What happens when you smoke your nearest rival in the 800-meter dash by 2.45 seconds?  If you're a woman, your gender comes into question. Long teased for her ''boyish'' looks, South African runner Caster Semenya has heard comments about her appearance her entire life.  After winning a gold medal at the world athletics championships, the slim hipped, broad shoulder, muscular athlete is now being forced to take a ''gender ... Read More

At the movies this past weekend, Ponyo had me completely submerged.  A treat for viewers of any age, the under-the-sea themed animated film made my heart swell with admiration for the spunky, red-haired, female protagonist.  My ears were perked, too: with voices lent from Tina Fey and Betty White, what's not-to-love? Breathtaking visuals and all-star vocal cast aside, the master storyteller behind the fairy tale, Hayao Miyazaki, ... Read More

 Do your favorite art forms get downgraded to ''craft''?  From sewing to horror flicks, many of our beloved pursuits are condemned by the masses as passe or campy.  Comics are no exception to this rule of kitsch; often mixed with romance novels and Ring Pops in the grocery store checkout lane--a catchall for our culture's most ''tacky'' items--only the daring pore over their contents in the public eye. An exhibit in ... Read More

Who says big girls don't cry?  A recently-released--not to mention pointless--poll estimates that women who live to age 78 will cry for 16 months of their life.  That's 12,000 hours of your precious time wasted sobbing away! Okay, okay... I'm a pretty sensitive lady.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I was more than a little bleary eyed during my last break up, and I'm always sure to have Kleenex handy when Homeward Bound is ... Read More

What's in a name?  Apparently, a lot more people get heated up about the issue than you might think.  Although far from a new debate, a recent study reports that 71% of Americans think women should take their spouses name after marriage.  Half of the respondents said the act should be a legal requirement.  Um, does the idea of individual choice apply to our individuality? The study, by the Center for Survey ... Read More