Imane Khelif

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   atomicpoet (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Friday, 02-Aug-2024 22:13:08 JST atomicpoet

   I’m a boxing fan.

   Knowing what I know about the sport, alarm bells went off when the whole situation with Imane Khelif vs. Angela Carini went viral.

   First off, Imane is Algerian. That country isn’t exactly known for being LGBT+ friendly, so the likelihood that an Algerian male would transition to female – in such a public way no less – is slim. In fact, changing genders is illegal in Algeria.

   And wouldn’t you know, Imane is a cis gender woman. She was born anatomically female. There is zero evidence that she has a Y chromosome.

   In March 2023, the IBA disqualified her for high levels of testosterone. However, there are many reasons a woman might have high level of testosterone, and doesn’t necessarily have to do with having a Y chromosome.

   Even though the IBA disqualified her, that disqualification needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The IBA is a notoriously corrupt organization. It is so corrupt, they’ve effectively been barred from the Olympics. It’s their fault that boxing might not be at the 2028 Olympics too.

   Either way, Imane competed in IBA competitions previously. She’s been a competitor since 2018. For six years, IBA did not ban her from competition until this year.

   “But wait!” some might be saying, “Angela Carina says she fights like a man and having her compete is unfair!”

   If that were true, Imane would never lose. However, let’s take a look at her record. She has 37 wins, 9 by KO, and 7 losses.

   That means seven women have defeated Imane. Seven women walked into the ring against her and managed to beat her decisively. How did these seven women manage to go toe-to-toe against Imane and win?

   Maybe Imane simply was unskilled previously but her amazing “man-like” power has managed to carry her through recent competitions.

   Okay, but look at her KO percentage. Only knocking out 13.5% of opponents doesn’t scream “crazy macho power” to me. Her power is par for the course for her weight class. And actually, a good many women have a higher KO percentage than Imane – her punching power is therefore the opposite of exceptional.

   What bugs me about all this is that Imane Khelif worked hard to get into the Olympics. Now a lie has detracted from her win. She doesn’t deserve this.

   Shame on everyone for misgendering Imane Khelif and spreading misinformation.