Sports Should not be Based on Gender
Caster Semenya is an 18 year old runner from South Africa. She won the 800 meters at the 12th IAAF World Championships held in Berlin in August. She set a world record of 1 minute and 55.45 seconds. Before the championships Semenya was asked by the federation to take a gender test. The federation allowed her to participate in the event after the initial results indicated that she was a woman. But the Sydney Daily Telegraph is now reporting that the tests are indicating that Semenya is a hermaphrodite with no ovaries but internal testes.
Life is not easy for those individuals who are not straight. We tend to isolate and discriminate against individuals who are gay, bisexual, transsexual or exhibit any deviancy from the so-called norm. Most of us are programmed to see the differences among us and not the billions of things that are common. We use religion, culture, heritage, laws and any other excuse we can come up with to prevent these individuals from enjoying the same rights and privileges that we enjoy and cherish. Now can you imagine the pressure facing an 18 year old world class athlete whose sexual orientation is now being questioned, investigated and reported on a daily basis all over the world?
In the last couple of decades the world has come a long way in terms of giving rights to minorities of all kinds. Discrimination of all sorts still exists but in most cases they are illegal. The problem is not with the law but with the individual or groups. For example in over 275 years, America is yet to elect a woman as President not because it is against the law but because majority of American men are not comfortable voting for a female candidate. In the same token all the Popes so far have been white European men? Is it because it is illegal for anybody else to become the Pope?
But Sports is one of the few areas where discrimination is still legal (I use the word sports loosely since athletics or games like Golf might not be considered by some as a sport). Men and women are segregated in almost all major sports leagues in the world. There are a few exceptions that I know of (there is a men’s and women’s professional golf tour (PGA) in the United States but women are allowed to compete in the men’s tour if they choose).
Reasons offered up for keeping sports segregated are many. People claim that women cannot compete at the same level as men. Others claim allowing all gender sports leagues will dilute the popularity of the sport and some even claim that it is not necessarily in the best interests or proper for women or others to participate in the same league as men. Do all these reasons sound familiar? It does because these where the same arguments used to segregate sports (white only baseball leagues and Negro League) in the United States and all over the world. The white players and fans did not think that the black players could compete at the same level. They also thought race mixing is not a good and that if it happens baseball fans (America is a predominantly white country) would walk away from the sport. But did all this happen? Baseball is today one of the most popular games in the country. The teams are full of Black and Latino players, coaches and umpires.
All men are not created equal. If competitive level is the criteria then except for a few select countries all other countries (including their “men”) should be eliminated from competitive sports. What is the point of Indian men playing soccer? Are their skills in the same planet as Europe and South America? Should India bother to send any of their “men” to the Olympics? Gender discrimination does not stop on the playing field alone. What prevents other gender types from becoming umpires or coaches in football or cricket?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) now allows female referees. This has had no negative impact on the game. Why shouldn’t this be applied to all sports? The final barrier is of course ownership. Very few sports franchises (men or women) are actually owned or managed by women. When we watch sports today we are in no way different than a white person in the 50’s watching a baseball game between white players and managed by white umpires and white coaches. Substitute the word white with male.
Related posts:
- India Playing Cricket in Empty Stadiums
- World Cup Soccer: Real American Men Watch Football
- Indian Election Commissions Landmark Decision on Gender
- Indian Premier League is not Sports but a Reality Show
- Sir Donald Bradman is the Greatest Batsman?
Category: Sports & Entertainment
But Semenya had the entire SA behind her. Her country supported her strongly during the hard time. What did we do when Shanthi was told to take gender test and when her medal was stripped?
Welcome to India First-Hand. I agree that India is very far behind many other nations when it comes to gender equality. But things are changing for the better.