Progressive Patriarchy: Turning Male Issues Into Women’s Burdens

How Gender Self-ID Offloads Male Insecurities Onto Women’s Spaces

Photo via Reduxx.info

The recent developments surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s participation in the women’s boxing category at the Paris Olympics expose an uncomfortable truth: they knew he was biologically male, yet the IOC and the Algerian Olympic Committee chose to allow him to compete against women. Rather than acknowledge him as a man with a genetic abnormality—a reality that would challenge standards of masculinity—these organizations decided to push him into women’s sports, forcing women to bear the burden.

Patriarchy operates the same way globally: when men refuse a responsibility, it becomes “women’s work.” Once again, women were forced to accommodate a man’s issues in our spaces, as Algerian female athletes lost out on opportunities and other women boxers became his targets for public flogging in the Olympic ring.

Khelif, as recent medical reports reveal, has XY chromosomes, no uterus, and internal testicles, with a condition that leads to masculinization at puberty. Endocrinologists from hospitals in Paris and Algiers identified these markers in a medical assessment back in 2023, with clear evidence that Khelif is genetically male. However, instead of taking action, the IOC allowed him to compete because he had a female sex marker on legal documents—ignoring biological reality and decades of chromosomal testing protocol in Olympic sports.

This incident illustrates a broader issue. The acceptance of male-bodied individuals in women’s spaces falls into two categories of male behavior. First, there are those who embrace transgenderism as a cover for their own perversions, seeking validation for their desires under the guise of “progressive values.” Then there are men who are content to see so-called “gender nonconforming” men offloaded onto women’s spaces, relieved to have them out of their own. Both groups demonstrate cowardice: one hides behind the pretense of inclusivity to shield questionable behaviors, while the other finds it more convenient to cast substandard men into female spaces rather than address the issue directly among men.

For these groups, this issue is not about progress or fairness; it’s about upholding male dominance. By allowing male-bodied individuals like Khelif to enter women’s spaces, men effectively invade spaces designated for women, while simultaneously freeing up male spaces from the “burden” of accommodating them. This cowardice creates a significant burden for women, forcing us to deal with the fallout of unresolved issues within the male demographic.

As ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith rightfully argued, allowing men like Khelif to compete in women’s sports is nothing short of sanctioned violence against women, endorsed by global sports organizations. Female athletes, who dedicate their lives to their sports, are being forced to compete against biologically male opponents with distinct physical advantages, threatening both their safety and the integrity of their achievements.

It’s time for men to address these issues within their own communities instead of dumping them on women under the guise of “progress.” Women are not here to absorb the repercussions of men’s insecurities or discomfort with their own standards of masculinity. An “inferior” man is not a “superior” woman, and it’s time that those who make the rules for women’s sports start recognizing that truth, instead of pretending otherwise for the sake of convenience.

Here’s another link to the article on Reduxx, which includes lots of links to additional references.