For the bettors who usually do not pay attention to such issues, this one is quite important as well. The reason being that if an athlete, because of this issue, is certain to always win, then there is no reason to place bets on the best online betting brands.
Setting aside all the political issues that drive most of the debates and have to do with either conservative views, or the questionable liberal woke agenda, the real issue is purely biochemical and it has to do with the most sacred trust of athleticism: fairness. Is it fair for trans and intersex athletes to compete under the current gender classifications and prerequisites?
Trans and intersex athletes are two different categories
First, let’s make a few important distinctions. The term «transgender» or «transexual» denotes people who have consciously made a choice to identify themselves as belonging to the other gender, than the one they were born to. On the other hand, non-binaries define themselves as people not belonging to any gender, also on their own volition. However, people that are defined as intersex, actually have no control of the issue as their condition is dependent on biological abnormalities in their chromosomes.
The biochemical and undisputable facts here are:
- People born as males continue to generate testosterone even though they may even undergo gender alteration surgery. For what concerns sports, it is actually an anabolic that increases tissue and muscle mass, aggression and ultimately strength and stamina. Those that can generate enough of it will always have an advantage over those who do not.
- The condition that has been dubbed as «androgyny» refers to individuals that present both male and female characteristics to various degrees. It defines gender expression and identity regardless of the biological sex. In the case of the two athletes above, it says that while they were born as females, their cells contain enough XY chromosomes to be actually considered as males.
The right to compete vs the unfair advantage
The basic premise for the permission of athletes belonging to any of the above groups to compete, is also undisputable. Sports are for everyone regardless of sex, faith, political affiliations, etc… However, even this premise falls under scrutiny, when there are athletes forbidden from competing for other reasons, like the war in Ukraine. Which brings up the real question. The rules about sports are based on fairness. So, is it fair for people that, for any reason, have an inherent advantage, to complete?
The advocates of the «in favor» camp claim that both athletes have been defeated in the past by women athletes, therefore, this is not an issue. Those that belong to the «against» camp will respond that a closer inspection of those same defeats, will show that they were caused either by heavier body weight boxers, semi-professionals, or even people who used steroids and anabolics themselves to gain the advantage. The fact that, in a purely amateur competition like the Olympics, they both got the gold medal, proves the point.
IBA vs IOC
Further fuel in this fire is poured by the different decisions from the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first ruling body said that neither Khelif nor Lin, were allowed to compete in any match under their auspice. However, the second one granted them permission to fight in the Olympic Games. And that gave even more weapons for those opposing the participation of trans and intersex athletes. Why would the Association that is immediately responsible for the sport and therefore knows better, say no, while a purely political (according to their opinion) Committee that has nothing to do with boxing itself, say yes?
Again, the reasons for these decisions are not ours to judge. What is, is the fact that it appears that there is an element of unfairness involved. So, perhaps there is a compromise to be considered? One that would satisfy both sides?
A suggestion for a compromise
While both sides have strong arguments that cannot be overruled, it is perhaps a radical change that may set the record straight. Currently, there is a set of factors that determines where someone can participate. Could it be that a reconsideration of those factors may supply the solution? One that can even negate the separation between males and females and provide a sense of pure equality?
What if the aforementioned set of factors changes to test for specific attributes instead of gender characteristics? Testing perhaps the percentages of testosterone levels or the XY/XX chromosome levels? With a reliable test of this sort, men, women, trans and intersex athletes, could participate in the same category under equal terms.
Things have changed. New considerations must be made
As repeatedly stated, the political reasoning is none of our concern. We are only interested in the fairness of the competitions. While it started with boxing, it’s only a matter of time before the same question is raised for other sports. Perhaps, it is indeed the time to reconsider the division between men and women. And this raises a whole set of new questions, all beginning with «how». And it doesn’t concern just the fairness of the results themselves.
For us in the betting world, when we open an account at the best betting software, we want to know that the third basic principle is in effect: every participant has a 50-50 chance of success. The gender doesn’t matter. What matters is for none of the opponents to have an advantage over the others.
