Transphobes lose it because two sex-variant women are boxing at the Olympics

Anti-trans activists are outraged that the International ­Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed boxers who failed gender and testosterone tests in the boxing world championships last year to compete at the Paris Olympics, even though the boxers are not transgender.

Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) were not permitted to compete in the 2023 women’s world championships for boxing because they failed the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender testing.

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IBA president Umar Kremlev said that DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded.” He also said that countries were recruiting cis men to compete in women’s sports. There is no evidence of that.

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Khelif, though, said last year that she was excluded by the IBA because she’s Algerian: “People have conspired against Algeria so that its flag doesn’t get raised and it doesn’t win the gold medal.”

Unlike the IBA, the IOC is permitting both women to compete but isn’t commenting on the results of gender testing, their genetics, or their hormone levels other than to say that they meet the IOC’s eligibility rules.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told The Guardian that while he was not going to comment on individual competitors because it is “really invidious and unfair,” he would say that “everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case.”

Khelif will meet the Italian Angela Carini in the 66kg ­cate­gory on Thursday, while Lin faces an unnamed opponent in the 57kg cate­gory on Friday.

Adams acknowledged that regulating who should be allowed to compete in female categories is complex and that no universal rule can be established that applies to every case.

“As for the question about testosterone and going through male puberty, we issued a framework document to all the federations,” he said. “And everyone would love to have a single answer: yes, no, yes, no. But it’s incredibly complex. And actually it boils down to not just sport by sport, but discipline by discipline. So people may have an advantage in this discipline and not in this discipline if they have been through male puberty or not.”

Neither boxer is transgender – they were assigned female at birth and identify as women, making them cisgender – though anti-trans activists have spread transphobic rhetoric about the two women’s gender identities, including once-beloved children’s book author and current transphobe, J.K. Rowling.

“What will it take to end this insanity?” Rowling wrote. “A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”

What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed? https://t.co/2OGWUQYtU5

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 30, 2024

Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, who tied with a trans woman for fifth place back when she was a college swimmer and made it her entire public persona, said that the “Olympics glorifies men punching women in the face with the intent of knocking them unconscious.”

As if the Satanic display at the opening ceremony wasnt enough, the Olympics glorifies men punching women in the face with the intent of knocking them unconscious.

Imane Khelif is 1 of 2 male boxers fighting women at the Olympics. A woman is going to die. pic.twitter.com/kYJX1MaAw4

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 30, 2024

Chaya Raichik, who goes by “Libs of TikTok” online, called Khelif “a man who thinks he’s a woman.”

Here’s Imane Khelif, a man who thinks he’s a woman, competing a few years ago.

The Olympics are allowing him to compete this year against women.

They are apparently ok with violence against women. pic.twitter.com/4MMijDD7Os

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 30, 2024

The IOC is choosing not to follow the IBA’s regulations, instead opting to follow the eligibility guidelines for women competitors put in place during the Tokyo Olympics.

Adams said the IOC seeks to strike a balance between ensuring competitions are fair and inclusive. He says the current guidelines do so. “Federations need to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness, but at the same time with the ability for everyone to take part who wants to.”

“That’s a difficult balance. In the end it’s up to the experts for each discipline. They know very well where there is an advantage, and if that is a big advantage then that is clearly not acceptable. But that decision needs to be made at that level.”

No trans women are competing at the Olympics this year.

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