You have to believe in yourself when no one else does...

Touching on the Olympics I am really glad that Imane Khelif went on to win gold after the cyberbullying that she experienced. Despite what has been said Imane Khelif is a cis woman, she has always fought as a cis woman and also lost as a cis woman (nine times) throughout her career on the boxing circuit. In fact, Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst, who defeated Imane Khelif at the 2022 IBA Women's World Championship spoke up against the abuse Khelif had faced during the Olympics, even stating that she felt Imane was a good boxer but was lacking in regard to her jabbing technique in a video she had posted of their match. She believed that Imane had worked on this since their last fight, which allowed her to gain success in Paris this year and did not think she had done anything to cheat. Irish boxer Emmet Brennan also shared his thoughts on the issue as well.

Getting back to point another thing that frustrated me was the ignorance around the LGBT laws of Imane's homeland (Algeria), where it is actually illegal for someone like Imane to undergo gender reassignment. The only surgery that is legally accepted is for those who are born with DSD (Differences in sex development) yet there has been no medical evidence provided of Imane undergoing such a procedure or having the XY chromosomes that would prove she was possibly born this way, despite her previous disqualification by the IBA for supposedly failing a gender eligibility test. The IBA when questioned about these tests stated that Khelif and others (Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, another victim of the anti-trans media witch-hunt) "did not undergo a testosterone examination, but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential", which may I add seemed to contradict the previous statement made by IBA President Umar Kremlev who had said that their tests had shown elevated levels of testosterone. So, which one is it? and what DNA test was done, if it met regulatory standards? Imane had previously competed in the IBA (formerly known as the AIBA) Women's World Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2022, before her disqualification in 2023, so why weren't these test done back then if there were such concerns about her gender? 

In my opinion her treatment has reminded me of Serena Williams and the constant barrage of misogynoir she has faced online throughout her tennis career, where she has been met with continuous accusations of being a man due to her looking “masculine” thanks to her muscular physique. Likewise, the gymnast Simone Biles has also been called "manly" for this reason. It is ridiculous in this day and age that a woman's femininity is still being assessed on her physical appearance. If she does not meet certain beauty standards or criteria, I guess that gives a green light for people to debase, satirise and humble them on social media for just existing, having confidence in themselves and wanting to achieve certain life goals.

Those engaging in these furores (such as JK Rowling and other self-proclaimed transvestigators) also seem to forget that endocrine disorders in cis women can also increase testosterone levels such as Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and Cushing disease. As well as documented cases of Mosaicism and Chimerism which can allow someone to have two sets of different DNA (XX, XY or a combination of both.) Most human chimeras are not observed to have intersex traits, yet this was not considered before calling Imane transgender and making assumptions about her genitalia just because she looked a certain way.

I also believe Logan Paul tried to vilify Imane and incite symbolic violence against her by bringing up Angela Carini’s hope of fighting and winning in memory of her deceased father. Angela was painted as honourable, while Imane was painted as evil incarnate. But what about Imane's story? Her dreams? Her hardships? Her humanity? the fact that she sold bread and scrap metal to fund her training as a youth and defied cultural gender norms where her own father was initially hesitant about her taking up her chosen sport, because he did not approve of boxing for girls. Was Imane not worthy of wanting the same triumphs as Angela after overcoming her own set of personal challenges? 

Also, after her fight with Carini, Imane Khelif went on to spar with three other women during the Olympics, none of which forfeited as Carini did in fear of their lives. Carini also went on to later express regret about her interaction with Khelif stating: "I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I do not have anything against Khelif. If I were to meet her again, I would embrace her." Showing that this was not about unfairness in regard to gender advantages, but rather someone who was disappointed in themselves, and not yet ready to admit that they were just not as prepared as they thought they were for such a highly competitive event. The Olympic games bring together the World's best athletes and unfortunately due to Carini feeling overwhelmed and intimidated she self-victimized, allowing Imane to then end up facing the backlash of unjustified prejudice. I would also like to add that Carini has had eighty-four wins during her boxing career (four by knock out), yet I doubt any of her opponents ever questioned her sex in the ring during those victories. All three women (Carini, Khelif and Yu-Ting) also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with neither of them going further than round of sixteen or the quarter finals, so congratulations to all of them in regard to how far they have come, even if Carini found herself in the same position as last time. Anyway, that is about it, but I am wishing Imane all the best with the lawsuits against those who had defamed her character, as well as success to all three of these Olympians in regard to their future boxing endeavours.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_the_victim (Self-victimisation)

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/10/i-am-a-woman-imane-khelif-hits-back-in-gender-row-after-claiming-gold

(Imane Khelif hits back in gender row after claiming gold)

https://www.equaldex.com/region/algeria (LBGT rights in Algeria)

https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-boxing-imane-khelif-iba-a26248f5285889dae13743f535ef9ed3 (IBA tests)

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/irish-boxer-speaks-support-olympian-114300404.html (Irish boxers speak up in support of Imane Khelif)

https://www.businessinsider.com/serena-williams-responds-to-accusations-she-was-born-a-man-2018-5 (Serena Williams responds to accusations of being a man)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YIfp9-FUhRg (Simone Biles opens up about being bullied for her manly muscles)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd74lym10po.amp (Lin Yu-ting wins Gold medal after gender row)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2njjm4e2po.amp (JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in Imane's cyberbullying lawsuit, which is also satisfying due to the next article)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/vivian-wilson-elon-musk-trans-b2586189.html (Elon Musk’s trans daughter accuses billionaire of lying about her medical care and being absentee father)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvestigation (Transvestigation)

Random side note: I could not help but think of one of my favourite mangas "Peach girl" (by Miwa Ueda) when all of the above kicked off in the Paris Olympics. Where a character called Sae managed to convince her entire peer group to turn on the main character Momo, due to the fact that Momo was swarthy and athletic from being on the swim team. All of this worked because Momo apparently seemed like the type of person that would do all of the negative things that Sae had accused her of, due to her being taller and having features that were not considered desirable within their culture (e.g. not having pale skin and a petit frame). It made me think of the doll test originally used by Dr Kenneth Clark during the American civil rights movement, where there is sadly a preconception that darkness is considered as being "bad" or "inferior" by many children regardless of what their skin colour may be. I will post more information about that below along with some pages from this Japanese comic that I enjoyed in my young adulthood.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wYkUMqxr_o8&pp=ygUPQWMzNjAgZG9sbCB0ZXN0 (CNN AC360 report with a doll study from 2012)