An Unfair Fight: The Intersectional Bias Against Imane Khelif (and women everywhere)
At this point, most of us- whether you are following the Olympics or not- have heard about the controversy surrounding Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif. In her welterweight fight against Angela Carini (Italy), it was only 46 seconds before the Italian had to stop, following a powerful punch to the nose. In what should have been a case of a gifted and powerful boxer winning a decisive bout, it sadly became an instant controversy fueled by transphobia, racism, misogyny, and ignorance.
Almost immediately, there were cries of protest from people claiming Khelif had no right to be in the ring, with one of the most common (and false) reasons given being that she was a transgender woman. Others argued that while she may have been born a woman, her uncommonly high testosterone levels should have disqualified her from fighting (as the International Boxing Association did in a move still considered anomalous and controversial). And mixed into all of this, sometimes explicit, other times cloaked in a thin veil of innuendo, racist commentary can be found.
So let’s start by getting the facts on the table:
First, Khelif is a cisgender woman (assigned female at birth) born in a country where being transgender and receiving related gender-affirming care are legally…