Caster Semenya deserves justice. Everyone policed by sexist-racist fictions of what “men” and “woman” should be deserves justice.
There is a chasm between “should” and “are” maintained by the willful refusal to push past ideology to address reality. Black women are competent and talented and this system will do everything it can to undermine and belittle their achievements. What’s unfair is not Caster’s abilities, but the sex binary that disproportionately targets her.
These cultural categories of “male” and “female” are defined by white supremacy. So often when society uses the terms “man and woman” they are actually referring to “white man and white woman.” This association of womanhood with weakness and manhood with strength was solidified as part of the racist arithmetic of empire building. Indigenous women and Black women in particular were denied recognition of their womanhood and femininity by European scientists on account of their leadership and strength. These categories were never innocent, and they are certainly not natural. They were created by race scientists in the 19th century specifically to advance white male supremacy and to demonize Black, Indigenous, and racialized peoples.
The disparate treatment of Caster and Michael is not a coincidence, it is a calculation. It is a product of the racial eugenics Euro-America still masquerades as “science.”
Racism/sexism/transphobia lives in the double standards. Constantly interrogate: would this person be treated this way / would I feel this way about this person if they were white / male / cis / gender conforming?
