The representation of Caster Semenya in Beeld and Rapport during August and September 2009 : a case study

The representation of women in the media has been problematic in many respects. Women have often been portrayed in a limited number of roles and media reports have often unnecessarily focused on their physical appearance. In 2009, South African athlete Caster Semenya astonished the athletics world with her times in the 800 m. However, her performance was soon overshadowed by speculation about her sex. Before long, an Australian publication claimed that Semenya had male sexual organs and no womb or ovaries. The publication of this report left other media with a number of ethical dilemmas. This study examined the representation of Semenya in Beeld and Rapport, two Afrikaans newspapers, during the height of speculation. The aim of the study was to determine whether the specified media, in their portrayal of Semenya, adhered to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling. Two theoretical frameworks, namely, Representation and African womanism, were used as analytical tools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the portrayal of Semenya. The study found that the representation of Caster Semenya did not adhere to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling in all respects.

Publisher: Stellenbosch University
Year of Publication: 2013