Questions de genre

[greenie_breizh]

Deux liens intéressants que des amies m'ont envoyé (j'adore quand les gens font ça :) :

Sportives et homosexuelles: le grand tabou. Je ne suis pas vraiment l'actualité en France et encore moins l'activité du football mais que l'équipe de France de foot féminine soit passée à la trappe ne m'étonne pas vraiment... l'article fait des remarques très intéressantes sur la nécessité de s'hétérosexualiser pour devenir une figure acceptable, et ça ne fait pas de mal de se faire rappeler qu'Amélie Mauresmo aussi a dû subir ce genre de choses avant de faire son coming out officiel.

Les filles brillent en classe, les garçons aux concours. J'ai grincé des dents (tout comme dans l'article précédent) quand l'article commence à parler de la différence entre le cerveau d'une femme et celui d'un homme, mais heureusement l'auteur se rattrape bien en partant plus sur des questions de culture et de social. Je trouve fascinant qu'on considère que les épreuves de concours écrites sont une façon d'évaluer neutre (ici contrairement aux épreuves d'oral, potentiellement).
(A lire vite car comme tous les articles du Monde il sera bientôt accessible uniquement aux abonnés.)

This reminds me of yesterday when I was on the bus on my way to UBC. Two couples got on with young boys - the couples knew each other and the entire ride the two moms were looking after the kids, talking about the kids and preschool and all that, while the two dads were standing a few feet back, never had to really pay attention to what was going on with their sons while they discussed work and school. It's a snapshot but it struck me because both couples were really young and I'm sure they would describe themselves as progressive and I'm sure the dads help out and are there for their kids and all of that. But it was striking to me how naturally they were on this bus embodying a very traditional image of parenthood. We think our generation is past the whole gender divide. I think we're just not paying enough attention.

Comments

[greenie-breizh.livejournal.com]

I know I'm going to be banging my head against the wall a lot when an article includes the phrase "than a normal female" within its first paragraph.

UGH.

[shiraz_wine]

This restored a little of my faith in humanity: "Our legal advice is that, if she proves to have an advantage because of the male hormones, then it will be extremely difficult to strip the medal off her, since she has not cheated," Davies wrote to the AP. "She was naturally made that way, and she was entered in Berlin by her team and accepted by the IAAF. But let's wait and see once we have the final decision."

It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. Also, IAAF said that they would meet privately with Semenya to discuss her (actual) results.

[shiraz_wine]

I can't believe they used the word 'hermaphrodite' in print! In fact, I don't agree with a lot of the language in that article. The whole tone of it is just revelation in the fact that suspicions were proven right. "We THOUGHT something was wrong with her! She should go get herself fixed now!"

And having internal testes is NOT so potentially dangerous in that she needs to get them removed. Since she has a higher level of testosterone than most women, she would just need to get regularly checked by a doctor to make sure no abnormal cells develop and turn into cancer. But they're making it sound like she would die tomorrow if she didn't get them removed.

It sucks to have so much media attention at the age of 18. Also, I thought the IAAF wasn't allowed to reveal the results of her tests; "The results will not be made public because, unlike a doping case, it is considered a medical matter requiring patient confidentiality." IAAF also "has confirmed that, whatever the result of the gender test, she will not be stripped of her gold medal."

Edit: Ah, she may or may not actually be intersexed. IAAF has not officially released the results of her testing yet.

[greenie-breizh.livejournal.com]

Glad to report CNN is both letting its reporters use the word hermaphrodite and having experts comment on how the word is inappropriate. *facepalm*