She doesn't have a penis! *

Yes, the title is a little crude. But frankly, I am so exasperated at women being called men I just don't know how else to draw attention to this issue.
Because Hope Solo, SI.com. is a woman and thus cannot be your Sportsman of the Year. It's interesting that this column by George Dohmann is titled Hope Solo: Sportsman of the Year (the dissonance that creates...) but Dohmann himself refers to the award as Sportsperson. Glad that some of SI's writers are smarter than their copy editors.

*Just for the record, I do not believe that genitals make someone a man or a woman. And actually many governing bodies of sport these days are not relying on genital identification either. So while I admit the title is somewhat reductionist--I think it makes the point.

Comments

Diane said…
As you know, I feel your pain. I'm still reeling from the WTA's explaining to me that "sportswoman" is a word (perhaps the WTA should get in touch with SI), but "sportswomanship" is not...because the staff member could not find it in the dictionary when I submitted my objection.
November 13, 2008 10:47 AM
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