Comic in drag steals the lead again?

Channel Hopping
Still reeling from the revelation that Jedward will represent us at Eurovision? Well tune in to BBC and get your laugh on for all the right reasons. Red Noses are being donned across the water as Comic Relief kicks up a gear.

While some of the sketches and shows are a little on the iffy side there are usually some hilarious ones and often the most hilarious of all come as part of the specially created for this time of year Let’s Dance for Comic Relief.
This is where C-list celebrities and stand-up comics in various states of dress, undress and drag, prance around the stage mimicking iconic dances. There have been some glorious winners in the past including the 2009 Robert Webb (of that Mitchell and Webb Look and Peep Show) and his bewigged, leotard-clad Flashdance triumph.
He was succeeded last year by Rufus Hound, with his rather hairy impersonation of the ever-popular Cheryl Cole (it has yet to be seen, however, how much longer she maintains this status if she decides to skip the UK and prance about on X Factor in the US).
This year got off to a cracking start and, unless the other contestants have some serious moves up their skimpy outfits, I cannot see how Russell Kane is going to be beaten. The stand-up comic went all out for his rendition of Beyonce’s Crazy in Love. It was full-on recreation of the R’n’B anthem – from the orange dress with purple straps to the boobs, tango tan, big honey comb wig and plenty of thrust, it was done in complete seriousness and it was perfect.
Of course, the other contestents on the night tried their best and, while Katie Price did a fine rendition of Break Free by Queen, it was not a patch on Kane. Next week will see more contestents take to the stage, including Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh.
While he should give Kane a run for his money you cannot be sure what kind of surrealism he will go for. The others will all be pretty predictable and a bit rubbish but it might be good for a laugh. Tune in on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.
Now for something a little more controversial.
Not so long ago a huge debate broke out about a woman who was especially good at running. In fact, she was so good at running it was concluded that she must be a man. Or so the thinking process went. I remember thinking it ridiculous at the time and I still do. Apparently, just because you’re no Beyonce look-a-like you must be a man and therefore you’re cheating and running in the wrong races.
The story of this extraordinary series of events was explored on the BBC on Tuesday night. Too fast to be a woman? The Story of Caster Semenya looks at how the rumour mill has all but ended the career of an excellent athlethe.
In 2009, Caster Semenya won the 800m at the World Championships – a victory that changed her life but for all the wrong reasons. Caster was from a remote village in South Africa and a shy teenager. She had been training her whole life and a World Championship gold was her dream. However, almost immediately after winning, rumours circulated that she had failed a gender test. What followed was the public humiliation of the athlete spearheaded by a frenzied media captivated by the story.
The BBC documentary returns to the village where she is trying to cope and rebuild her life. The team have exclusive access to the young girl and her family. Following the accusations that were made about Caster, she moved back home. Despite some early determination to keep her training up and to lead a normal life, the young girl soon began to struggle with what was being said about her and she lost motivation.
She lost focus, became sad and no longer trained as hard as she had. Her family formed a close group around her and defended her from all sorts of verbal attacks and accusations.
The documentary explores the girl’s childhood. In it, her mother and grandmother recall changing her diapers, stressing that she is a girl and has always been one. It is clear from the footage of the family and the way they interact with the camera and crew that they are united against the world and that they are behind their daughter and granddaughter 100%. The emotional toll that the events have had on Caster are tremendous and the past year or so has been very difficult for her.
The documentary also looks at the issues of gender, the underlying issues of gender in this case and the world’s attitude to gender. Caster and her family are taking their case all the way to the IAAF to fight for her right to race and clear up any issues surrounding her gender.
The issue is a massive one and, although it is usually fought by people in the trans-gender community, it can spill over into other areas of society too.
Just because she looks like a man doesn’t mean she is one. The idea of beauty and what it means to be a woman or a man are the centre of these issues. If this young girl had what we consder to be more feminine features there would be no mention of her gender. Her athletic ability would be applauded, not derided.
Other people in the programme were talkng about her having an an unfair biological advantage but, as one man rightly said, “she hasn’t broken the world record so she doesn’t have an unfair advantage… a man such as (Usain) Bolt, who smashed the 100m records, no one talks about his unfair biolgical advantage… all good athletes are genetic freaks.”
The issues at the centre of this documentary are likely to rage for years but one thing is for certain, the events and treatment of one young girl because of the way she looks has damaged her life forever and what could have been will never be.