Dude Looks Like A Lady (Sort of)

Samukeliso Sithole competing in Mauritius

African jailed for running as woman

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- A Zimbabwean court has jailed a man masquerading as a female athlete, court officials said on Thursday.

Samukeliso Sithole -- a triple jumper and runner who competed as a woman at several international sports events -- was convicted on charges of impersonation and offending the dignity of a woman athlete who undressed in his presence, unaware he was a man.

"He was sentenced to four years imprisonment, but six months were suspended. Effectively he will serve three-and-a-half years," said a court official in Kwekwe, central Zimbabwe, where the case was heard.

Sithole won a gold medal at a regional tournament in Botswana in June last year and won five medals at a youth championship in Mauritius. He also competed in javelin and shot-put competitions.

Sithole told the court at his first appearance that he had both female and male organs and that he lived as a woman after consulting a traditional healer. A medical examination showed that he was a man.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Would it be wrong for me to say, only on the continent? Anyway, Slim sent this to me. Hmm. For some reason its got me thinking about the relationship between black women and masculinity or (un)femininity for that matter e.g., Sojourner's "Ain't I a Woman" or Matriarchal misconceptions. Don't really feel like explicating.

I will say this. Who the fuck wears their bra that high (other than my hs french teacher) and who wears a lacey purple bra to a track meet? Dude was trying to hard. Anyway, Is that Manzier/Bram episode of Seinfeld on DVD yet? I have Season 1 (thanks Aisha!) but have yet to watch it.

Which reminds me all my overzealous Oprah watching friends (i.e., all my female friends) having caught Oprah's Swimsuit and Bra Intervention are now convinced that I am not wearing the proper size bra and keep on rolling up on me with tape measures. While I think my bra's fit fine thank you very much, even if they didn't I'd have few options since if you wear anything above a C and you're not in the Lane Bryant demographic (Go Big Girls!), you're fucked.