'You' will have a lot to answer for

By now you and the whole world would have seen the pictures of gold-medal athlete Caster Semenya on the cover of and inside You/Huisgenoot magazine.

What were the magazine editors and the athlete's managers thinking when they planned this publicity stunt, which is only going to add to the international debate about Caster's physical appearance?

I know what the folk at You/Huisgenoot were thinking, it's their job. "What new angle can we take on the Caster story that will sell magazines?"

It's nothing new. Magazines have been doing celebrity makeovers forever and the ones that capture the public's imagination will certainly boost circulation and get the publication great PR mileage.

But this one's different. Caster Semenya is no Susan Boyle with a simple rags to riches tale that makes a makeover a no-brainer.

The eccentric Scotswoman with the angelic voice who almost won Britain's Got Talent has been styled as an elegant lady of the manor in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar.

The pictures are another step in the Pygmalion-like transformation of the woolly-haired 48-year-old spinster's life.

But we all know that Caster Semenya's story is a lot more complicated. As the You/Huisgenoot pictures of her dripping in gold jewellery, wearing figure-hugging sequins, lycra and stilettos, are sent around the world, there is still massive controversy regarding her gender testing by the IAAF.

None of us can imagine what the outcome of such a bizarre ritual is going to mean for the athlete, but there is every chance that these pictures of Caster might haunt her forever.

We do live in a world where the visual image is king and from the very start Caster Semenya was judged for her masculine and muscular appearance.

I'll admit that when I saw her on television for the first time, racing to gold in the 800m, I wondered why no one had painted her nails red.

Countless athletes before her had realised that a little glamour in the form of jewellery, make-up and feminine hair went a long way to distracting the cameras from their muscular bodies underneath.

I couldn't help wondering whether the whole Caster gender debate would have even started had she been encouraged to add some Venus Williams-style diamante earrings or FloJo-like painted nails to her public image.

Then Caster came home, to a rapturous welcome from fans who loved her not only for her remarkable sporting achievement - but for her appearance too.

Leave her alone, she's a beautiful African woman with a right to choose her own image, proclaimed thousands.

It was a wake-up call for me and many like me who believe that we have to accept that looks have become everything and if you don't play the game you must suffer the consequences.

No, said South Africa. There comes a time when we can all rise above the rules of the celebrity machine. There was a substance to the response that reminded me why this is such a remarkable nation. Almost 55000 people have joined the Facebook group "In support of Caster Semenya and other African women".

August in South Africa is when we celebrate the achievement of women, says the website. It is dedicated to Caster Semenya and breaking down the stereotypes surrounding gender identity.

South Africans have sincerely embraced Caster for her sporting achievement and turned on the world that feels the need to place her in a gender box, saying we will not be made over.

I hope You/Huisgenoot is prepared for the backlash.