What is it to be a woman? This phrase, which seems to have come from an old notebook advert, has become fashionable in recent years among exclusionary trans feminists who believe that trans women should not be part of the group. But it has undoubtedly gained even more relevance in the period Olympic Games in Parisdue to the excitement that arose after a boxing match in Algeria. Imane Khelif against the Italian Angela Carini.
The Italian ended his career alone 46 seconds after the fight begins, she suffers from pain caused by the strong blows of her opponent. The somewhat androgynous appearance, added to a similar event that took place in 2023, has led many to oppose the Algerian’s presence in these games for a supposed genetic advantage over her opponents. But is it just a matter of science and sportsmanship, or is there masculinity in the equation? Those asking for his departure say no. They might even consider it. But the swimmer Michael Phelps This is a clear example of bias in this regard.
And if we stick to it genetic differences As for his teammates, Phelps probably shouldn’t compete. The American has a number of advantages that other swimmers don’t have. Some are much clearer, others are debatable. But since Imane Khelif’s case is also not scientifically clear, treatment should be on the same basis. But that’s not what’s happening.
What about Imane Khelif?
In 2023, Imane Khelif was disqualified from the tournament. Women’s World Boxing Championships took place in New Delhi. International Boxing Association He determined that he had certain competitive advantages over his female opponents, so it would be unfair for him to fight them. On the other hand, International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not come to the same decision. It should be noted that the International Boxing Association was suspended from participation in the Olympic Games by the IOC due to financial and arbitration violations. For this reason, the decision made regarding Imane Khelif was not taken into account.
On the other hand, it is not known what this definition was, since for reasons of confidentiality it is not disclosed what the tests carried out on the boxer showed.
However, after the fight with the Italian caused a stir, a number of Russian media outlets noted that Imane Khelif has XY chromosomes, which are usually associated with male genetics. This would mean that you have a case intersexuality. That is, a person whose genitals and chromosomes do not correspond to the usual ones: XX for typical female genitals and XY for typical male genitals.
This can happen for many reasons. For example, the so-called androgen insensitivity syndrome can occur. As a rule, the presence of XY sex chromosomes This is due to a large release of androgens, such as testosterone. However, in people with this syndrome, the cells during embryonic development They do not respond to the presence of androgens. Given that all human embryos are initially female and that, among other factors, the presence of testosterone promotes the appearance of male genitalia, when this syndrome occurs, the genitalia eventually become female despite the presence of XY chromosomes.
What is it like to be a woman?
In fact, there is no strict differentiation about what it means to be a man and a woman. We could define a woman as someone with XX chromosomes, female genitalia, and a typically female appearance. However, we have already seen that there are people with XY chromosomes and female genitalia. This raises the question of self-definition. There are people with XX chromosomes and female genitalia who consider themselves men. With all this, a scientific consensus has been reached defining a woman as having XX chromosomes and female genitalia, and a man as having XY chromosomes and male genitalia. But given that there are more cases, it would also be necessary to distinguish between cis and trans, and also to take into account intersexuality, in which there is a combination of both. Similar to what seems to be happening with Imane Khelif.
The IOC has determined that since the boxer was born a woman, was raised as a woman and, above all, has a female passport and identity card, she must compete as such. The rest remains the same. consensus This could be done based on other criteria.
Genetic differences of Imane Khelif
There has been much talk about Imane Khelif being a trans woman. In reality, we can’t know anything because the International Boxing Association’s decision has not been made public. The athlete’s father has recently made public statements and insisted that his daughter woman.
If it were the case that he was born with XY chromosomes, at most we could talk about intersex personbut not a trans woman.
Putting that aside, if it’s just a matter of concepts, why are there people who don’t want him to compete? They hide behind the fact that having more testosterone can make them stronger and more efficient than other women. That’s why he hit Carini so hard.
However, two issues need to be considered. On the one hand, if they are androgen insensitive, then testosterone may act differently in their cells than it does in a cis man. And on the other hand, the scientific literature itself does not agree that testosterone is such a determinant of athletic performance.
This was recently explained by a neuroendocrinologist. Manuel Jimenez in a thread on X (formerly Twitter) published after the Imane Khelif controversy. As the scientist explains, “The performance benefit of testosterone is neither uniform nor linear, and we need more research to avoid unfairly adjusting for this effect.” psychosocial and unscientific prejudices“.
In addition, it should be taken into account that the boxer has lost all the finals she has faced so far, so it is obvious that she does not have such an advantage over her opponents.
Another? The Michael Phelps Case
Michael Phelps He is one of the best swimmers in history. His number of Olympic medals and overall record more than testify to this. It is clear that behind their success there is hard work and a lot of training. But also unique genetics that make his body ideal for victory.
First, we have his height and wingspan. Michael Phelps measure 1.93 meters. The average height of Olympic swimming finalists at the 2016 Games was 1.89. That’s significant, but it’s not the whole story.
His size is truly unique. Normally, the length of a person’s arms is equal to his height or very close to it. On the other hand, Michael Phelps’ size 2.04 meters11 centimeters longer than his height. This gives him enormous pulling power, which helps him a lot in competitions. But that’s not all. Curiously, most of this growth is in the upper part of his body. The lower part is significantly smaller in proportion, so its water resistance is reduced.
If we add to this the enormous size of his arms and legs, We can say without fear of being mistaken that Michael Phelps unites a large number of physiological benefits in relation to their comrades. Some physiological advantages that are not the result of training, but of genetic inheritance.
A more discussed benefit
On the other hand, the question arises about their lactic acid level. Their cells are known to produce twice as much of this substance as most athletes in their category. Lactic acid is one of the products formed when the body obtains energy to feed muscles without the need for oxygen. It was traditionally believed that it is responsible for muscle fatigue and that muscles cannot work at full capacity until their levels are reduced.
This idea arose from experiments conducted with the legs of dead frogs. Over time, it was noticed that nothing similar happened in living people. In fact, lactic acid is a secondary fuel for the muscles. This put an end to the idea that Michael Phelps could have a clear competitive advantage. However, for a while, it was believed, and no one ever thought, that he should be disqualified.
Machismo and racism: a bad combination
Michael Phelps has a very clear advantage over his opponents. Apart from lactic acid, he has the perfect physical constitution for swimming. No one ever thought of disqualifying him. He just found out that he was very lucky. And thank God, because if he had been banned from competing, he would not have been able to do so in any category. There is no category for boat-shaped men.
If Imane Khelif was disqualified I couldn’t compete eitherWell, he’s not a man. And she’s not a trans woman. This genetic advantage, which hasn’t even been scientifically proven, would prevent him from competing in the sport that has become his passion. And if it were an American, like Michael Phelps, would the same conclusions be reached? Probably not. Because while all the arguments are disguised as science, science doesn’t classify them that way. Machismo and racism tend to do that. Let’s not rule out that there’s a fair amount of both in this debate.
Source: Hiper Textual
