Episode 160: The Boxing Debacle at Paris 2024

We present this recording of the talks that comprised a panel discussion on challenges to Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting's claims to womanhood hosted by the UNB Faculty of Kinesiology on Friday, November 29th.

The Olympic boxing match in the welterweight category between Italy’s Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif lasted less than one minute. This match sparked a firestorm, leading to misinformation and erroneous commentary regarding Khelif’s sex and gender. Various celebrities and online critics alleged falsely that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had allowed a man to compete in women’s boxing. However, these claims were unfounded. Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman, a fact clearly affirmed by both her and the IOC. After Khelif’s initial match, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting also faced similar scrutiny fueled by misconceptions about her gender identity. Both women ultimately won gold medals in their respective categories.

The panelists examine why these incidents became so controversial in today’s climate of rising global fascism and discuss their political implications, as well as the impact on the experiences of transgender individuals.

 Celeste E. Orr, PhD: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Wendy J. Robbins Professor in Gender & Women's Studies, University of New Brunswick. Their research focuses on intersex studies, disability studies, and queer studies, among other broad areas, and they are the author of the 2022 book, Cripping Intersex, with UBC Press.

Kristi Allain, PhD: Professor of Sociology and Canada Research Chair in Physical Culture and Social Life at St. Thomas University. Her research focuses on the dynamics of power at play in sport and Canadian national identities.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb, PhD: Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, where he teaches on social theory and sport. He is co-author of the forthcoming book The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of an All-American Game and author of Game Misconduct: Injury, Fandom, and the Business of Sport. He is co-host of The End of Sport podcast.

Please consider supporting the show via our ⁠Patreon⁠!

The End of Sport Podcast is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network, your left podcast community. Find us in great company with over 60 other shows at Harbinger Media Network. As always, if you’re enjoying the show, please feel free to subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform and, please, leave us a five-star review as those always help us read a wider audience.