Connecting empathy with reason and truth

Less than a week after its opening ceremony, the Paris Olympics generated yet another culturally significant incident. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s victory over Italy’s Angela Carini has confused many, outraged some, and shockingly but not surprisingly, resulted in silence in others. The 46-second-long bout ended when Carini stopped the fight, throwing in the towel. What may have otherwise been recognized as a dominant victory has caused much controversy because Khelif, according to at least basic chromosomal criteria, is a man, whereas Carini is a woman.

Last week’s fight has left many unanswered questions about the sexual identity of the Algerian boxer. Khelif has never claimed to be a man, transgender, or even intersex, yet was disqualified, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, from the 2023 World Championships after a failed gender eligibility test. The International Boxing Association (IBA), the organizer of the World Championships, said at the time that Khelif and Yu-Ting “pretended to be women” and were disqualified from competition based on tests that showed “they have XY chromosomes.”

Based on the IBA test results from last year and no further evidence offered to the contrary, all indications are that Khelif is a biological male in that basic sense—that is what XY chromosomes communicate. Yet, there is a high probability that he has a “Difference of Sex Development” (DSD). This might explain why Khelif has always identified as a female, although he has the chromosome structure of a male. Some have speculated that he has “5-alpha reductase deficiency” (5-ARD) because of the similarities to past Olympic track champion Caster Semenya, who has the condition. The National Institute of Health describes 5-ARD this way:

“5-alpha reductase deficiency is a condition that affects male sexual development before birth and during puberty. People with this condition are genetically male, with one X and one Y chromosome in each cell, and they have male gonads (testes). Their bodies, however, do not produce enough of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT has a critical role in male sexual development, and a shortage of this hormone disrupts the formation of the external sex organs before birth.”

We don’t know if Khelif has this specific condition, but whether the boxer does or has another DSD, the fact is that the XY chromosomes are there. Even if the condition led doctors to assume he was a female at birth, and even if he was raised as a girl, chromosomes don’t lie. Beyond that, chromosomes are loud. The boxer’s chromosomes developed his body much differently than one with an XX structure (a female), with much higher testosterone levels causing an observable skeletal and muscular advantage over female competitors.

Even with the small amount of information we currently possess, this boxing match should be troubling. Yet, we must show compassion and understanding toward Khelif. This contender did not ask for a DSD. Additionally, there is a high likelihood that Khelif lived much of his life thinking he was a female. Therefore, the Christian response to this situation is not exactly the same as when a man who identifies as a woman chooses to compete against women. Compassion and understanding are certainly necessary.

Having said that, I’ll be blunt about what has happened—the world witnessed a man punching a woman so violently in the head that she, for her safety, withdrew from the competition. Her hard work and aspirations have been stolen by being forced to compete against a competitor with male chromosomes in a sport designed to inflict physical blows. Even in a Western culture that has unsubscribed to anything resembling a Biblical worldview, such violence against women is universally condemned. Well, apparently, not any longer. Why aren’t men and women, Christians and non-Christians, conservatives and progressives, in a unified cacophony, outraged that Khelif is allowed to inflict such violence on a woman? The answer is that for many, understanding and compassion have been replaced with untethered empathy. There is also a lot of confusion and, from Olympic officials, stonewalling.

This situation is another vivid example of the West’s growing infatuation with a version of empathy that discards all reason and truth. The physical world—the way things are—has become an inconvenient detail that only “bigots” would dare speak of. Though objectively and rationally absurd, matter has been demoted to an optional identity characteristic. But, of course, matter does matter.

We can and should recognize the nuances of a situation involving a male boxer who probably has some DSD. We can and should have understanding and compassion for the difficulty that Khelif has experienced. Yet, these nuances and our understanding and compassion ought not become support for a biological man punching a woman. Only a culture that has adopted an empathy disconnected from reason and truth could believe that a male boxer competing against a female boxer is anything other than abuse.

For the sake of supporting and empathizing with a sexual minority, millions of people have paid no heed to reason. When this happens, empathy becomes destructive. When reason and truth are discarded, support of men hitting women has the potential to be called “inclusive” and “loving.” Thankfully, in God’s creation, love always corresponds with truth; therefore, as Christians fight for truth, we can be confident that we are loving all involved, regardless of any accusations to the contrary.