The case of Imane Khelif: How women athletes are always on trial

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won Olympic gold amid media scrutiny that overshadowed her athletic achievements, in a global moral panic over whether she was truly a woman. Sensationalist media reporting and online abuse that went viral globally was led by sexism, transphobia and racism, and fueled by gender disinformation. In Serbian media, headlines and narratives mirrored these biases, questioning her identity rather than focusing on her matches. This case study unpacks how media portrayal of Khelif reflects deeper social issues and systemic gender inequality in sports, as women athletes, especially women of colour, are continuously scrutinised in ways men never were.

A few days before her first Olympic match with Angela Carini, both local and global media reported that Khelif and another boxer competing at the Olympics, Lin Yu‑Ting from Chinese Taipei, were disqualified at last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships for failing a gender test, igniting accusations that they were “not really women”, or rather cisgender women. However, when Carini surrendered after less than a minute-long fight with Khelif, she cried saying she “has never been hit that hard”, resulting in a wave of global moral panic and sensationalist media reporting on Khelif led by sexism, transphobia and racism.

For this case study, Reporting Diversity Network analysed over 100 texts mentioning Imane Khelif on Serbian online portals where this topic reached the highest engagement – Telegraf, Sportal, Sportklub and Mondo. This includes 42 texts published by Telegraf, 32 by Sportal, 22 by Sportklub and 11 by Mondo. While focusing on headlines, we analysed the terminology used in the text and visual elements. In this analysis, apart from RDN monitoring, we rely on available information on the case provided by fact-checking media organisations Fake News Tragač and Istinomer.

Following global patterns, Serbian media used manipulations and shared unverified information, with sensational headlines calling Khelif a “proven biological male”, and “a man who beats women”, presenting Carini as a victim, instead of an athlete who simply lost a match. Accordingly, many headlines stated Carini “refused to fight a man”, enhancing this narrative, even though she participated in the fight, however short it lasted. One of the first widely used framings of the story was the “white woman’s tears” trope, as Carini’s emotional reaction to losing the fight was weaponised by the media to frame her as a victim of unjust aggression, and even violence. This narrative not only reinforced stereotypes of fragility and innocence tied to white femininity but also fueled racist and sexist attacks against Khelif.

Apart from the public debate on Khelif’s sex and gender being a severe invasion of her privacy, most of these claims are also almost impossible to fact-check, as they would require insights into her personal medical information. For this reason, one of the leading fact-checking portals in the country, Fake News Tragač, stated that while they “unequivocally condemn all sensationalist and potentially inaccurate news”, they “do not delve into intimate topics such as those in which one’s sexuality, anatomy of their genitals, hormone count and chromosomes are debated”, and advised other media outlets to do so as well. Nevertheless, as shown in this case study, the same media outlets on different occasions published claims that Khelif is male, female, intersex, has high levels of testosterone and a disorder of sex development. Mere logic and basic knowledge of biology indicate that all these claims cannot be true simultaneously.

The media narratives on Imane Khelif changed over time. For instance, the first text published on Telegraf.rs, the online portal of the daily Srpski telegraf, used masculine form when addressing her, the headline called her a “man who beat up a woman in a boxing match”, while the text claims she “was rejected from the World Cup because he failed the gender test, as he is actually male”. In later reports, Telegraf continued to exploit this topic, marking it as controversial and scandalous, however, started addressing her in feminine form and presenting her as a woman boxer (bokserka) “claimed to be male”, “suspected by many to be male” or “whose sex is unknown”. Portal Mondo.rs called her a “woman with male hormones” throughout all recorded texts, while Sportklub began its reporting on Khelif with a sensational and sexist headline “Contestants accused of being men in the ring with the ladies?” Among some of the first reports on this portal was also a text titled “Boxer Carini refused to fight a man”, however upon receiving criticism the “man” was changed to “accused of being a man”, which is how they continued addressing her in later reports.

