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The Olympics present a real and enduring problem for gender essentialists: They showcase the most diverse forms the female body can take, from the petite figure of Simone Biles to the enormous wingspan of 7-foot-3 basketball player Zhang Tzuyu.
One such person is Illona Maher of the US rugby sevens team, who simply wishes she could define her femininity for herself regardless of her muscle mass.
“(Women) can have broad shoulders, they can take up space, be tall. I’m excited about this because I’m passionate about it,” Maher said in her video. And she should be. She has been relentlessly attacked by gender essentialists at the Olympics.
“I want them to have dreams,” she said, and she hopes to inspire girls to become athletes, “to be professional football players — professional athletes. That’s what I feel like I’m giving them. Even if this is my last football game, I want them to have room to grow and develop, and (hopefully) they get to experience that (because) I did it.”
Female Olympians can have broad shoulders, but people don’t question whether they are women.
Thank you, Lisa Carrington.
In fact, even if they have strong arms, no one would question whether they are women.
Thanks to the New Zealand Herald for reporting on Valerie Adams.
They can have broad shoulders and arms and compete at the top of high-contact sports, and people still won’t question whether they are women.
Thanks to Getty Images for the photo of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe.
But gender essentialists can’t handle the Olympics.
The attacks go both ways. Male divers, gymnasts, dressage riders and figure skaters are particularly likely to be called homophobic, no matter who they are. But the attacks are mainly directed at women for not being feminine enough.
Women are so good at high-contact sports in the Olympics that everyone else can just stand back and let them do their thing.
Algerian athlete Iman Khelif was vilified for outspokenly stating that she was good at boxing, which is essentially boxing. She was identified as female from birth and has been a woman all her life, including throughout her athletic career.
She is not trans. She did not go through puberty as a male and then transition out as trans.
Her passport identifies her as female. She meets the IOC’s gender classification for boxers, which is what all athletes competing in the Olympics are supposed to meet. They are the only sanctioning body for the sport. Anything else is none of your business.
Khalif had some previous success in international competitions, but before the Paris Olympics she had been defeated by nine female boxers.
There will be no trans women competing at the Olympics in 2024. Algeria is not sending trans women to the Olympics — it’s illegal there.
Gender essentialist bigotry is just bullying. It’s unfortunate that it took Khalif just one more time to call it out. Her former opponent at these Olympics used social media to paint Khalif as a predatory beast. Gender essentialist bullies are no better.
The Italian competitor who originally complained now regrets it. Already apologized“I am saddened by this controversy and I apologize to Imani Khalif,” Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “It has nothing to do with her; she, like me, is here to compete… I also feel sad for my opponent. If the IOC says she can compete, I respect the decision.”
The following have accused her of not being a woman or transgender, and have not apologized for bullying her: Donald Trump, JD Vance, JK Rowling, Piers Morgan, and Elon Musk. JK Rowling described her as “a man who knows he is protected by a misogynistic sports organization and is enjoying the pain of the woman he hit him in the head.”
The goal of a boxing match is to punch harder and more often than your opponent. JK Rowling knows this even from her opponents.
To say that Khalif isn’t a woman at all is to push a strict gender binary that leaves no room for anything other than a simplified femininity, like the kind seen in Afghanistan, where women can no longer play sports, or The Handmaid’s Tale.
The deliberate controversy surrounding Khelif is just a sign and symptom of the many deep-seated gender biases in the world and the hatred towards any woman who does not possess femininity. This bias exists on both the left and the right, and it is nothing short of bullying.
The fact that Khalif has withstood the scrutiny of the international community and reached the Olympic final is a testament to her skill and talent. Gender essentialists should stop attacking outside the ring.
Her coach saw what happened:
“She didn’t give in to the (insult) campaign. She taught them a moral lesson.”
How many Algerian girls will give up their dreams because of the attacks on Khalif? Women athletes of color from poor countries at the Olympics are vital role models. But that won’t matter to gender essentialist bullies unless they understand Khalif’s moral lesson.
“I call on people all over the world to respect the Olympic principles, to respect the Olympic Charter and to avoid bullying athletes, because it has a huge impact, it can destroy people, it can kill their minds and spirits, it can divide people,” Khalif said in an interview with Algerian TV station SNTV.
Socrates is said to have given this advice before speaking (or posting on social media): Let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it well-intentioned?
If we do post prematurely and find out we were wrong, rather than side with gender essentialist bullies, we should apologize and delete the false information. Thankfully, whether it’s silver or gold, Khelif has triumphed over all opponents.
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