Tag Archives: gender

DNA Tests Allegedly Indicate Caster Semenya’s A Hermaphrodite

Jessica WakemanSeptember 10, 2009 //

For weeks Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African runner, has been embroiled in a kerfluffle over her “real” sex. Rumors that Semenya wasn’t a woman spread after she won a gold medal last month, and the International Association of Athletics Federations ordered her to undergo DNA testing.

Semenya’s test results allegedly show she’s a hermaphrodite. According to reports, Semenya apparently has internal testicles, no womb or ovaries, and testosterone levels more than three times what the New York Daily News calls “normal female” levels. Excuse me for going all Women’s Studies Major on your asses, but can we talk about this? Keep reading »

Woman Switches Genders When She Has Seizures

Susannah BreslinAugust 28, 2009 //

Here’s a story from a medical journal: One woman’s sex changes when she has seizures. We learned from the pages of the journal Epilepsy and Behavior that the woman has a tumor located near her amygdala and abnormal activity on the right side of her brain. After she has a seizure, she believes her gender has changed.

“I’m no longer feeling to be a female. I have the impression to transform into a male. My voice, for example, sounds like a male voice that moment. One time, when I looked down to my arms during this episode, these looked like male arms including male hair growth.”

At the same time, she perceives that females around her are males. “One time another woman, a friend of mine, was in the same room, I perceived also her as becoming a male person including changing sound of her voice.” Anti-convulsive drug treatment has helped resolve her gender-altering problem. [Mind Hacks via The Daily What] Keep reading »

Is South African Runner Caster Semenya Really A Man?

Catherine StrawnAugust 19, 2009 //

Is Caster Semenya a woman who looks like a man, or a man posing as a woman? There is controversy surrounding the 18-year-old South African runner who many want to submit to a gender verification test due to her muscular and manly physique. Semenya is a favorite in today’s 800 final at the world championships, and currently, the International Association of Athletics Federations sees no reason not to let her compete.

The general manager of Athletics South Africa denies the claims, saying, “She is a female. We are completely sure about that and we wouldn’t have entered her into the female competition if we had any doubts.” Keep reading »

What’s So Great About Being “One Of The Guys,” Anyway?

Nikki DowlingJuly 9, 2009 //

This week I was reading an article in the New York Times called “She’s a Director Who’s Just Another Dude.” It’s about Lynn Shelton, who directed a movie called “Humpday,” yet another bromance comedy. The writer spouts off about why Shelton is so cool—citing “masculine” tendencies such as enjoying alcohol, showing confidence, and feeling powerful as reasons why she rocks. The article wasn’t too offensive but it got me thinking: why, for us gals, does being compared to men constitute a compliment? Keep reading »

Do You Eat Dude Food? Does Your Guy Like Chick Drinks?

Jessica WakemanJuly 6, 2009 //

If you’ll indulge me in a little gender stereotyping here, most men are total trash compactors when it comes to food. They’ll just eat, eat, eat, eat, eat anything on their plate and suffer the consequences in the john later.

Except, that is, when it comes to a fruity yogurt parfait. Or a granola bar. You see, those foods are just not manly enough.

A. K. Whitney at Sirens Mag has an interesting essay up about “gendered foods”: how our culture designates some dishes “male foods,” while others are “female foods.” And though there are definitely exceptions, she is correct that it’s women who usually nosh on “lighter” foods like yogurt parfaits, rice cakes, garden salads, and quiche.

More than likely, silly sexist belief systems are the reasons foods get “gendered.” But here’s another thought: maybe guys are just smarter than us and realize rice cakes are generally lame and flavorless? Keep reading »

Raising A Child Without A Gender: Do Or Don’t?

Carrie WasterlainJune 29, 2009 //

A couple in Sweden is raising their child, named Pop, as an “it,” and say they are keeping the toddler’s gender a secret. This decision, they said, came from their “feminist” philosophy that gender is a social construct — they believe “it is cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead.”

Keep reading »

Guys Get (Even) Dumber When They Talk To Chicks

Nikki DowlingJune 23, 2009 //

Well, ladies if you ever had any doubt that women are higher up on the food chain than men, you can lay your skepticism to rest. A new study shows that men get dumber when they talk to females. Dutch psychologists had guys and gals talk to peeps of the same and opposite sex, then quizzed them with word games. Women’s intelligence remained unchanged, no matter who they talked to. But dudes were all good only if they talked to other men. When they talked to gals, afterwards they were just, well, stupid. The hotter the chick, the dumber the dude. Ah, now I understand why that guy at the club the other night blurted out that he was a drug dealer after I said “hi” to him. Tell us about some of your experiences that you understand better now that you’ve read this study. [Asylum] Keep reading »

Baby Gender Mentor Kit Is A Rip-Off, Say Moms

Annika HarrisJune 16, 2009 //

The Baby Gender Mentor kit seemed like a godsend to expectant mothers who wanted to know the sex of their babies before the delivery. The mothers shelled out $25 for the kit and $250 for results. But the company couldn’t deliver on its promise. Although it promised 99.9 percent accuracy, the Baby Gender Mentor kit inaccurately concluded the sex of six infants. The moms have filed a lawsuit in New York City because they say they were stiffed out of a promised 200 percent refund, and the incorrect results severely impacted their lives. Keep reading »

Is It Possible To “Judge Like A Woman”?

Jessica WakemanJune 8, 2009 //

Just how much does gender influence the way a judge makes decisions?

The New York Times tried to tackle this behemoth question—as it pertains to Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court—in one tight little article this weekend. And while we hate to nitpick, the title alone kinda pissed us off: “Debate On Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew.”

Of course men and women are different. We have different life experiences, different hormones coursing through our bodies, and different ideas of what constitutes a clean bathtub. But our problem when talking about differences is more of a semantic one: why is being a male considered “normal,” but being a female is considered “different”? We don’t like the implication of phrases like “will Sotomayor decide differently” or “does Ginsberg decide differently?”, as if decisions made by males are status quo and what should be normal. How did being of the less-represented gender equal some kind of bias? Keep reading »

Baby Gender Testing At Home: Cool Or Curious?

Carrie WasterlainMay 20, 2009 //

Home is the new OB/GYN. Not only can you take a pregnancy test in the comfort of your own home, but you can test the gender of your baby, too. Intelligender, an at-home kit for determining the sex of a baby, is on the market. Keep reading »

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