Fake News Tragač analysed this text, while Istinomer published an analysis of the whole case, including the media reporting. Istinomer found similar narratives as the ones addressed in this case study on Serbian portals Kurir.rs, Pink.rs, Srbin info and Direktno.rs as well as the regional portals Mondo.ba, Mondo.me and Klix.ba. Their findings provided insight into the confirmed official statements by relevant authorities. Upon Khelifs’ disqualification from the last Championships, the International Boxing Association (IBA) stated “She was found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors”. Even though the media interpreted this decision broadly, making statements on her supposed high testosterone levels and XY chromosomes, IBA never revealed the details of the test, as this is classified information. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, IBA reiterated its position that Khelif does not meet the criteria to compete in the women’s category. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) accused IBA of making arbitrary decisions without proper procedures and issued an official permit for Khelif to compete at the Olympics, stressing that she meets all medical and eligibility criteria to compete in the women’s category. Later, IOC President Thomas Bach confirmed this decision saying Khelif and Lin are “boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as a woman”, as well as that the hate speech, aggression and abuse they received are “totally unacceptable”.

In other analysed texts, Telegraf.rs provides statements by boxers along with supposed evidence that Khelif is a man, based on how they perceive her strength and appearance. In one text Telegraf.rs shared her childhood pictures “proving” she grew up as a girl. Khelif’s success and strength were often used against her in media reporting. When reporting on her wins during the Olympics, headlines emphasised she “beat up” her opponents. Telegraf claimed “she has a disorder that gives her strength”, and Mondo even went so far as to claim she has “twice the strength of everyone else”. Media also shared, often insulting, statements by politicians, athletes and celebrities taking their stance on the case and expressing their opinions. One of the most harmful cases found through this analysis was a statement by Nenad Pagonis, a famous kickboxer who was reported for violence against his ex-wife, just 2 months before the Olympics. Mondo and Telegraf portals published his statement in which he relativised violence against women by saying “I pushed away a woman who attacked me in self-defence, they declared me a bully and shamed me publically. This man beats a woman at the Olympics in front of everyone, they give him a gold medal”. The court ordered Pagonis to house arrest, which was later lifted, after which he claimed that he only pushed his ex-wife away in self-defence after she attacked him.

Visual elements in texts and photos shared on social media portrayed Imane Khelif as more masculine and not fitting into the unrealistic societal standard of what a woman “should” look like, while presenting her opponents as more feminine looking or closer to the perfect standard of femininity, rooted in patriarchal views of womanhood, eurocentrism and white supremacy. This culminated in a racist illustration, which presents Khelif as a monster and Carini as a small, thin and dainty woman – a reference to Beauty and the Beast. The picture was even shared by one of Khelif’s opponents in the Olympics, Hungarian boxer Luca Anna Hamori, before their match.

The language used in analysed texts often painted a similar picture, as Telegraf published a text in which Hamori was described as “Barbie Anna”, and an “attractive blonde”, while in another Telegraf text Russian boxer Azalia Amineva, who fought Khelif in the past and spoke against her during the Olympics, was portrayed as “divinely beautiful”. Analysed articles were illustrated by photos of Khelif mostly taken during her fights, or of her in her sportswear, with a few exceptions such as a text with a sexist headline “Boxer claimed to be a man has shown an incredible transformation: Here’s what she looks like with makeup on”, published by Telegraf and Sportal. Other women boxers were portrayed as more feminine through photos of them in bathing suits, tight clothes and dresses enhancing their figure, wearing make-up and having their hair done.

Women in sports, especially black and brown women, had to deal with their sex and gender being questioned and accordingly their victories and their right to compete disputed, practically since women were allowed at the Olympics and other high-level competitions. As Human Rights Watch states in a research report on human rights violations in sex testing of elite women athletes, the first “sex testing” occurred in the 1940s and was informal and ad hoc, however by the 1960s, “sports governing bodies such as the IOC began systematic mandatory testing of all women athletes based on rumours that some women ‘were more male than female’, resulting in unfair competition for ‘real’ women”. In the beginning, these tests included gynaecological exams and demeaning “nude parades” in which athletes had to walk in front of a panel of doctors to prove they were born female. The methods of testing were later changed several times, however remained faulty as some women were still classified as men.

Today, these tests are quite different and are no longer mandatory for all women athletes, and are only carried out if there is suspicion of an unfair advantage. This ‘gender policing’ was and remains often racially motivated, with women of colour being common targets, especially those coming from the global south. Many female athletes who failed these tests were later pushed into taking medication throughout their careers, in order to ensure passing future tests. Sex testing or any similar investigation into innate biological advantages – whether genetic, hormonal, or physiological, have never been imposed on male athletes. In men’s sports, such attributes are not questioned, but rather celebrated and glorified. Media often frames male athletes with exceptional strength, speed, or endurance as “biological marvels,” highlighting their natural gifts, rather than scrutinising them for it.

Author: Anja Anđušić
Illustration: Lana Nikolić