools and public health officials are bracing for an outbreak of swine flu (Read more).
- The Brookings Institution takes a look at New Orleans four years post-Katrina and finds the city is still facing challenges due to blight, unaffordable housing and flood protection (Read more).
- Myths vs. facts in the health care reform debate (Read more).
Barbara Schwartz is the editorial director at the Xenia Institute. She lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., and currently is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
