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22 Apr 2010 22:16

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Culture: Protip: If you’re an Olympic runner, skip the male-enlargement drugs

  • Dear LaShawn Merritt: You’re an idiot. The pride of Portsmouth, the king of the 2008 Olympic track and field events, Merritt let all of this go because he used this sketchy penis-enhancement drug called ExtenZe. ExtenZe, by the way, is not the same as Enzyte, but does contain some substances banned the the International Olympic Committee. So now Merritt is banned for two years. What the heck, dude? You ruined your life over magic beans? source

19 Nov 2009 09:50

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World: Caster Semenya, the sorta-kinda-girl, gets to keep her gold medal

  • Because Caster has been found to be innocent of any wrong, she will then retain her gold medal, retain her title of 800m world champion and retain her prize money.
  • A message from the South African sports ministry • Describing the decision to allow the runner, under tons of scrutiny due to gender tests that were perhaps a little too public and revealing for their own good, to keep her medal. We have to imagine, though, that it’s going to be tough for Caster Semenya to run in the future because of this controversy. • source

19 Sep 2009 10:07

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Sports: South African official in Caster Semenya case lied about gender tests

  • If we did not let her run, we would be confirming that she is not normal.
  • Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene • On the decision to let Caster Semenya run even though they knew gender tests were being performed on her. What’s important to note is that this apology did not come out on its own; South Africa’s Mail & Guardian printed e-mails essentially confirming that they knew the tests were happening before Semenya ran the 800-meter race in Berlin, a race in which she crushed the competition. He lied. • source

11 Sep 2009 00:57

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Sports: Caster Semenya isn’t a chick. Nor is Caster a guy. Caster is both.

  • Man stuff Guy junk
    High testosterone
    Testes*
    * – (internal) source
  • Man stuff Guy junk
    High testosterone
    Testes*
    * – (internal)
  • Lady stuff Lady junk
    Ovaries
    A womb
    source
  • Man stuff Guy junk
    High testosterone
    Testes*
    * – (internal)
  • Lady stuff Lady junk
    Ovaries
    A womb
  • Pride stuff Privacy
    Dignity
    Peace
    source

25 Aug 2009 10:33

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Sports: Caster Semenya may be a lady, but her testosterone level disagrees

  • She has three times the expected testosterone level. South African runner Caster Semenya’s been facing questions about her gender for weeks, questions only exploding because of her recent breakaway at the World Athletics Championships last week. Now that tests suggest that she has an unusually high testosterone level, expect those questions to get even louder. May we suggest something? It’s not her fault that her genetic makeup is a little off. It’s not like she took steroids or put on a swimsuit designed to make her go faster. Let her have her victory untainted, jerks. source

21 Aug 2009 12:12

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Sports: Three examples of awkward Caster Semenya press coverage

  • From this NYT article: “Medical experts said assigning sex was hardly as easy as sizing someone up visually. Even rigorous examinations can result in ambiguous findings.”
  • From an L.A. Times article: “An Italian rival, Elisa Cusma Piccione, called her a man. Russian runner Mariya Savinova agreed. ‘Just look at her,’ she told journalists in Berlin.”
  • The BBC notes that what’s down there isn’t enough for the judges: “They will look at her external genitalia, but they will also look at hormone levels and her chromosomal make-up.”

20 Aug 2009 22:40

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Sports: Caster Semenya could be a fast female, or a speedy sir

“Looks like a man and runs like a man, it might be a dude.” That’s how our girlfriend put it. source