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In a perfect world, you'd know Caster Semenya as the teenage woman who can run half a mile in under two minutes. What you probably know her as is the athlete whose muscular physique prompted officials to order a test to verify her gender. But her femininity isn't a question at all in the "after" shots of her makeover from South African magazine You.

Smiling Despite a Scandal
The makeover proved to be a learning experience for Semenya, 18, who admits she doesn't know how to put on makeup. The photo shoots also gave her the rare opportunity to get dressed up, something a girl who's in school and race training doesn't get the chance to do very often.

Says Semenya, "I didn't do this to prove a point but rather to have fun. I don't give a damn what people say about me. I like me the way I am, and who cares what other people say?"

Regardless of the controversy, South Africa has embraced its daughter since she took gold in the 800-meter race at the World Championships in Germany last month, She even met with Nelson Mandela, who praised her.

Click here for more about the gender question and why Semenya's coach resigned.

Testing Comes Under Fire
Presently the results of the gender test required by the International Association of Athletics Federation are still being analyzed, so an independent panel of experts has been called in to decipher the results. Her coach quit this week, admitting that he didn't tell Semenya that her gender was being tested -- he told her she was being screened for steroids and other illicit substances.

Semenya may suffer from a rare chromosomal disorder that causes her body to produce too much testosterone. This isn't the first time an athlete's gender has been questioned or a genetic condition has wreaked havoc on qualifying tests. Whether or not that extra dose of testosterone gives her an edge over her competitors will have to be decided.

The results of the medical test will not be made public, since they warrant patient confidentiality. Regardless of what the results say, there's at least one teenage girl out there who likes herself just the way she is -- and we love that.

UPDATE: The latest reports say that the test results show Semenya to be intersex, with both male and female organs. The talented 18-year-old has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are much higher than average. We just feel bad for her having to live this whole thing out in the public eye.

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