Oxy Moron, Contributor

What a pickle Caster Semenya and the IAAF have found themselves in! Just when we thought the Shame of Berlin, viz, the MVP and the JAAA, was obliterated by some scintillating performances, the world governing body of track and field has taken upon itself the mammoth task of determining an athlete's gender.

Drug test, we understand, but gender testing? A rocket scientist we don't need to tell a person's gender, we think. It's easy as ABC. But think again. Gender - masculine and feminine - according to some sociologists and psychologists, is a state of mind, not a physical attribute, which is different from sex - male and female. Thus, a woman might view the world from a masculine perspective, and a man from a feminine point of view. Many people find these explanations repulsive, some embrace them.

Now, what if Semenya were indeed a man physically, but decided that she must be called woman, and chose to enter the women's races? Would it be unfair to her to tell her she can't, or would it be unfair to the 'real' women, since Semenya might have an unfair physical advantage? Is the world ready to deal with the notion of transgender in sports? I think not.

Man or woman?

What a dilemma! And what if the 'tests' say she is not woman enough? Would she be allowed to run as a man? What if there is another protest to say she is not man enough? In what category would she be entered? It is only fair, then, in the name of natural justice and inclusivity that a category be created for those who are not deemed 'qualified' for either gender.

And to think that we were led to believe that Adam and Eve were the only persons created in the Garden of Eden. Could it be possible that an in-between gender was also in the mix, but was banished because of discrimination (tongue-in-cheek food for thought). Because the reality of life is that there are people who were born with both male and female genitalia (and I am not intimating that that is the case with Semenya) and those who are transgender.

Sex cheat

Whatever, the outcome of those 'tests', one thing is certain, Caster Semenya is in a bit of a bother. She will be known to the world over as a sex cheat on one hand, or the female athlete with the manly attributes, who caused a stir in Berlin, Germany, the land of Hitler, who exterminated people because they were different. What is a man, rather a girl, to do in a prying and merciless world?

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