"The result of a multidisciplinary, international workshop, this volume, edited by Montañola (communication studies, Univ. of Rennes 1, France) and Olivesi (communication and media studies, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon, France) includes nine chapters that focus on the “complex case” of South African runner Caster Semenya, whom officials forced to undergo gender testing after winning the 800m title at the 2009 World Championships. This collection covers the sociocultural, historical, medical, ethical, and legal contexts surrounding this particular incident. The first four chapters explore various approaches to how norms and definitions about the female body have been constructed and the resulting impact, particularly within sport. An especially strong argument here involves the historical and social legitimization of issues of fairness. The remaining five chapters focus on how these sex and gender norms appear in global media discourses and coverage. A weakness, however, is that some chapters seem only tangentially related to the Semenya case—inspired by, rather than based on. Arguably more about gender construction than gender testing, this edited collection makes a solid contribution to scholarship in several areas of study by approaching one incident from a variety of academic disciplines. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty."
A. Curtis, Lake Erie College - CHOICE
"The collection as a whole emphasizes the construction, cultural significance, and meaning of gender more than the ethics of gender testing in sport, but it offers fresh, convincing, and astute perspectives on gender testing. Two chapters, by Elaine Salo and John Sloop, address Semenya’s use of silence in response to the intense public scrutiny she faced and continued to receive. Both chapters are theoretically strong, engaging, and bring new perspectives to the body of literature addressing sex/gender testing in sport."
Sarah Teetzel, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of Manitoba