Aussie Passports Get a Third Gender: X

'Bradley felt he was female': counselor

(NEWSER) - Bradley Manning “felt he was female," and looked into changing his gender, his former counselor tells New York . Though the suspected WikiLeaker “really wanted to do surgery,” the counselor says, “he was mostly afraid of being alone, being ostracized or somehow weird.” Manning used the Internet as a release: Online he could be “gay, patriotic, and powerful, too,” writes Steve Fishman. But in real life, his gender struggles and wartime deeds made him "feel like a monster," he sometimes wrote. More»

Norrie May-Welby was born a man, switched, and now...

(NEWSER) - A British, uh, person who lives in Australia and was born a man had a sex change operation, then became dissatisfied with his/her new gender, finally decided to go "neuter," and is now perhaps the first person to be declared officially genderless. Now 48-year-old Norrie May-Welby's birth certificate was amended by Australian authorities after doctors said they could not determine which side of the Mars-Venus divide the person fell on. More»

Allow 'masculine' females if they get treatment, says group

(NEWSER) - An Olympics panel has recommended that female athletes with masculinizing gender disorders should be allowed to compete if they get medical treatment. “The entire concept is that these individuals should be allowed to compete," a participant in the Miami Beach meeting told the New York Times . Some female athletes criticized the plan for allowing grossly unfair competition from athletes with marked male characteristics. Even with treatment, such females reap the benefits of a lifetime of high levels of testosterone, say medical experts. More»

Talks continuing in gender controversy

(NEWSER) - The International Association of Athletics Foundation is denying claims by the South African government that it decided to allow runner Caster Semenya to keep her gold medal in the wake of questions about her gender. South African officials announced yesterday that Semenya has been cleared of "wrongdoing" and would be allowed to keep her medal for her record-shattering win in the women's 800 mm race at world games in Berlin. IAAF officials said no such decision had been made and that talks were continuing. More»

(NEWSER) - Pre-race World Championship blood tests on super South African runner Caster Semenya revealed testosterone levels three times typical female rates, a source tells the Telegraph. The results of the tests, carried out in South Africa, contributed to a decision by sports officials to call for "gender verification" tests on the 18-year-old gold medalist. It was also revealed that the head coach of Semenya's team is controversial Dr. Ekkart Arbeit. More»