Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is the latest in the center of the gender controversy. The confusion over Khelifs sex started after her opponent withdrew just seconds into their match at the Paris Olympics. The unexpected forfeiture has raised questions about eligibility and fairness with gender in sports.
Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion boxer, Lin Yu-Ting, were barred from last year’s world championships. The International Boxing Association (IBA) said neither met all the eligibility criteria to compete against women. The IBA says the decision was not a result of a testosterone examination but an unspecified “separate and recognized test.” The test, according to the IBA, “conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.” There is speculation that the disqualification is an indication of differences in sexual development (DSD).
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has since replaced the IBA as boxing’s governing body for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The IOC condemned the IBA’s treatment of Khelif and Yu-Ting as a “sudden and arbitrary decision,” defending their right to compete in this year’s Olympics. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
Media Outcry Over Trans Inclusion in Women’s Sports Claims to be for Women’s Rights
Khelif’s fight sparked a viral media reaction, with strong support from some and intense criticism from others who disagreed with what she represented.
J.K. Rowling, a staunch critic of transgender issues, has been vocal in her disapproval of Khelif’s participation. She is adamant that enforcing strict DSD regulations is necessary to protect female boxers.
“My objection, and that of many others, is to male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport,” commented Rowling.
Former president Donald Trump has used the controversy to push conservative talking points. Parroting rhetoric from GOP-led efforts to block the Title IX revisions President Joe Biden proposed in April. Trump posted a clip of the fight to his Truth Social with the caption: I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!
The IX revisions would extend the prohibition on sex-based discrimination to include a ban on discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity. Set to take effect on August 1, lawsuits challenging the new regulations, claiming to protect women’s rights, have resulted in injunctions that have delayed the final Title IX rule changes in 26 states.
The latest IOC guidelines issued in 2021 emphasize that fairness and safety are the top priority for all athletes. Transgender identity or sex variation will thus only affect eligibility when those concerns are at risk. The IOC has assessed that both Khelif and Yu-Ting comply with the competition’s eligibility requirements.
“We have two boxers who were born as women, raised as women, who have passports as women and who have competed for many years as women,” said IOC president Thomas Bach. “This is a clear definition of a woman.”
Fairness and Eligibility Concerns with Gender in Sports
This is not the first instance in which top female athletes have had to battle accusations about their gender. Serena Williams, considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was burdened by internet rumors that she was born male.
Differences in sexual development (DSD) are becoming a more prevalent issue in elite-level sports that athletic organizations are starting to contend with. Variations in people’s genetic reproductive makeup—conditions with atypical chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex development—fall under DSDs and may blur the lines of typical definitions of male and female genders. Sports governing authorities recognize a competitive advantage for athletes with DSD. Testosterone levels dictate eligibility for female athletes in certain competitions.
Professor Angelica Lindén Hirschberg from Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital studied the impact of elevated testosterone in female athletes. Hirschberg found a definite advantage that links higher testosterone levels to increased muscle mass and enhanced physical performance. Hirschberg suggests drawing a line to make sporting competitions fair.
“Sporting success should come from a combination of talent and dedication. In circumstances where women have 10 to 20 times higher testosterone levels than average, they may have a powerful advantage,” said Hirschberg. “Elite female athletes want to compete fairly against other women. In the interests of fairness in sport for all women, a policy that responds with sensitivity to those who may have a condition causing high testosterone is needed.”
Challenges to DSD as a Biological Advantage
The track and field governing body, World Athletics (WA), barred Namibian sprinters Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma from competing at the Tokyo Olympics. The WA cites their naturally high testosterone levels as to why they weren’t allowed to participate. To compete, female athletes with DSD must then undergo a drug regimen to reduce their testosterone. Their testosterone must be “below 2.5 nanomoles per liter—half of the previously accepted level of five nanomoles—for a minimum of 24 months.”
Two-time Olympian track and field champion Caster Semenya was born hyperandrogenic, meaning naturally high-occurring testosterone. Semenya insists that the differences in her body do not contribute to an unfair advantage in her sport. Semenya, one of the most dominant runners in the world, won the 800m gold medal at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games. New rules introduced by WA in 2019 imposed testosterone limits on female athletes. This would force athletes like Semenya to take testosterone-reducing medication. Semenya refused.
“You are not happy within; you are never happy. It makes you feel sick, nauseous. You have panic attacks. It starts creating a little bit of blood clots in your system,” Semenya said to CNN. Her experience taking the medication to compete internationally was ‘hell’ and a detriment to her health. “Your stomach is burning. You eat a lot. You can’t sleep…It’s like digging a hole that you can never fill up…It’s like you measure a casket, and you get in, and then you bury yourself. ”
As the debate over gender and fairness in sports intensifies, athletic oversight organizations must navigate balancing inclusion with maintaining a level playing field in elite competition.
