The “intersex” boxer Khelif and the withdrawal of Italian athlete Carini
Carini-Khelif case: LGBTI-phobes know nothing about IOC rules or sports medicine, trust convicted chairmen but still call for fairplay. All to the detriment of the most marginalized people.
(Photo, Circo Fusco – Credit: ANSA)
Just days after the world-wide tantrums thrown by homophobes and transphobes regarding the presence of drag queens at the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024, the latest craze is now about an Algerian woman, welterweight boxer Imane Khelif.
Carini vs Khelif
On August 1, likely hyperandrogenic intersex Algerian boxer Imane Khelif competed against Italian Angela Carini, who decided to bow out of the match after only 46 seconds. She later told BBC “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”, and later added “I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn’t judge anyone. I am not here to make judgements.”
The judgement
Yet apparently this is all about judgement. Twitter(X)’s new owner Elon Musk backed and shared a post from US swimmer Riley Gaines that stated “men don’t belong in women’s sports.”, commenting “Absolutely”, while fantasy writer JK Rowling twitted “The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.” Not only are they completely wrong (Khelif is a woman), they are also very uninformed about current IOC rules on boxing, and Rowling seems to ignore that boxing is indeed a combat sport, where punches are given (IOC-Boxing Unit Joint statement)
Outsport’s statement on Carini-Khelif case
“They made her believe she was fighting against Hulk. Carini’s tears during the interview are the result of incredible pressure, lifted by the international right-wing politicians and pro-life organizations who portrayed her opponent almost as a superhuman being. We do not comment on her decision to withdraw after 46 seconds. It is a personal decision. What needs to be said is that the pressure surrounding this match in the last 48 hours is surreal and has made people lose sight of the fact that this is boxing, a sport where punches can hurt.” said Rosario Coco, president of Gaynet and Outsport Coordinator.
“Imane Khelif has 14 matches in her career, all in the female category, 9 won and 5 lost. So, 5 women, like Angela Carini, have beaten her. At Tokyo 2020, she was eliminated in the second match – he added – speculating on this match and attacking Khelif, after the whole world has been talking for days about what’s in her pants, is becoming increasingly violent and cowardly towards her and all intersex and trans people who are dragged into the propaganda and see their very existence as an object of international contention.”
It is definitely not the first time, nor will it be the last, that hyperandrogenic, intersex athletes face discrimination and exclusion. Very similar stories happened to athletes such as Caster Semenya (South Africa) or Dutee Chand (India).
Imane Khelif Photo: La gazette du Fennec
The fake news regarding Khelif before the match against Carini
The series of fake news regarding her gender, and her gender identity now shine an uncomfortable spotlight on her whole life and career, as they did to Caster Semenya, for instance. But as we know that there are no transgender women in this Olympics, some clarity needs to be made.
Imane Khelif was born a woman, grew up and socialized as a woman. Imane Khelif is a woman. She has already participated in several international competitions, always in the female category.
Imane Khelif has participated in:
- The 2018 Women’s Amateur Boxing World Championships in New Delhi, finishing 17th after being eliminated in the first round.
- The 2019 Women’s Amateur Boxing World Championships, finishing 33rd.
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she was defeated in the quarter-finals, losing 5-0.
- The 2022 Women’s Amateur Boxing World Championships, where she reached the final but was defeated.
In short, she is an athlete who can win and lose, like other women in her sport. On top of that, Algeria does not allow for legal gender recognition after transition. Thus, it remains a mystery how an allegedly transgender woman could have made her transition, acquired fake documents and registered under the IBA. In Algeria, homotransphobic attitudes are widely present within society, and Algerian LGBTIQA+ people are considered a minority at risk of discrimination, attacks and even arrests.
Once again, the part of truth we know is that Imane Khelif might be a hyperandrogenic intersex woman. And considering that millions of people in the world are now wondering about her private life, it’s enough to know that.
Intersex is an umbrella term referring to a person who is born with a combination of genetic and biological attributes belonging to both the female and the male sexual characteristics. An acronym to define this spectrum is also Variation of Sexual Characteristics.
In order for a woman to compete in Paris 2024 boxing event, the rules to be fulfilled are here. The Olympic Committee declared that she meets all criteria stated in articles 1.4 and 3.1
Why Khelif can compete
Lin Yu-ting – Photo: IBA – Facebook
It is crucial to stress the fact that Imane Khelif was indeed admitted to compete this year, just like fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting, featherweight from Taiwan. On July 30, 2024, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams declared that “these athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven’t just suddenly arrived”. In another statement, the IOC further specified 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, that they are female.” Last but not least, regarding admissibility criteria Adams added: “In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level.”
The only case in which Khelif was excluded from competition happened in 2023 in India, and during the same event Lin Yu-ting was stripped of her bronze medal. Reportedly, they both failed an admissibility test conducted by IBA. The IBA (International Boxing Association), chaired by Russian Umar Kremlev, is very close to the Russian government, one of the most discriminatory governments in the World against LGBTIQA+ people. In 2023, the IBA was also stripped of its role as the Olympics’ official boxing body by the IOC for corruption and management issues.
So why don’t we finally learn that hyperandrogenism and intersexuality exist, and finally deal with it?
Andrea Giuliano