By Humberto Viera
02 Aug 2024, 11:35 AM EDT
The participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the Paris Olympics has revived the debate on the sporting competition of women with genetic and hormonal differences, unleashing a wave of transphobia against an athlete who does not identify as trans, according to EFE.
The controversy arose after Italy’s Angela Carini pulled out of her fight against Khelif, with public opinion suggesting it was due to Khelif’s disqualification from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after failing a gender test.
This case is reminiscent of that of former Spanish athlete María José Martínez Patiño, who was also disqualified for genetic differences in 1985. Experts consulted by EFE stressed that people cannot be classified solely by chromosomes or testosterone levels.
In addition, public opinion points to a racist and sexist bias in these cases, as they usually affect women from the global south. The controversy has also generated a wave of transphobia on social media, and questions are raised about the impact on the lives of the affected athletes.
In recent years, cases similar to that of Imane Khelif have emerged, such as that of South African athlete Caster Semenya and Indian Dutee Chand, both cisgender women diagnosed with hyperandrogenism, a condition that causes overproduction of testosterone.
The test that disqualified Khelif from the world championships was carried out by the IBA, which is not organising boxing competitions at the Paris Olympics due to a previous suspension for financial and refereeing irregularities.
Although the test results were kept confidential, several Russian media outlets reported a message from IBA President Umar Kremlev stating that both boxers have XY chromosomes, not XX as is usual in women.
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