Mama I Wanna Sing

What you think of this remake featuring Ciara?

Thoughtful thursday

"Sometimes you've got to keep steppin' to catch the beat"
-thoughts gone wild

Make your own interpretation- it works for many situations in a positive way.

Tardy for the party

Here's a lil sumthin special for those fans of Desperate Housewives of Atlanta...oops I mean The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Shout out to Kandi, the producer for trying to get a dollar out of fifteen cent with this one!

Caster: Woman....and Man?

If you have a mere interest in sports or in world news, then you would know about the South African track star Caster Semenya who recently became the World Champion in the womens 800 meter race. If you take a look at the photo of her you will note right away what the controversy is...yes don't be afraid to say it- She does look like a man! That seems to be what everyone thought- and so the International Association of Athletics Associations ordered a gender test.

Yesterday the Daily News reported that : The 18-year-old South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports. The tests, ordered by The International Association of Athletics Federations after Semenya's 800-meter victory in the World Championships, determined she's a hermaphrodite - having both male and female organs. Semenya could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph

Today the Daily News reported: an Australian newspaper reports indicated that those tests had revealed that Semenya had no ovaries, but did have male sexual organs inside her body, producing large amounts of testosterone (and giving her an advantage in competition). The IAAF has refused to confirm or deny the reports, and has said it does not expect to make another comment on Semenya before the next meeting of its top executives Nov. 20-21.

So they are calling her a hermaphrodite but for those of you who read the previous post on Lady Gaga you know intersex is the proper name for these individuals and you probably suspected Semenya was an intersex all along. What I didn't expect was for Semenya not to have any ovaries! I think that our reproductive organs are among the most basic elements of biological gender classification not necessarily gender roles- but at the very least biological classification. This in combination with testosterone levels triple that of the average female does not make Semenya's argument for womanhood look any better. There is a condition called androgen insensitivity syndrome, in which the body is programmed to develop into a male, but something happens to prevent that from happening properly - maybe this is Semenya?

Perhaps you think this is unjust/unfair and that if she was raised as a woman- she should compete as a woman. Those of you who are athletes, especially female athletes understand the unfair advanatge that Semenya has- especially in track and field. Your gender puts you on an equal playing field- your strength, perserverance and talent are what help you get ahead.... not your testosterone levels. However, Semenya already has the gold medal. Do we take it away from her? -She is a hero to her people, how can we snatch that away? She did not intentionally compete against women so as to have an advantage...as far as we know. It's kinda like she had natural steroids. Going forward what is the best move? Who are her peers? Should she be allowed to continue to compete with women? Her times are good enough to compete professionally with men- so do we move her to the mens division? -Guess we'll wait and see what is decided.