Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has made headlines by advancing to the gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics despite gender controversy surrounding her. The accusations of her being male intensified after her opponent Angela Carini withdrew from their match citing a hard punch to the nose. This incident sparked global outrage and condemnation from public figures like JK Rowling and Donald Trump. The debate over Khelif’s gender and fairness in women’s sports has reignited discussions around racial and gender stereotypes. The issue of fairness in women’s sports is being used to perpetuate a return to race science, where the definition of “woman” is synonymous with “white”. The ideological battle between a brown Arab boxer and a European one has been magnified through images depicting Khelif as a mythical beast, perpetuating Orientalism and reinforcing white cultural mythology. The author argues that Western civilizations project themselves as underdogs, constantly under threat from barbaric non-white men, leading to cultural superiority and justification for military interventions. The current context of the Gaza genocide adds to the complexity of this discussion, as the West continues to project itself as the victim even as it engages in military actions that result in the deaths of thousands of civilians. This article sheds light on the intersections of race, gender, and power dynamics in the context of sports and international politics.
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Photo credit www.aljazeera.com
Paris 2024: Imane Khelif Challenges Western Notions of White Innocence
