Last week, when we discussed if women are humorous and the
story of the woman runner that the media deemed to be a man, I believe several
of my colleagues’ opinions were slightly misguided. Below are some points that
should be considered.
1.
First, there is a difference between gender and
sex. Gender is how someone identifies themself, and sex is what someone
scientifically is. When Semenya allegedly had elevated testosterone levels, I
believe it was okay for the Olympics committee to investigate the sex of the
runner. When you enter the Olympics, you need to be comfortable with the
harshest scrutiny from your peers and the Olympics committee. However, I
believe the unfair scrutiny that the media put on Semenya is the true crime.
The individual should be the one that decides his or her own gender – not other
people.
2.
Second, when the children were being interviewed
about Semenya on the Tonight Show, many people were shaming the children’s
opinion. However, if you look at their comments in a developmental perspective,
their opinions were rational for their age. From 3-12 years old, children are
developing schemas that shape the world around them. Analytical thinking is
minimal at these ages, and many children apply their schemas with a narrow
mindset. Although parents partially help mold schemas, most gender-based
schemas come from observations within their environment. Most women do not have
muscles like Semenya, and it is quite possible that some of the children on the
video had never seen a women built like Semenya.
3.
As I mentioned in class, when it comes to humor,
I don’t believe women need to be masculine to be funny, but I would argue that
they would need to be androgynous in this day and age. Androgyny is not a
masculine or feminine trait, but is rather gender neutral. As proof, every
female comedian discussed in class had androgynous traits.
-Derek Miller
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