Watch Viral Olympics Moment: Female Fighter Hilariously Roasts Boxer Who Failed Gender Test
Bulgarian fighter Svetlana Staneva may have been a loser this weekend in the ring, but she’s won big in the social media viral popularity sweepstakes.
On Sunday, Staneva was the loser to Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting in the second round of the 57kg division of women’s boxing at the Olympics in Paris. Lin is best known as the other boxer disqualified by the International Boxing Association from the 2023 world championships for failing a gender test.
Both she and Algeria’s Imane Khelif are alleged to have what’s known as Differences of Sexual Development, or DSD. To put it in the simplest layman’s terms, it’s an umbrella statement for when there’s some kind of “mismatch” between’s one’s chromosomes and one’s genitalia or other marker of outward sexual development.
In this case, both boxers are reported to have failed a specialized test which shows they have XY chromosomes — which would normally make them biologically male, including having additional natural testosterone — but have female genitalia.
In an explainer, Reuters noted why this is controversial: “Women’s sports categories exist in most sports in recognition of the clear advantage that going through male puberty gives an athlete,” the wire service reported.
“That advantage is not just through higher testosterone levels but also in muscle mass, skeletal advantage and faster twitch muscle.
“In combat sports such as boxing, this can be a serious safety issue.”
But the IOC has called out the IBA’s decision to ban the two women, claiming they “were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision” and that “[t]he current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”
“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit,” the IOC added in a joint statement with the Paris Boxing Unit. “As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
As Fox News noted, IOC president Thomas Bach has tried to quell the controversy by saying this is all essentially bigotry, not concerns about safety or fairness.
“We will not take part in a politically motivated … cultural war,” Bach said.
The embattled president added: “What is going on in this context in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable.”
Well, it’s not just on social media anymore — although it already had spread to the ring after Khelif dismantled non-DSD competitor Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds, sending her into tears. In Lin’s case, after she beat the Bulgarian on Sunday in a unanimous decision, Staneva made a double-X hand gesture and then pointed to herself.
The meaning of that was immediately grasped by many on social media.
Bulgarian female boxer Svetlana Staneva makes ‘X’ hand gesture to signal she is a real woman, after being beaten by biological male Lin Yu-Ting.
XX= Female Chromosomes.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 4, 2024
According to the U.K. Daily Mail, Staneva left the venue without commenting, although her coach suggested the fight was unfair.
“I am not a medical person who should say if Lin could compete or not here,” coach Borislov Geoirgiev said. “But when the tests show that he or she has the Y chromosome, she could not be here.”
Others on social media shared similar sentiments.
I stand with Svetlana Staneva.
She came to the #Olympics in the hope of winning a medal. That opportunity was robbed from her by #LinYuTing – a man.
Her iconic XX pose has reverberated around the world.
I’m adding my X to hers. If her courage calls to you, add your X too. pic.twitter.com/br1rFD94CK
— Brandubh (@brandubh4) August 4, 2024
WOW! After being beaten by male boxer Lin Yu-Ting in the women’s boxing competition, Bulgarian boxer Svetlana Staneva makes an ‘X’ sign to signal XX female chromosomes.
Lin Yu-Ting has XY chromosomes.
The Olympics supports violence against women. pic.twitter.com/QVR5SR0pzO
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 4, 2024
In my book Svetlana Staneva from Bulgaria is the winner of the Women’s boxing gold. She refused to shake the hand of Lin Yu-Ting, who has male XY Chromosomes, after he beat her and then threw up two X’s with her hands to tell everyone that she’s ACTUALLY a real woman. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/r3y6IXeBfw
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 4, 2024
Now, just to be clear, DSD is an intersex condition, not a transgender one — which means that while both of these women have passports that identify them as women and identify themselves as women, they have a condition that makes the matches they compete in unfair.
While the IOC has a gripe against the IBA, that gripe has to do with governance and financial issues, which is why its decisions don’t apply to the Olympics. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the tests were faulty. Indeed, the IOC has made absolutely no accusation to the opposite, simply deferring back to claims of “hate speech” and insisting the boxers’ passports are good enough for them.
By this kind of silence, they’ve made it clear that wokeness trumps safety. For Staneva and others that support her, it doesn’t trump reality. Thankfully, they’re not staying silent, meaning this won’t just be the latest controversy to hit the Olympics, but it will stick around long after the Paris Games are over.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
