Sex v. Gender and Men Trying to Guess Bra Prices

After reading Simone de Beauvoir’s piece, I realized that I had not formulated an opinion myself about what exactly constituted a ‘woman.’ Was it appearance, biological difference, how one simply identified themselves and acted, or was it something more? I was interested to know what others thought a woman was. My thoughts went to the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who was forced to undergo a “gender verification” test after competing and placing in the women’s 800-meter Olympic run in 2009. She was forced into this test simply because of the way she looked. Her body type did not fit that of a “typical” woman, even an athletic woman, and many of her competitors were upset that such a seemingly manly woman should be able to compete in the same category as them. Her test results showed that she had three times the normal level of testosterone than the average woman (accredited to her internal testes), and was also missing both a womb and ovaries. What was most notable about Semenya’s situation however, was what happened after the race. She was asked to give an interview and be on the cover of You magazine, a South African publication. As you can see, she is wearing a flattering black dress and a ton of jewelry. Her hair, now taken out of braids, is done beautifully and compliments the eye makeup, lipstick, and nail polish someone has put on her. (As a side note, when you search her name, the first thing Google suggests is “Caster Semenya makeover.”) When this was printed, it was make clear that there was to be no hint of masculinity in her cover photo, which made her both more relatable and easier for people to accept. When she was seen as a hermaphrodite, she made others question what exactly it meant to be a woman, by default forcing men to question what it was to be a man. If this woman was stronger, faster, and had more masculine features than many men in America, yet she still identified as a woman, how did that modify the definition of a ‘woman’? Simply by being herself, she threw off the entire balance of feminine v masculine and female v male. This proved to be unacceptable and controversial though, and she was quickly corrected and made a definitive woman.

Knowing this and everything else we’ve talked about in class, I’m still struggling to determine what makes a woman a woman. In recent history, it has been exciting and popular to talk about LGBT people and the rights they are being granted or denied, just as it was popular to talk about black people and the rights they were granted or denied 60 years ago. Great change came about for African Americans then, and maybe big changes will come about for the LGBT community in the next decade. Will gender be seen as more fluid? Will those who do not conform be able to live the lives they want without fear of violence or ostracism? Are there other elements that are preventing a gender/sex uprising that were not present during the Civil rights movement of the 1960s?

To end on a happier and unrelated note, I thought this was hilarious and showed just how out of touch men are. These kinds of products are nowhere near the realm of men's thoughts, but I'm pretty sure most women would be able to put prices on men’s products without issue. Click HERE