Transgender in Olympics
Newsletter - 2025
You may have recently heard about Imane Khelif... the Algerian boxer who has smashed quite a few ladies in a quest for Olympic gold:
...and if you follow the social media accounts of esteemed politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene, you might think that this is a man who randomly decided to declare himself a woman before unfairly smashing the fragile faces of the opposite gender.
But you would be wrong!
You see... she lacks the... uhhh... natural "equipment" that would inherently make her a biological male. She also didn't just snip it off herself. She also didn't hire a surgeon that specializes in this kind of snipping.
There are no loopholes here.
Before I explain, let me be clear that I do not support male-to-female transgender folks competing in women's sports.
When folks argue with me about this, I send them a link to this study, which reveals the massive physical advantage that biological men have, even after transitioning with years of testosterone suppression.
Women's sports were created so that women could compete with each other on a level playing field. The standard practice of gender transition doesn't even come close to eliminating that advantage.
But Imane Khelif is not a biological male. There's no twig and berries. That's not a MAN, man.
Some women are born with both an X and a Y chromosome. (They can still give birth to children, and be perfectly 'normal' females.)
Supposedly, this was revealed to be the case with Imane Khelif after undergoing testing conducted by the International Boxing Association.
But tests like these don't tell the whole story of genetic 'gifts'...
Some biological women randomly have extremely high testosterone levels (just as some biological men have extremely low testosterone levels.)
Some folks also have extremely low levels of myostatin... which is a hormone that normally inhibits muscle growth. If you've ever seen a myostatin deficient bull, you might recognize how ridiculous of an advantage this 'condition' could be:
But they're not cheating. Their dangley bits are firmly in place (or not), and they just enjoy a spectacular gift that us 'normal' folks don't have.
That's just how the genetic cookie crumbles.
Usain Bolt wasn't disqualified for producing whatever incredible cocktail of hormones his body produced, just as he wasn't disqualified for having legs that were longer than his competition.
Imane Khelif is not being disqualified by the Olympic Committee for being a woman with a Y chromosome.
Does she have an advantage? She might! The results of her tests have never been published.
Is she "intersex"? I have no idea. Even the sophisticated 'cup test' conducted with an aluminum bat before little league games wouldn't reveal the truth.
But I would argue that it would be unfair to make her compete against men if she doesn't have testes cranking out testosterone like a man... man.
In short, I draw the line at balls.
Therefore, there's good reason why she has not been disqualified, and there's a perfectly rational reason why that wig just won't come off.
Have a fantastic week, and I'm sending positive vibes to whatever athletes you support!
-Trav
P.S. If you feel like you didn't receive a sufficient does of chaotic violence in this newsletter, please watch this One Championship highlight reel from the Ramadan Ondash vs Pichitchai fight.)
After a few minutes, it becomes completely mindboggling how much damage these fighters are able to absorb.
Human capability never ceases to blow my mind.
-Trav... again.
P.S.
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