Gawker: gender issues

Maybe Europeans Should Just Run Faster?

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:28:21 EDT

South African lady sprinter Caster Semenya kicked ass as usual at the world championships and her countrymen are saying: 'Stop asking if she is really a girl, Europeans! We don't give you gender tests just because you're pussies.' [AP]

Runner Lady Must Take World's Most Complicated Test to Prove She's No Dude!

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:29:03 EDT

A sports story that could be of interest to even the non-athletically inclined: Is this superstar lady runner really a fella? And why does a "gender test" take "several weeks" to complete? What are they looking for down there??

South African 800 meter runner Caster Semenya is totally dominating all the other ladies in the world and pretty much shattering times and all that, and she has lots of muscles, too. IS SHE A MAN? Just have somebody take a look, right? No, says the Daily Mail:

A group of doctors, including an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist, an internal medicine expert, an expert on gender and a psychologist, have started the procedure but it is uncertain when the results will be known. The complex process could take several weeks to be complete.

"Complex process?" We do not understand this at all. Just do the ol' "accidental knee to the groin" test! Two seconds!

Athletic competition and gender studies meet at last!
[Pic: Getty]

Nick Kristof's Sexy Sex Speech

Pareene — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:05:22 EDT

Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who is much better at heroically rescuing orphans from warzones than he is at writing a regular political column, has a very great and original idea. He thinks that Barack Obama, who is now the Democratic nominee for president, should write and deliver a speech about gender, much like he did about race, that one time. What a great and original suggestion! We loved the idea when some HuffPo lady suggested it back in April, when Slate ladies suggested it for Hillary in March, when Ellen Goodman suggested it in May, and we love it now. Unlike all those ladies who suggested it, though, Kristof has manly suggestions for a manly speech on gender issues.

Obama should point out shocking facts like "We aren't always aware of our biases" (people love to be told that!) and "A conservative may end up the first woman president" (why would Obama say this??) and "Politics can make a difference for women" (can it get them a MAN? lol j/k).

Then he suggests that Obama use this speech on gender issues, the speech it would probably condescending for him to make, as it usually is when smart boys play "feminist," to save all the ladies and babies in Iraq and Africa, which, while a very noble and important cause, really has fuck-all to do with the gender issues that colored coverage of Hillary Clinton's campaign and exposed deep reservoirs of sexism in the American body politic.

Then Kristof invites you to comment on this column on his Facebook page! You can be a Knight or a Vampire.

The Sex Speech [NYT]