Let Caster Run

According to the British Times, tests on South African runner Caster Semanya reveal that she is intersex. "Hermaphrodite" is the word they used, although in strictly medical terms, that might not be entirely accurate. Hermaphrodites are people with both ovaries and testes, whereas Caster Semanya apparently has internal testes and no ovaries. It's very likely that she had no idea that her genitalia was atypical and it's heartbreaking to me that she has to undergo this rigorous testing in public. But perhaps the saddest result of the whole story is summed up in this sentence:"the South African may find herself stripped of her gold medal and banned from racing."Banned from racing. A runner of obvious talent, a runner who has undoubtedly worked hard all her life, will be barred from doing something at which she excels. Why?Because she doesn't fit into a box.But here's the thing about boxes. They do a reasonably good job of sorting a significant majority of people. But they don't hold everyone. And thank goodness for that. Rigid boxes like male vs female, or gay vs straight, or even black vs white, can never hold the entire human race because nature, psychology, and culture are too creative. And yet we, as a society, continue to punish the people who don't fit into the boxes.I say, screw the boxes. Let Caster run.