Not black and white, nor pink and blue

[Natasha]

Not black and white, nor pink and blue

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/not-black-and-white-nor-pink-and-blue-62314732.html
Marlo Campbell
9/28/09

Caster Semenya burst onto the international stage two months ago with a track-and-field victory that should have been an inspirational success story. Instead, the 18-year-old phenom from rural South Africa has become the subject of a public debacle -- and the target of crude jokes, misinformed speculation and downright cruel personal attacks -- all because she is a woman who doesn't measure up to some people's definition of what it means to be female.

That is to say, she is a woman who is not woman enough.

Controversy surfaced the day before Semenya won the 800-metre race at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, when it was leaked to the media that the International Association of Athletics Federations had ordered a "gender verification test" in response to concerns about the young athlete's muscular build, deep voice and impressive race times.