Appena ricevuto nella mailing list del WPATH ed immediatamente pubblicata su questo blog :
[…]Media witch hunt on Semenya will lead to hate crimes.
Media Statement Gender DynamiX and the Saartjie Baartman Centre
20 August 2009
This week South African media, in particular radio DJs and print media have been having a shameless orgy with the gender dispute of our gold medalist heroin competing in Berlin.
Last year we lost a South African sport star to a hate crime because she transgressed gender boundaries.
Banyana soccer star Eudy Simelane was murdered in a township because she challenged expected gender stereotypes.
Is our media putting a South African heros life in danger on her return, gold medal in hand ?
Instead of being proud of our champion the South African media and public is on a witch-hunt trying to define Semenya’s sex.
DJs on radio are dissecting Semenyas person to a point of reducing her accomplishments to her genitals.
In our work we are reminded of how (wo)mens bodies are so easily ridiculed and made into a spectacle because of gender notions ? Gender DynamiX focuses its work in the field of transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming people.
Civil society organisations, are fighting battles against homophobia and transphobia in South Africa.
With their work the killing of black lesbians in acts called “curative rape” has come to light.
Gender DynamiX maintains that these hate crimes are not only rooted in sexual orientation but also in gender identity.
Ilse Ahrends, Partnership coordinator at the Saartjie Baartman Centre in Cape Town asks ?
Alas where was the media when National Banyana-Banyana soccer player, Eudy Simelane was murdered because of her sexual orientation ?
Gender non-conformity does not always equal gay or lesbian.
It merely refers to a person physical appearance that does not conform to society’s expectations. In general people are outraged and confused by gender ambiguity.
As in the case of Castor Semenya, when confronted by people who challenge our perceptions of masculinity or femininity, we react with anger and fear.
This is the daily reality for many South Africans.[…]
Nulla di nuovo sotto il sole, un film che ho già visto diverse volte e la cui trama mi è tristemente nota.
