Gender is a Spectrum

When reading and discussing Caster Semenya in class, I honestly felt sad and bothered that our society reacted to this successful female runner in such a negative way.  Caster is a woman who may not look typically "feminine," but defines herself as a woman and is stated as female on her birth certificate.  The fact that when Caster, and her friends and family, stated that she was born (and remains) female, was not enough for the media and in turn Olympic officials.  I was very bothered while reading the article because this successful, strong, woman was not only being patronized for her looks (and success) but also publicly humiliated by having to endure monitored bathroom trips and countless tests.

When discussing this topic in class, the question arose whether we thought that gender was black and white or rather a spectrum.  I fully believe that gender (and sexuality for that matter) is a spectrum and not something that can just be viewed as black and white.  Looking at gender as percentages, I totally believe that someone can be 50% male and 50% female.  The fact that people MUST be categorized as either male or female shows a large flaw in our society and something that we should not be proud of.  Nature was not designed for men and women to be so gender specific, but rather simply what they want to be.

Part of the focus on this black and white type of gender comes straight from the extreme homophobia found in our society (typically found more prominently in men).  The media portrays any type of man who shows any type of femininity as either a wussy or a homosexual.  In turn, any woman who appears strong (with muscles or her brain) or has "manly" features, is titled as a "dyke" or lesbian.  The simple fact that these people in the media are portraying real people in the world that are looked at with these same labels and titles by the average person.  When our gender and sexuality can be looked at as a spectrum, instead of simply black and white, maybe then our society will become less obsessed with what people are and more interested in who people are.