When I was a stupid insensitive teenager (please make me feel better and tell me we all went through that phase?), my friends and I used to play a game called ChickDude. The rules were simple: spot someone of an androgynous nature, elbow your friend while hissing chickdudechickdude until they decreed the person to be either a chick or a dude, and then commence giggling. I know. I'm apologizing now.
Having since outgrown ChickDude, I was somewhat surprised to see the media playing a higher-stakes version of that game with runner Caster Semenya this past week. She won a gold medal in the World Track Championships and her reward was to have her gender called into question because, well, she runs superfast and also has the gall to not look ultra girly. Check out my take on the controversy - and come play your own game of ChickDude - over at Never Say Diet where I'm filling in for our beloved Leslie who is taking a much-deserved vacay.
Update: While no official announcements have been made, according to reports by an Australian newspaper (thanks for the link, Tricia!!) it has been confirmed that Semenya is an official hermaphrodite with external female genitalia but internal testes that are producing a high amount of testosterone. The IAAF says that they have not made any announcements nor reviewed the results of the testing yet.
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