Caster Semenya

The decision by the International Court for Arbitration in Sport to reinstate Indian sprinter Dutee Chand, who had been banned in 2014 by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from competing against women because she was found to have levels of testosterone considered too high for a female was as surprising as it was it was enlightened, says an international expert on gender, sexuality, and sport.

For the second time in five years, a non-western female sprinter in her teens has been targeted by the two major international sports governing bodies, subjected to invasive medical and media scrutiny, and found to be too "masculine" to qualify as a woman in sporting competition.

Despite progress in women's and LGBT rights, the way the mainstream media portrays non-conforming or sexually ambiguous athletes has not changed much in three decades, argues a leading expert on gender in sport, citing the treatment of Olympic athletes Caster Semenya (left) and Johnnie Weir.