In 2009, Caster Semenya set a new world record with her championship win. The 19-year-old runner from South Africa wasn’t celebrated, however. Instead, her private medical records were leaked and published in the press. A torrent of accusations followed, key among them that Semenya was not a “real woman.” Category: Woman begins with Semenya’s experience, connecting the runner’s challenge with bigoted “gender confirmation” examinations with a long history of sexist policy and abuse female international athletes face.
Several other notable female athletes are interviewed alongside sports medicine and legal experts who seek to expose the roots of international sports policy which treats successful women athletes and those with naturally high androgen levels as subhuman.
Category: Woman expertly outlines the human rights abuses non-white athletes face in today’s international competitions. Many of us can remember when runners Semenya and Chand’s gender discrimination were front-page news. Category: Woman assumes the viewer’s ignorance, however, touching heavily on basic concepts and events, making this documentary especially useful to sports medicine college courses.
While Category: Woman is a powerful film in many respects, its historical analysis of the human rights abuses of international sports is very surface-level. There are a number of missed opportunities as well: The struggles of Caster Semenya, Dutee Chand, Annet Negesa, and Margaret Wambui are not connected to a history of medical dehumanization of black and brown bodies dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, nor is there any mention of the identical struggle transgender youth face in America today.
There is a use of a true-crime style in the cinematography which I found off-putting in the context of exploring systemic racism. Fans of female athletes will be interested in the first-hand experiences of Semenya, other sportswomen, and dozens of experts who lend their voices to Category: Woman. Recommended.
Where does this title belong on public library shelves?
Category: Woman belongs on sports and human rights documentary shelves.
What type of college instructor could use this title?
Anyone teaching sports medicine could find substantial use for Category: Woman in the classroom.
What is the retail price and/or Public Performance License fee?
$395.00