XY Athletes in Women’s Olympic Boxing: The Paris 2024 Controversy Explained

The historical, political, and medical context of the Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting cases.

Two Olympic boxers, Imane Khelif from Algeria and Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan, are at the center of a storm. Both have competed in women's boxing for years, but recently their eligibility has been questioned. The International Boxing Association (IBA) says tests show they don't meet the criteria for women's competition. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is still allowing them to compete.

This has caused confusion and heated debate. Some people wrongly assumed these athletes are transgender, but that's not the case. Instead, this controversy is about a complex topic called disorders of sex development, or DSD.

To understand this issue, we need to talk about biology. In most people, biological sex is straightforward:
- XX chromosomes mean female
- XY chromosomes mean male

But nature isn't always that simple. Some people have conditions called disorders of sex development, or DSD. In sports, the most relevant DSDs affect individuals who are genetically male (XY) but may appear female at birth.

Two important types are:
1. 5-alpha reductase deficiency (5-ARD)
2. Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS)

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[foxie]

A good summary, although not entirely accurate with regard to Semenya. Even fellow school pupils and some teachers were astounded to learn that "she" identified as female for sporting purposes, having taken it for granted that Semenya was male from appearance and mode of dress ie. wearing male uniform items. A desperately sad situation for the individual, but that does not alter biological facts and the desires of an outlier cannot intrude on the rights of the vast majority to enjoy fair ( and safe) competition.

[image]

In my opinion, the IBA should publish the XY report to make the theory of XY chromosomes solid.
The IBA should no longer give ambiguous arguments that can be played out.

[acerrubrum]

Not how they are raised, not what the birth certificate says, not what a passport says, not about feelings, not about the IOC's inclusive mental gymnastics, not personally identifying as, not magical thinking...
Strange how the disorders that confer the advantages of male puberty to an athlete are always treated with more deference than the safety and fairplay to unambiguous women athletes.
It is NOT womens responsibility to make nice, share, empathize, and accommodate the Y chomazone to the detriment of their own safety, medals, scholarships, sponsorships, money, professional development, and job opportunities.
Mammalian sex is determined genetically by the presence of X and Y chromosomes. Individuals homozygous for X (XX) are female, while heterozygous individuals (XY) are male. The presence of a Y chromosome causes the development of male characteristics, while its absence results in female characteristics. The XY system is also found in some insects and plants.
It would be simple to have and announce the genetic test. Either in this case they are a great female boxer or they are in the wrong category.
End the discussion, arguments, and speculation.
While I sympathize and empathize for all people with a difficult medical diagnosis, sometimes life is very hard and I wish them well.
Perhaps, athletes with complicated disorders should be in the Paralympic Games or have TransFemale & surprise chomazone tests and TransMale & surprise chomazones test categories.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) is a network and advocacy group comprised of current and former collegiate and professional women athletes, their families and supporters

[FightFilms]

Men compete against men, women against women. If you are neither, you don't get to play. What's so difficult about this?

[tomhalla]

While the sexual development is complex, the goals of transgender activists is not, to define gender solely as self identification.

[contrarian]

XY chromosomes gave them strength advantage in women sports. So on the basis of fairness alone they shouldn't be allowed to compete. However, they should compete in men sports as they share the same XY chromosomes. It doesn't matter what they identify, if Anthony Joshua identifies as a female you wouldn't allow him to compete in women boxing.

[stevendzik]

In the context of boxing you also have to consider safety. Female boxers fighting someone with the strength of a man can get hurt. If Castor Semenya won a race, you can ask if it was fair or not, but the losers won't end up in the hospital.

[sankalp]

There is no controversy. They have XY chromosomes. Does not matter what they grew up as.

[laf]

It’s not just testosterone. Men are different in their anatomy. Also it’s not also fairness. It’s safety.😊

[ianwheeler]

It's not even just about the XY chromosomes; it's mainly about their testosterone (T) levels. Would a full biological (XX) woman be allowed to compete in any sport if she were taking steroids and had about the same T level as a man? Of course not. So although I can sympathize with someone who has a genetic gender defect at birth, if they have the same T level as a man, then they need to compete with men, regardless of how they were raised or what gender they chose to identify with.

[GThu]

Why many saying that XY athletes aiming to compete against XX athletes is unfair to disqualify... they should not. They just have to compete against other XY athletes. In other words: in the male group. No one wants to disqualify them from that. Yet they refuses. You should know why.

[moenibus]

"XY" athletes. Also known as MEN. i hope this makes that clear for you

[b]

Is there any evidence or lab test indicating they have XY chromosomes? I have not seen any of those. IBA did not provide any evidence.

[keenare]

it's not just a fairness issue... the safety of women are at stake as well.

[mikemikemikemikemikemeup]

The vast majority of people that I have seen talking about this topic have had empathy for this person. 100% of them that I’ve watched have even called her a girl because she identifies that way which is what I would also call her. But when it comes to fairness in sports her feelings don’t matter. If you have XY chromosomes, you should not be able to compete against women. I’m sorry that the league allowed her to do this for so long and had her believing that what she was doing was OK. I Imagine it doesn’t feel very good to live your whole life as a woman, but then be disqualified because you aren’t biologically a woman. But that doesn’t change the fact that what she is doing is wrong and what the league is doing is wrong. She should identify as whatever she wants. But that doesn’t mean she gets to disrupt Fairplay for women just to appease one person that believes that they are a woman biologically.

[ads.]

Competitors with the Y chromose and/or high levels of testosterone should compete in the same group. It is that simple.

[alrivas]

"XY athlete" - you meant "a man".

[Guy-Lewis]

The point is less about the Y-chromosome (complete androgen insensitivity syndrome excluded) than it is about years of development under the influence of an *anabolic steroid* (testosterone). In essence, years of doping.

[MattHunX]

With empathy for everyone involved. But, are the athletes in the crosshairs empathic to the women they're beating? It's one thing that they've been raised women, that they trained hard all their lives, dedicated as much time and effort as anyone else and are genuine about wanting to better themselves and achieve in their sports, but a developmental disorder unfairly throws all that into disarray and makes them a villain to some. It's another thing when/if they know full well they have an unfair advantage over their competition and they still go on, rather than bow out with some grace and show character, not only in that they'd acknowledge them participating would be unfair and even harmful to women, but that they are willing to give up that career path and settle for another where their disorder could still allow them to pursue their passion. Them being forced to quit is not fair to them, but them continuing to compete is not fair to their competition, but it is the sensible and fair thing to do for the fairness of sports.

Although, where giants on the basketball court are concerned...well...luck of the draw in genetics, or an irregularity in development, again?

[robsengahay]

Good explanation.

The problem is that physical advantage in sport isn’t limited to xy chromosomes. For instance taller people tend to do better in most sports so should we categorise by height in order to be ‘fair’?

Let’s face it, the primary reason that this issue has blown up to this extent this year is the anti-trans rhetoric promoted by the same kind of people who have spouted an anti-gay agenda in the past or anti any other minority. It’s just the latest target of haters.