In the United States, ‘Lia’ Thomas, or whatever his actual name is, beating Riley Gaines, proved to be a major cultural inflection point, but on the global stage, Imane Khelif, beating up a woman in the Olympics, and then shouting, “Allahu Akbar”, was a major inflection point. So much so that it helped lead to a Trump administration crackdown and the Olympics bowing to reason and decency, and coming out with a new rule that men can’t compete against women.
Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.
It might have helped that the IOC has its first female president who was a former athlete.
Speaking about the policy, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said: “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition. The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
The science is settled.
The IOC administration was tasked with drafting a policy on the protection of the female category in an Olympic context that would reflect the findings of the Working Group on the Protection of the Female Category, various IOC consultations, and consideration of recent developments, including in international human rights law.
The working group reviewed the latest scientific evidence, including developments since 2021, and reached a clear consensus. Male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and endurance. To ensure fairness, and to protect safety, particularly in contact sports, eligibility should therefore be based on biological sex. The group also agreed that the most accurate and least intrusive method currently available to verify biological sex is screening for the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development in utero and indicates the presence of testes/testicles.
It’s funny how basic 2000s feminism now sounds like it’s right coded because it says that women exist.
The policy was developed on the basis that it is universally accepted that providing for a female category is necessary to allow both males and females equal access to elite sport. It was guided by the IOC’s modern goals relating to equality (equal opportunities for female athletes in finals, on podiums and in championships); enhancing Olympic value (featuring both women’s and men’s finals in every sport); and visibility and inspiration (celebrating female athletes on the Olympic podium to inspire and represent women and girls worldwide).
The Trump administration is celebrating.
“The IOC aligning their policy with President Trump’s Executive Order ahead of the 2028 LA Games is common sense and long-overdue,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt credited Trump for the IOC’s decision, saying in a post on X that his executive order “made this happen.”
The other side is howling like a man in a dress failing at a pole vault.
The National Women’s Law Center, a group that opposed Trump’s executive order, on Thursday condemned the IOC’s decision, saying that the committee is “embracing a policy that invites confusion, stigma, and invasive scrutiny rather than clarity or safety.”
“Vague and medically unnecessary eligibility rules do not protect women — they expose athletes to humiliating questioning, coerced disclosures of private medical information, and even traumatizing physical examinations to ‘prove’ their womanhood,” Brian Dittmeier, the organization’s director of LGBTQI+ equality, said in a statement. “These policies will disproportionately harm women who already face suspicion and discrimination, including women of color and those who don’t adhere to patriarchal expectations of femininity.”
Here’s a video of the policy championed by the National Women Don’t Exist Law Center in action. Then we can discuss harming women, humiliations and physical trauma.
