Paris Olympics: Gender Controversy Erupts as Female Boxer Angela Carini Withdraws After 46-Second Fight Against Alleged Intersex Opponent
Outrage ensues as Imane Khelif, who is reportedly intersex, dominates female boxer Angela Carini in under a minute in women's boxing, raising safety concerns.
Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, who identifies as female, moved ahead Thursday following a brief match against an Italian opponent, Angela Carini, a biological female. Khelif, who is from Algeria managed to land two blows to Carini’s face, and the match was over. Carini forfeited after only 46 seconds and was clearly distraught leaving the boxing ring, refusing to shake her transgender opponent’s hand and yelling, “This is unjust!”
According to Daily Mail, after taking several punches to the face and conceding the fight, Carini, tearful, told reporters: “I’ve never taken a punch like that, it’s impossible to continue. I’m nobody to say it’s illegal. I got into the ring to fight. But I didn’t feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose. I didn’t give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I’m leaving with my head held high.”
The match has created a firestorm of backlash with many calling for biological men to be removed from competitions that involve female athletes. The debate about allowing biological males to compete in female sports has been ongoing for several years now. Opponents of allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological women argue that males generally have physical advantages, which they believe puts female athletes at a severe disadvantage. In contrast, supporters argue that if biologically male athletes have low levels of testosterone, there are no disadvantages to female athletes competing against them.
The internet quickly took the side of Carini based on the assumption that Khelif was a biological male. Questions have now arisen after reports surfaced that Khelif is not transgender, but intersex. While some sites say the Arabic name “Imane” is unisex and is said to mean “faithful,” or “to be faithful” others say it is a feminine name and stems from the male “Iman”, adding to the uncertainty. The reality is that Khelif’s medical records have never been made public, so it’s difficult to determine if this is actually an intersex person, or a biological male who chooses to identify as female, and thus compete against female boxers.
Public Response to Carini’s Decision to Forfeit
Genevieve Gluck, co-founder of Reduxx Magazine posted to 𝕏 Thursday, “The IOC has legitimized male violence against women as entertainment. Get men out of women's sports. #IStandWithAngelaCarini who should never have been made to enter a boxing ring with Imane Khelif.”
Dr. Simon Goddek also commented on the fight posting on 𝕏:
“JUST IN — This is the shocking and heartbreaking moment when the Italian female boxer Angela Carini, unable to withstand the brutal reality of fighting a biologically male, crumples to her knees in tears and surrenders after just 46 seconds. Two devastating punches to the face not only dislodged her helmet but shattered any illusion of fairness in this Olympic competition. Only cowards identify as women just to beat up a female opponent in front of a million spectators. I would pay good money to see Imam Khelif face a real man in a real boxing match and get the same treatment he dished out. Wokeness is truly the cancer of society!”
Riley Gaines, a graduate from the University of Kentucky and 12-time All-American swimmer made headlines in 2022 after Lia Thomas, who identifies as a transgender woman tied with Gaines for 5th place in the 200-yard final, but Thomas was handed the 5th place trophy. Gaines, a biological female, joined more than a dozen others in a lawsuit against the NCAA for what they say violated Title IX in allowing Thomas to compete in the 2022 national championships as a female. Gaines, who has fought tirelessly to ensure the safety of female athletes had this to say on 𝕏 Thursday about the Carini-Khelif fight: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini Let’s get it trending”
In a follow-up post on 𝕏, Gaines posted a clip of the fight along with the caption: “After 46 seconds and a few hits to the face by a male, Carini forfeited the fight. Call me crazy, but It's almost as if women don't want to be punched in the face by a male as the world watches and applauds. This is glorified male violence against women.”
In a post that’s been seen by more than 1.4 million people on 𝕏, Gaines also noted “This happens the SAME DAY the Biden-Harris administration's Title IX rewrite goes into effect in the US THIS is exactly what it allows for & celebrates. Don't be surprised or ask ‘how did we get here?’ when this continues to happen at an exponential rate”
Previously Failed Gender Eligibility Tests?
