Warning, this will give men nightmares! See the link below for a picture of what doping in sport can do to you:
Shudder! :eek: :eek: :eek:
To summarize, the pictures in that link are SUPPOSEDLY of a woman (Tammy/Tommy Thomas)! She/he was an Olympic track cyclist and got caught for taking steroids. I’m surprised that the other track cyclists didn’t challenge her gender. It is apparent she has definitive facial hair, a pronounced chin, a muscular jawline, a manly complexion, and buff arms for a woman. Then again, there is likely a rampant usage of drugs at the top levels of many sports.
I would appreciate it to hear what the medical Doper types have to say about Tammy/Tommy. Also, I would appreciate it if some people are able to give me some information and pictures that show doping in the Olympics during the 1970’s-80’s. Apparently, this was when many countries were doping athletes sky high in order to obtain some glory in the Cold War.
I am a 21 year old male, recreational-competitive cyclist and this type of thing freaks me out. I can’t believe people would actually mutilate their bodies to compete. I believe that people should participate in sport because it teaches hard work and discipline. The only thing that one should expect is the feeling of euphoria from giving it your all. Doping and cheating only serves to cheapen the experience and you can never say that it was you that succeeded. Sport is not about winning at all costs. Sport is about the spirit of competition, participation, and understanding oneself in both the physical and spiritual sense.
Well, I don’t understand the use of pronouns in your posting. I’ve read the linked postings and an article linked there and her name is Tammy Thomas. No one else referred to her as Tommy.
There’s no evidence that she is genetically a male, although she has tested positive for banned substances.
If you read the article that was linked, it’s pretty clear that she is a devoted and disciplined person, in addition to using substances to improve performance.
I don’t know what you want this medical doper to say about her.
I don’t think you looked closely enough at those photos. :dubious: I called her Tommy as a play on words. Heck, the NY Times calls her Thomas: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E2DD1E3CF933A2575BC0A9629C8B63&sec=health&pagewanted=all . Is that the article that you are referring to? From what I read, it doesn’t show devotion and discipline. A devoted and disciplined person would never get so deep into such a despicable situation. It shows avoiding the truth and avoiding responsibility.
Thomas/Tommy/Tammy is quoted as saying,
I too am an athlete and this is completely unacceptable. It should serve as an example of what the consequences are for doping.
From a medical point of view you could comment on whether her masculine features are reversible and what physical abnormalities you expect given the steroid she used.
It’s not up to you or someone on some forum to define her gender for her. I have to say I’m disturbed by the comments on that other forum: she’s ambiguous-looking, so people are going to “lose their lunch”? WTF ever.
I think you need to consider why she is the way she is. I don’t normally say bad things about people but this is a case of what can happen to you if you dope in sport and should be made an example of. She was caught taking steroids and found GUILTY! What do steroids do to women? They tend to make them men. She’s ambiguous-looking because of what she did and still denies responsibility as indicated in my NY Times link. The other forum is cycling related and has every right to ridicule she CHEATED!
It’s a common journalistic shorthand to, once a person’s full name is given, refer to them thereafter by their last name. It’s not a reference to her masculinity.
Surely taking steroids can’t actually change the shape of a jaw, though? Aren’t we talking bones here? Heck, my lower jaw’s a little undersized; if 'roids could put it to rights you’d think that’d be a treatment option.
I missed that the first time around. Although it seems funny to me now because her last name is masculine and I’m not sure if the journalist intended to sort of mock her that way.
She might have been taking steroids during her growing years seeing that she is was an Olympic athlete. I think this could permanently affect your growth if you do this. The medical dopers probably have a better answer.
From my non-medical point of view, I think she would need plastic surgery to correct whatever changed from the steroids. I can’t comment about the stuff under the clothes because I haven’t seen her naked! :eek:
Although anabolic steroids increase bone density (testosterone is why osteoporosis is much rarer in men), it’s not likely that they would cause this effect, AFAIK. However, human growth hormone (HGH) taken in sufficient quantities has been shown to increase the lower jaw. Although not shown in this case, often there is an increased protruding of the brow.
It’s a convention of journalism. First reference: full name. References after that: last name. You never call someone by only their first name in a story unless you’re writing about multiple people with the same last name. Calling Tammy Thomas by only her last name is not a way of calling her a man, especially in a story from the AP or the New York Times. That sort of thing is not appropriate in news reporting, and I don’t think it’s appropriate anywhere else either.
If you want to criticize her, then attack the ethics of her drug taking. Don’t call her a man or intimate that she’s turned herself into a man. (Sure, she might have some more manly characteristics, but she still identifies as a woman.) That sort of thing only makes your argument weak, because it makes you look immature and judgmental.
I am plenty mature, but I don’t think you have a full grasp of the situation. I will repeat the gist of it: She has practically turned herself into a man because of her DECISION to take STEROIDS. The NY Times article shows that she is complacent about the drug taking but shows no remorse other than the fact that she got caught.
She is the way she is because of her choices. The consequence of her choices is that she is now practically a man. This is fair ground for conversation. What do you think would happen if she kept taking those steroids?
You cannot separate her lack of ethics from what her physical being is because they are intertwined in this situation.
I’m sorry, but calling her Tommy Thomas is not mature at all. Her name is Tammy Thomas; Thomas on second reference. If she has chosen not to call attention to the fact that she now has some more masculine characteristics, then you need to be respectful of that and refer to her by her proper name.
Talk all you want about the impact that her steroid taking will have on her athletic career/prowess and why it places others competing with her at a disadvantage. But her appearance and/or gender? Not for you or anyone else to comment on or criticize. As long as she calls herself Tammy, that is how any mature, polite person will refer to her. Mocking her by calling her Tommy adds nothing at all to your argument.
Insulting someone because they took steroids is not the same as insulting them on the basis of their gendered appearance. If I took a banned substance that made me turn yellow, it would be appropriate to get on my case about the banned substance, but it would not be appropriate to do so by making Asian jokes.
Aren’t we talking bones here? Heck, my lower jaw’s a little undersized; if 'roids could put it to rights you’d think that’d be a treatment option.