If a professional female athlete is too good at her sport, then she is a man. But at what point do we begin to question the gender, hormones, or even the anatomy of male athletes based on their performance? We don’t.
Although this scenario is specific, it highlights an important reminder: history will continue to repeat itself.
Although society has slowly become more open and accepting of gender norms, the sports community has found a new battle to commence.
An immense amount of controversy surrounds transgender athletes and their participation in competitive events, but the finger has been pointed at a new target.
Female Algerian boxer athlete, Imane Khelif, has encountered an endless thread of false transgender accusations, all due to her steady wins in the boxing industry.
Khelif, along with Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting, had to be cleared by the International Olympic Committee before competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics due to the people’s dispute over their gender identity.
“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people,” said Khelif during an interview with SNTV.
It wasn’t just Khelif’s looks, but her movements and gestures that viewers deemed as “too” masculine.
This sentiment was carried on through the media by many internet influencers including Logan Paul, Elon Musk, and J.K Rowling (whose has previously shared transphobic beliefs) .
The trend that is now becoming quite obvious is that the many athletes falsely accused of being transgender are women of color.
In the male dominated sports world, it’s nearly impossible for women to participate in sports with the constant comparison to their male counterparts.
“Female athletes of color have historically faced disproportionate scrutiny and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false accusations that they are male or transgender, historians and anthropologists say,” says PBS news writer, Noreen Nasir.
At only eighteen years of age, South African runner Caster Semenya was fighting off the non-stop backlash from her 2009 Olympics win in Berlin after running an 800 meter in one minute and 55.45 seconds.
It was soon after that Caster was unable to compete for almost a year due to the process of gender verification.
Once Caster had discovered she was hyperandrogenous (excessive amounts of testosterone), a dilemma arose- either she gets banned from competing or takes an artificially suppressing medication to control her hormone levels, which have existed all her life.
Indian runner Dutee Chand had faced the same difficulty with testosterone levels and discrimination back in 2014 during the Commonwealth Games when she was eliminated from competing and forced to take the same medication.
“Nobody was disqualifying Michael Phelps for having particular biological features that allowed him to excel in swimming,” said Danyal Kade Doyle Griffiths, a medical anthropologist.
Degrading and dehumanizing may be the most accurate words to define the treatment these athletes are receiving.
These athletes cannot control their testosterone levels, but they shouldn’t be forced to restrain them either. Many of these women are winning impressive medals, but are not winning over the trust and respect of those spectating.
While, as a nation, we are growing and progressing in core values, many seem to be frozen in time, even through relentless struggle and advocacy.