According to a March 2023 International Boxing Association report both Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Lin Yu-Ting failed to meet the eligibility requirements to compete at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships after tests by two independent labs in two different countries showed both athletes did not qualify to compete against female boxers. The Guardian reported that the International Boxing Association president, Umar Kremlev, had said that DNA tests “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded.” Both Khelif and Lin-Yu-Ting were given 21 days to appeal the decision.
Yu-Ting was swiftly stripped of the bronze medal won after competing in the women's 57 kg featherweight category. According to Taiwan News, biological female Staneva Svetlana Kamenova, from Bulgaria, who had lost to Lin in the quarter-finals was awarded the bronze medal instead. The specific details of the tests used to determine the athletes' eligibility will remain confidential. However, it is believed that the decision was influenced by the athletes' testosterone levels at the time of registration. These levels exceeded the maximum allowed for transgender females competing against biological women.
Humans females present an XX chromosome whereas those considered male present an XY chromosome. This brings up many complicated issues. Should intersex people who present with XY chromosomes be able to compete against biological females? Should intersex people be treated the same as those who identify as transgender? It’s known that those who identify as transgender can change many aspects of their physical characteristics, but on a genetic level, they cannot change their chromosomes from XX to XY or XY to XX.
What Does Science Reveal?
Intersex individuals may see missing or out-of-place chromosomes in the sex-determining region Y gene (SRY) or could be affected by synthetic or natural hormone exposure while in utero during the embryonic stages. Intersex people can see differences in several areas: hormone production and response, reproductive system, and differences in genitalia, gonads (testicles or ovaries), chromosomes, and internal sex organs. These all fall under the category of DSDs or differences in sex development, with the terms “intersex” or “hermaphrodite” being considered outdated.
Intersex individuals typically exhibit physical characteristics that lean toward one gender or the other. The majority of intersex people appear outwardly male or female, with their intersex variations often being internal and not visible to the outside world. Some intersex individuals may outwardly appear male but possess ovaries or other internal female organs. Conversely, others may appear female, having breasts, but also possess reproductive organs that resemble small penises.
The issue of determining which category intersex or transgender athletes should compete in is highly complex and lacks a definitive answer. Different sports disciplines have varying criteria for making this decision. Some sports organizations focus on the athlete’s testosterone levels, while others consider the athlete’s genetic makeup. These criteria aim to balance fair competition with the inclusion of all athletes, but the approach can vary significantly from one sport to another as it is left up to each discipline to determine which binary team athletes will compete.
However, when comparing upper body strength between males and females, which is crucial in determining capabilities in boxing, male mammals have a significant advantage over females.
A 2020 study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology looked at the differences between men’s and women’s upper body arm strength, in particular when human fists are used as weapons. According to the research article, “The results of this study add to a set of recently identified characters indicating that sexual selection on male aggressive performance has played a role in the evolution of the human musculoskeletal system and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in hominins.”
Researchers from the University of Utah considered the evolutionary physical changes over many thousands of years in not only human males but in mammals as well, with a particular focus on primates. The study reveals that male mammals have evolved more formidable physical traits compared to females through natural selection. These traits, which serve to establish dominance and combat rivals, include larger and sharper canine teeth, commonly observed in big cats and great apes, as well as increased body size and muscular build. These adaptations enhance their ability to confront and overpower challengers, with similar physical traits being seen in the evolutionary physical changes in human males.
The 2020 research study cited a paper by William D. Lassek and Steven J.C. Gaulin titled “Costs and benefits of fat-free muscle mass in men: relationship to mating success, dietary requirements, and native immunity” published in 2009 in Science Direct that found “males have 41% greater fat-free body mass, 78% more muscle mass in the arms, and, consequently, 90% greater upper body strength than females (as compared with 50% more muscle mass and 65% more muscle strength in the legs).” The Lassek and Gaulin paper also noted “The mean effect size for these sex differences in total and upper body muscle mass and strength is about 3, which indicates less than 10% overlap between the male and female distributions, with 99.9% of females falling below the male mean.”
The IOC Prioritizes Inclusion Over the Safety of Athletes
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released the Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations in November 2021, followed by a two-year consultation period with athletes and stakeholders. According to the official website for the Olympics, their focus in creating the document was to ensure fairness and a “welcoming environment.”
