female athletes

Thanksgiving is here and I'm spending it with football watchers. We have our favorites/rivalries for watching the guys play, but what about televised women's events? I resorted to Twitter, started with the lesbians; next other women athletes, and came up with Tanith Belbin, Tara Dakides, Lauren Perkins, Kristi Leskinen, and more.

Two female Russian athletes kissed on the winners podium after taking gold in the World Track and Field Championships being held in Moscow. Now Russian officials will have to decide, was it "gay propaganda," or mere sportsmanship?

U.S. Women’s Soccer team forward Abby Wambach --who’s now renowned for her 11th-hour header into the goal against Brazil in the World Cup – has been named the Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year. Wambach is the first individual soccer player –male of female—to be recognized as athlete of the year, according to the Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will make baseball history by naming Sue Falsone as the first female head athletic trainer in Major League Baseball.

UltraViolet will fly a plane advertising their campaign to get equal pay for the Women's World Cup at the parade in NYC on Friday

Why are we scared of female athletes who question the narrow views of what it means to be female?

For this black, gay, Christian, masculine-presenting female athlete, her relationship with God provides a safe space.

Lesbian-on-lesbian cage matches, a $7 million payout in pro poker, and Abby Wambach's legs made 2013 a kickass year to be a female athlete.

Since the advent of Title IX, the number of female college athletes has vastly increased, but according to ESPN, the percentage of female coaches has been cut in half since the law passed in 1972. While several factors play into the diminished number of women coaches on college campuses, homophobia and sexism are chief among them.

A lesbian track coach who was forced out of her position at University of Texas for having a relationship with a female athlete in 2002 has filed a complaint against the university for discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Welcome to The Jock’s Box. Home of a admirably-lit and sexily-placed pedestal for Shewired to drop those women athletes we all love to admire. Don’t feel guilty—just lay back and enjoy the double entendre. This week I didn’t have to do any work; the ESPYs did it for me. They filtered through a stellar list of nominees to pick Lindsey Vonn as Best Female athlete. That award comes  quick on the heels of her landing Best Female US Olympian at L.A.’s Nokia Theater.

Basketball star Brittney Griner is one to watch for many reasons. She came out and revealed she was gay before she had her first professional game aft for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. She is one of the rare athletes to come out as an active player. It was a moment that showed how far America has progressed-but also how far it still has to go. Google her and "Brittney Griner man" shows up as often as her dunks when she played for Baylor University. More disturbing than the comments about her being a man are the attempts to make Griner feel ashamed for preferring pants over dresses. However, with Griner set to debut on the national stage this summer, can butch female athletes be free to express themselves?

Winning the 800-meter track event in Berlin was a happy moment for South African Caster Semenya, who became the focus of an international conversation over gender and sport. However, her competitors weren't quite sharing the love. Italy's Elisa Cusma Piccione, who came in third place, simply said, "For me, she is a man."  Diane Cummins, who placed eighth in the event, said the International Associations of Athletic Federations should not have cleared Semenya, 19, to run after 11 months of testing proved she is biologically female and fit to compete against other women.

The 2012 London Summer Olympics begins July 27th. While we all know that homophobia in sports is the other "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, twenty-one openly LGBTQ athletes, two coaches and two gay paralympians will compete for the gold. Three LGBTQ olympians will represent the U.S. -Seimone Augustus (basketball), Megan Rapinoe (soccer), and Lisa Raymond (doubles tennis).

UK sports broadcaster Clare Balding sees a glaring omission on the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist: no women.

Megan Rapinoe reveals that she's more than just a legendary shot.

The Lindsey Vonn story just keeps growing. Women's Ice Hockey is looking good - keep an eye on Jessie Vetter, the goalie. Also looking good to bring home medals for the US are Kikkan Randall, a cross-country skiier from Alaska, and hottie Gretchen Bleiler, the snowboarder who is also featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Any lesbians in that crowd?