I was talking with a female friend recently about Caster Semenya, and trying to figure out why it seems that many women support Caster Semenya competing as a woman, every though it makes it nearly impossible for a biological female to win.
First, my perspective. I do not like Semenya in the women's races one bit. As a man, I prefer men's sports, and so I'm glad there's no men's equivalent to her. Sports is about finding the little edge, training that bit harder, and then you win, because you did everything right. Even the best have to run with the pack, have to time their kick, have to run 100 mpw, and so it makes it all the more exciting when you have an athlete so good that he breaks that mold (think Rudisha in London 2012 or Wanjiru 2008). Sports is about winning and preparing to win, and winning isn't meaningful if there's a single factor that swamps everything else. Especially in a case like Semenya's where the one factor she has in her favor (testosterone) is the exact thing that makes men faster than women.
I think that's a pretty standard perspective for why Semenya shouldn't be competing with the women. But my friend had a completely different viewpoint. Keep in mind, she is a runner, a good one, who trains hard, races hard, and wants to win. She's not oblivious to what Semenya means for the sport. But this is what she said (paraphrased):
The problem with the above line of thinking is that it treats women's sports like men's sports. The focus of men's sports is on competition, on winning, and on what it takes to get there. Women's sports also needs these things. But if the sum total of women's sports is "sports with boobs", then it will always be a worse version of men's sports.
In other words, women's sports should not be just about who gets to the finish line first. They are also about personality and story and connection and inspiration. Not that men's sports don't have these components, but fundamentally we don't care if our male champions are awkward or jerks or ugly. But for women's running to be its own thing, it needs to have this other dimension be as important as the running itself.
Examples:
Allie Kieffer is a great runner, but equally important is that she's challenging traditional body image stereotypes. It doesn't matter that she is pretty tiny herself, or that being lean in general really does win races. The point is that she's giving women confidence while running fast
Gwen Jorgensen is the GOAT triathlete, but more important is who she is now: she's someone who balances running with having a baby, someone who is willing to leave triathlon for the sport that makes her happy, and someone who's not afraid to set unlikely goals and do her best to achieve them
Alexi Pappas bugs the hell out of me, but she's a talented runner trying to bring running to a broader audience
A woman who finds success by unconventional means or comes from an unconventional background, even if she's far behind the leaders, is worth celebrating
I want to be really careful here. What this is not saying is that winning doesn't matter. It's very important. But equally important is the personalities and stories. Whereas for men I would say that the competition is #1 and everything else is #2.
Caster Semenya is intersex, and clearly has an advantage because of it (and likely a disadvantage against men). But she's not so far ahead that the other women can't try to beat her. So what she is is a black intersex woman who works hard, fights for her place in the race, and wins. She's a tough, inspirational woman. And so we need to think of running in this case not just as a competition, but as a part of our culture. And including Semenya is more inclusive, inspirational, and meaningful than excluding her, even if it makes the race itself less meaningful.
So that's what my friend thinks. I definitely agree that women's sports needs to be something different that just men's sports but worse. I think all that's already true, and it's hiding under the surface right now. Maybe men's/women's sports need to be more separated so that women's sports could have include someone like Semenya, whereas the equivalent wouldn't happen on the men's side. Take figure skating or gymnastics, for example. The drama comes from something entirely different that it does in running. Maybe if women's running moved in that direction, it would be good for the sport as a whole. I just don't want men's sports to get caught up in the same shift: I believe that the #1 goal of sports should always be to compete and determine who's best.