Rather than being concerned about the health and safety of female athletes, the IOC has chosen to focus on inclusion and a “harassment-free” environment. As a matter of fact, their principles are numbered 1-10, with INCLUSION eclipsing PREVENTION OF HARM as the number one principle.
The Framework reads in part:
“The best ways to support trans athletes and athletes with sex variations to compete in sport in ways that affirm their identity and well-being, while also ensuring meaningful and fair competition.”
Listed as the number five principle in the Framework is “NO PRESUMPTION OF ADVANTAGE,” which reads, “No athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from competition on the exclusive ground of an unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearance and/or transgender status.” Numerous studies have been done on the physical differences between men and women, but in this case, it’s left up to each sport’s governing body to determine where that line is drawn, leaving a gray area that is resulting in many female athletes being injured during competitions.
While the IOC Framework sets general guidelines, it states the IOC is “not in a position to issue regulations that define eligibility criteria for every sport, discipline or event across the very different national jurisdictions and sport systems.” Instead, they rely on the governing body of each individual sport to determine whether or not the biological male athlete who seeks to compete against a biological female is at a “disproportionate advantage” or not. There are currently no definitive guidelines that apply universally across regions and sports. Thus, the Olympic committee has its own set of guidelines for biological male athletes to meet to compete in women’s boxing. Khelif and Yu-Ting were allowed to compete in the 2024 Olympic female boxing category after they met the outlined requirements.
Many argue the answer to allowing those who identify as transgender women to compete in the sport of their choice while protecting women and ensuring actual fairness is to create a third category that eliminates biological men from competing against biological females. The IOC Framework addresses this by saying, “It would not be appropriate to require trans women, for example, to participate in a third category when they are, in fact, women. However, the Framework does support the use of eligibility criteria to ensure meaningful and safe competition within existing categories.”
How Does the IOC Handle Athletes Who Are Considered Intersex?
While some research has shown between 1.7 and 2.0% of the world population is determined as intersex, the Journal of Sex Research states, “the true prevalence of intersex is seen to be about 0.0018%”. In this year's Olympics, at least two athletes have publicly identified as intersex. This raises questions about their classification in future competitions if a third category were to be established. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has maintained that the Olympics will remain strictly binary. This stance prompts several questions: What implications does this have for athletes who do not fit neatly into the male or female categories? Will the IOC classify intersex athletes based on their chromosomes, gender identity, or physical characteristics? Perhaps a combination of these factors? The sports world, particularly the IOC, faces complex decisions regarding the categorization of intersex athletes in competitive events.
If the IOC does not consider chromosomes a barrier for transgender athletes to compete against the opposite sex, why should it be different for intersex athletes? What eligibility requirements, aside from chromosomes, determine the category in which an athlete competes? If the IOC’s guidelines for binary sports is how an athlete identifies and not what they’re biologically determined does Khelif possibly being intersex even matter in the conversation?
On Thursday, a Joint Paris 2024 Boxing Unit/IOC Statement addressed the ongoing controversy over athlete gender classifications. The statement sought to clarify how athletes' genders would determine their placement in binary categories but only added to the confusion. According to the statement, "As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport." This is important because Khelif’s passport says they’re female, and in Algeria, transgender citizens are not recognized.
The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
The statement continued with the IOC firmly placing blame on the IBA for their unclear regulations on gender testing and determination:
“We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.”
The IOC added that they consider the controversy to be "abusive” to the athletes involved and refer back to the Framework and IOC Code of Ethics, saying:
“The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.”
According to The Telegraph, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated after hearing of the Carini-Khelif fight, "I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms. I regret it (Carini’s withdrawal) even more. I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things. But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and from my point of view it was not an even contest."
Khelif is set to face Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Khelif is a male and reportedly has hyperandrogenism, which as far as I know is not a disorder of sexual development. Even those with DSDs are still either male or female. It seems more and more medical conditions are now implied to make sex ambiguous, or intersex. It won't be long before high or low blood pressure, diabetes, migraines, fungus toe, hernias, etc. (you name it) are now considered to be a sign of ambiguous sex. After all, many medical conditions are more prevalent in one sex or the other, so why not say that a male with migraines (predominate in females) is now a female if he so declares? Males do not belong in female sports.