Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons English Theses & Dissertations English Spring 2015 Governing Bodies: Caster Semenya and the Rhetorical Management of Sex and Gender Ambiguity in Professional Athletics Samuel Robert Evans Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_etds Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Rhetoric Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Evans, Samuel R.. "Governing Bodies: Caster Semenya and the Rhetorical Management of Sex and Gender Ambiguity in Professional Athletics" (2015). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, English, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/vyhz-nh48 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_etds/54 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GOVERNING BODIES: CASTER SEMENYA AND THE RHETORICAL MANAGEMENT OF SEX AND GENDER AMBIGUITY IN PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS by Samuel Robert Evans B.A. May 2004, Hastings College M.A. May 2008, University of Nebraska at Omaha A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ENGLISH OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 2015 Approved by: .indal Buchanan (Director) Dana Heller (Member) Michael Butterworth (Member) UMI Number: 3663148 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Di!ss0?t&Ciori Publishing UMI 3663148 Published by ProQuest LLC 2015. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT GOVERNING BODIES: CASTER SEMENYA AND THE RHETORICAL MANAGEMENT OF SEX AND GENDER AMBIGUITY IN PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS Samuel Robert Evans Old Dominion University, 2015 Director: Dr. Lindal Buchanan Sport has long been thought of as an “opiate for the masses,” where a collective can forget about social, political, racial, or economic differences and unify to compete in the same space or root for a common team (Eitzen and Sage 202). Scholarship in sports communication, sports rhetoric, and sports sociology, however, has shown that this view of sport as an apolitical cultural institution separate from impactful political debate is oversimplified. Rather, sports are key sites in which beliefs about gender, race, class, and politics are made manifest. This dissertation uses the case of Caster Semenya, a female South African middle- distance runner who was wrongly accused of being a man competing in a women’s race, to shed light on the ways athletics shape definitions of sex and gender. I suggest that governing bodies in professional athletics have employed rhetorical silence in rules to maintain the power to determine who can access the gendered space of an athletics competition and under what pretenses. I assert that despite the fact that competitive spaces restrict athletes’ gender deliveries to a great degree, athletes such as Semenya still retain some autonomy in delivering their gender to viewers, though that delivery does have significant consequences. And finally, I suggest that U.S. media coverage of Semenya reaffirms a binary gender ideology by rhetorically scapegoating Semenya, separating her from the collective and symbolically sacrificing her to reaffirm binary gender ideals. By identifying the methods in which sex and gender ambiguity are presented and treated in sports, this dissertation identifies a need for a clearer, non-alienating way of discussing sex and gender variance in sport and society. Copyright, 2014, by Samuel Robert Evans, All Rights Reserved. For my parents, Dan and Connie, who raised me to believe in the power of education; for my wife, Kristi, who gave me unfathomable love and support through this journey; and for my children, Libby and Grace, who, in their short time with me, have inspired me to be better. V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the knowledge, help, and understanding of so many people. First, I would like to acknowledge my dissertation chair, Dr. Lindal Buchanan. 1 have had the privilege of taking multiple classes with her and have been in awe of her ability as a scholar and teacher. Upon asking Dr. Buchanan to be the chair for this project, I was confident that she would be the same courteous, professional, and challenging professor that I had known in my classes with her. However, I have been overwhelmed by the time, attention, and compassion she's devoted to me as I've struggled toward completing this dissertation. She will always be an inspiration to me as a scholar, teacher, and person. I am also indebted to the other members who have served on this dissertation committee: Dr. Dana Heller and Dr. Michael L. Butterworth. Both Dr. Heller and Dr. Butterworth have provided valuable support and feedback during my time writing and revising this dissertation, but both also played an integral role in my development as a scholar even before I began working on this project. Early on in my doctoral study, 1 discovered an article Dr. Butterworth wrote that explored limitations of body rhetoric through the case of the place kicker for the University of Colorado football team in the early 2000s, Katie Hnida. 1 had no illusions about replicating the adeptness of his analysis, but I was inspired by this article to explore further the overlap between sports and rhetoric. Additionally, Dr. Heller’s doctoral seminar in gender studies played an integral role in helping me develop a metalanguage that I could employ to give meaning to issues surrounding sex and gender, and this course played a foundational role in helping me explore the interplay of rhetoric and gender in this dissertation. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge my gratitude to a handful of my peers who have helped me during this phase of my academic career. Mathieu Reynolds has gifted far too much of his time and energy to listening to me when I was frustrated, providing me helpful feedback and constructive criticism when solicited, and motivating me when I was ready to give up. Whether writing a dissertation or surviving a zombie apocalypse, I can think of no one else I would rather have in my corner. Also, I must acknowledge my Dissertation Seminar colleagues— Vincent Rhodes, Carmen Christopher, and Dave Jones— and members of the Diss Bootcamp Facebook group, who have been instrumental in preparing me for this journey and walking alongside me toward the finish line. Last and certainly not least, 1 must acknowledge the support of my family and the sacrifices they have made so that I could pursue this opportunity. My parents, Dan and Connie Evans, have sacrificed time and money to give me every opportunity to succeed in my educational pursuits. 1 don’t say it nearly enough, but thank you for all that you’ve done for me. And my wife, Kristi, selflessly left her family, home, and job in Nebraska to join me in Virginia as I pursued this degree. She has weathered my rough days and long nights of studying. She has encouraged me when I needed it and supported me when I struggled. Her patience, support, love, and devotion inspire me daily. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................1 Tracing Intersections: Sex, Gender, Semenya, and The Academy ............................................8 Binary Paradigms of Sex and Gender ..............................................................................................12 From Paradigm to Ideology ................................................................................................................15 Institutions and the Production of Consent.....................................................................................17 Binary Sex Paradigms in Sports: Reification and Reformation ............................................... 21 Recognizing Gender Variation in Sports: An Intersectional Approach ................................. 27 Sex & Gender Management in Professional Athletics: What's to Come ...............................32 II. FALLING THROUGH THE GENDER GAPS: THE IAAF'S DEFINITIONAL SILENCE ON SEX AND GENDER ..................................................................................................... 34 Silence as Rhetoric ............................................................................................................................... 38 Authority and the Institutional Discourse of the IAAF...............................................................45 Definitional Silences............................................................................................................................5 1 Silencing With Pronouns....................................................................................................................61