Just over a month ago, I posted about a Nike ad that covered women as a collective. Now, this ad just covers a Jamaican woman olympic sprinter, Caster Semenya. This woman happens to be one of the best in what she does. However, people always give her mess about her build and where she comes from. Let me inform you, Usain Bolt is also from Jamaica and is the fastest man ever. So, just because she’s dominating in women’s track and field, it’s considered a problem or as some would say, she had an advantage. Nike wanted people to see the work she’s been through and all the times she questioned if she was really doing what she loved. People believed she was being ‘too fast’ in most cases considering she always won. She always questioned “Do I need to stop winning?” “Do I need to run slower?” Just so that people can see who she her for her.
I have been following the South African athlete, Caster Semenya for quite some time and throughout her career, she has been judged for her body. She is an amazing athlete but she is seen as too manly for women’s track. The AAF decreed- in what they might see as a fair and gender neutral ruling, that sexual orientation or gender identity will not be determinate of which side they want to compete on. ‘What a Surprise’, all women don’t come with the same level of estrogen and testosterone. Their quest to be more fair or equal has led them to define what a woman should look like or what levels of compounds they should have in their body that they have no control over. Michael Phelps has been praised for having a biological edge that helps him move faster in water but he hasn’t been kicked out of the sport, therefore Caster is being targeted because she is a black woman. They even make these comments regarding Serena Williams.