“Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina.”

– from Kindergarten Cop

In an email to to the Los Angeles City Council supporting last year’s violent protest in front of Saticoy Elementary School a member of the NoHo West Neighborhood Council wrote about her belief that “aggressive activists in the LGTBQ+ [SIC] community [had] hijacked our education system in the name of equity and inclusion.” In her view, schools should only be focused on “math, reading, science and history”. However, the ignorant hatred directed toward an Olympic boxer from Algeria shows why our education systems need to delve into these topics.

Imane Khelif has repeatedly been described as being a “biological male” and “transgender,” but this conflicts with the information on her birth certificate. Based “on the external genitalia observed at birth” she was assigned as female on this document.

Based on what I have been repeatedly told by conservatives, this is all the information that is needed. In their black and white world, “boys have a penis and girls have a vagina.” They will say that liberals are idiots who “don’t even know what a woman is.” How can a person born with male genitalia be called a “woman” when they do not have the physical ability to carry a baby?  

What conservatives fail to recognize is that gender is not binary; shades of gray exist. There has been speculation (though it has not been confirmed by the athlete) that Khelif has a condition known as Differences of Sex Development (DSD). If so, it would result in her having elevated testosterone levels. It would also mean that she has XY chromosomes. The conservative Twittersphere declares that if you listen to the science this makes the boxer a man.

Under the "simple" rules Conservatives have set for determining gender, Khelif is a woman because she has a vagina but since she has XY chromosomes she is also a man. Could it be that the student in Seattle who complained that his “activist history teacher” had incorrectly failed him for answering that “all men have penises” was, in fact, wrong?

The other certainty presented by Conservatives like Senator Josh “Run Real Fast In The Other Direction” Hawley is that they “do not believe that men can get pregnant.” However, people who have the XY chromosomes have a womb. While a lack of developed ovaries may prevent them from conceiving through intercourse, with medical intervention “they can actually become pregnant and give birth.”

While this breakdown of the binary rules for determining gender may confuse conservatives, liberals go back to the root of this battle in the culture wars. Khelif was raised as a female and identifies as a female. Therefore, she is a female. Case closed. 

In sports, what standard should be used to determine who an athlete will compete against? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes the gender on the athlete’s passport, which in Khelif’s case is “female.” Considering Algeria is a fundamentalist Islamic country where gender nonconformity is included among “acts that violate public decency,” the issue is cut and dry; she should compete as a female.

But is it fair to competitors? Khelif's biology may give her advantages over opponents, but the results are not guaranteed. She also competed in the Tokyo Olympics but did not medal.

Other Olympians who are male have been able to compete with biological advantages without question. Michael Phelps has a disproportionately large chest that is hyperjointed, a wingspan that is longer than his height, double-jointed ankles and size 14 feet that act like flippers, double-jointed elbows, and produces less lactic acid than other athletes. Has anyone ever suggested that it was unfair for him to compete or is it automatically recognized that without a drive to succeed, none of this would have benefited him?

In comparison, Serena Williams was subjected to internet conspiracy theories that stated that her muscular physique was an indication that she was born a man. WNBA star Brittbet Gruber has been bullied throughout her life because of her body. Team USA rugby player Ilona Maher has described being called a “man” or accused of being on steroids because of her athletic build. Could it be that misogyny mixed with transphobia is the common thread for all of these high-performing female athletes?

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.