Wednesday, August 07, 2024

“Trans Solutions”

 Ironically, being from a Country with Islamist Issues Could benefit Imane Khelif

If there’s anything that people will remember about the Paris Olympics, it will be the way in which an event meant to bring out the best in humanity through sporting competition, has instead been a celebration of glorified pettiness. One of the most prominent incidences is centred around the Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif, who destroyed her Italian opponent in 46 seconds. Instead of being able to enjoy her win, Ms. Khelif found herself as the favourite target of every transphobe on the planet. This incident has highlighted several problems.

Firstly, there’ the issue of transgender athletes, particularly in women’s sports. It’s generally accepted that its “unfair” to allow “transwomen” to compete against non-transwomen for the simple reason that transwomen have strength advantages, having been born men. So, everyone focuses on how we should keep transwomen out of women’s sports.

The solution is pretty simple. Create a category of sporting competition for “transsexuals.” I’m sure this will irritate religious conservatives around the world. However, its now accepted that “trans sexual” people are in fact people and they should enjoy the same rights as everyone else, including the right to compete in sports. So, what’s so difficult about having a unique category for trans sexual people? They compete against people who have similar physical characteristics just as non-trans people do.

Secondly, there’s the issue of what defines a “trans person.” The accepted definition of a “trans” person is someone who was born one gender and then “transitioned” to another at certain point in his or her life.

Now, if you were to look at her, you can, as one male Tik Tok Commentator noted, has a body he wouldn’t mind having. However, looks can be deceiving and let’s remember, we’re talking about a boxer and not a ballerina. She’s supposed to be robust:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/imane-khelif-olympics-dad-boxing-33388008

 


Now, there is the issue of the fact that Imane Khelif had failed a “gender” test issued by the International Boxing Association (IBA) prior to the World Boxing Championship in New Delhi in 2023. Everyone calling her a man points to this failed test as evidence that she is actually he. More information can be found at:

https://www.sportingnews.com/au/olympics/news/imane-khelif-gender-eligibility-test-ioc-iba-championship/f36302ed5889c11046e5c704#:~:text=Khelif%20was%20one%20of%20two,Boxing%20Championships%20in%20New%20Delhi.

There are, however, other facts that argue on the side of Imane Khelif. Ironically, that she’s from Algeria, a country isn’t exactly at the forefront of LGBTQ rights. It’s illegal to be “trans” in Algeria and even if you leave aside the legal rights of the LGBTQ community in Algeria, the culture is such that anyone wanting sex assignment surgery would have had to leave in every sense of the word. Given that she’s still talking to her parents and boxing under the Algerian flag, this clearly hasn’t happened.

Her birth certificate has shown that she’s born a girl. She grew up as a girl. She has periods and can give birth. So, what exactly is it about her that makes her “not” a woman?

Why is there so much on her? Is it really about “trans” woman in women’s sports. If it were, why isn’t there so much focus on the Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu Ting who also got disqualified at the same championship in 2023 for the same reasons?

The answer is simple, Ms. Lin didn’t destroy her opponents or specifically a Western European opponent in the same way the Ms. Khelif did. None of her opponents cried and said it was unfair. Ms. Lin didn’t provide the world’s bigots with the image they needed to stir up the emotions of their masses. As was said on Saturday Night Live, Ms. Khelif became the punching bag of the worlds useless. If only they would step into the ring to be hers.    

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Maira Gall