JK Rowling is once again attacked for seeming sexist in her comments about female Olympic competition

Famed author JK Rowling has once again been labelled sexist in her stance on Olympic competition in the female arena.

The author returned to X yesterday to express further criticism of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to compete in the 66kg women’s division.

Khelif, who was assigned female at birth and has always identified as a woman, failed the controversial gender eligibility test at last year’s World Championships, but was approved by the IOC to represent Algeria in boxing at Paris 2024. Her participation has been the subject of global debate due to the fact she failed the gender eligibility test as her testosterone levels were high due to her possessing XY chromosomes (which are usually the chromosomes for men).

Since making her comments online, JK Rowling’s accounts have been bombarded by images of ‘butch’ women playing sport, as if this is all proof that Khelif is not a rarity in her excess testosterone status. So Rowling did what she does best and posted the following to-the-point comment: “For the record, bombarding me with pictures of athletic women to ‘teach’ me that women don’t all look like Barbie is like spamming me with pics of differently-shaped potatoes to prove rocks are edible. I can still see the difference and you look frankly bonkers.”

Now, from my high school studies in human biology, through my tertiary studies in biology and psychology, and to my general observations in adult life, I am certain of one thing, and that is that ‘sex’ is either of the two main categories – male or female – into which humans are divided based on the reproductive organs they possess. Of course, there are very rare cases of individuals that are intersex who sometimes have doctors perform surgeries on their bodies to fit the binary ideas of ‘male’ or ‘female’.

I don’t know what organs Khelif possesses, but if she is intersex or ‘male’ in that particular part of the anatomy, then, yes, she should be banned from Olympic competition in the female arena. If she was male and had surgery to become female, again, yes, she should be banned.

The problem here is whether or not the Olympic committee has the right (or nerve) to actually check Khelif’s organs and full medical history – and this is where the key problem lies – crossing over into an invasion of privacy.

But should there be such privacy in something as supposedly important as fair competition at an Olympic level?

My argument is that anyone who has changed from the sex assigned to them at birth (ie: by nature) to the opposite sex, should only be allowed to compete in sports relevant to their initial sex. It’s a natural, hormonal thing. Women and men have different hormones, and a hormone such as testosterone can assist in active pursuits, hence needs to be considered seriously when putting a man-turned-woman into the female sports arena.

On that note, since Khelif has been female since birth, I believe she has every right to be competing against other females, no matter the level of testosterone.

Sorry JK, but you’ve lost me on this one.

Antonino Tati