Match.com gone wrong: This week, a 35 year old woman from Detroit was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sex with her biological son. Aimee Louise Sword gave her son up for adoption 10 years ago, and was reunited with him after finding him on the Internet. Free on bond, Sword's lawyer says his client "maintains her presumption of innocence."
Is she or isn't she?: Though two Australian newspapers have reported that Caster Semenya has no ovaries, uterus, and large amounts of testosterone, The International Association of Athletics Federations refused to confirm or deny the South African runner's gender test results.The international federation asked South African track and field authorities to conduct the a gender verification test after Semenya posted a world-leading time of 1:56.72 at the African junior championships in July.
Dr. John Park, a pediatric urologist at the University of Michigan, told the Associated Press that a likely scenario is a condition called androgen insensitivity syndrome. The person is genetically male but doesn't develop external male genitals and appears to be female, or the person has both male and female physical characteristics.
The disorder is found at birth in the case of abnormal genitals. But often it isn't diagnosed until puberty, Park said. The teen doesn't menstruate because there is no uterus. In these cases, "they look completely like a girl. There is no ambiguity whatsoever," Park said.
South African President Jacob Zuma, as well as many South Africans, notable and otherwise, have rallied behind Semenya in her support. The official gender results are expected in November.
Jelly bracelets join the list of school contraband: This week, a Colorado middle school banned a certain kind of bracelet from campus. The thin, rubber bracelets, known as "jelly bracelets," allegedly signify the willingness of the wearer to engage in sexual activity.
According to The New York Times, Mike Medina, the principal of Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, near Boulder, sent an e-mail message to parents on Thursday warning them about the “jelly” bracelets, whose colors are said to indicate a level of sexual activity that a student has either experienced or is willing to engage in, said Briggs Gamblin, a spokesman for the Boulder Valley School District. Medina said that the braclets were being banned as a preventative measure.
Read more on colored jelly bracelet meanings here.
