Editorial: Don’t foist transgender anxiety on these Olympic boxers. They are women
LA TimesOlympic boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting are women. Children’s author J.K. Rowling, who has become an informal figurehead of the anti-trans movement, described Khelif’s win as “a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment” and posted other denigrating comments calling Khelif male. Interesting that Rowling and other critics, such as vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and tech entreprenuer Elon Musk had no objection when these two women boxed during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — and lost to multiple other women, taking no medals. It was Khelif’s surprising victory last week over Italian boxer Angela Carini that got everyone worked up. But the scandal-ridden IBA has been banished by the International Olympic Committee since 2019, and the IOC has since called its tests on Khelif and Lin “so flawed that it was impossible to deal with.” The boxers’ case is similar to that of Caster Semenya, Olympic gold-medal-winning runner in the 2012 and 2016 Games, who has a condition that causes testosterone levels more typical of a male.