“Imane Khelif is a man. He's a cheat”, “Brigitte Macron is actually called Jean Michel Trogneux”, “The truth behind Madonna's trans surgeries”…Here are some examples of messages that we can see on social networks. They have one thing in common: they target famous women with transphobic remarks. According to those who write them, these people are not real women but men, and the truth is being hidden from the whole world. As a result, these authors launch investigations on the Internet, investigations which have a name: trans investigations. Their goal: to prove by all means that these personalities are transgender or transsexual.
And the one who is currently suffering the most from these attacks is the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. Since her gold medal at the Olympic Games in the under 66 kg category, the boxer has been the victim of real cyberharassment regarding her gender. The reason behind all this is that she was excluded from the World Boxing Championships in March 2023 because according to the International Boxing Federation, she failed a test intended to establish her gender. Test that no one knows anything about. The International Olympic Committee has since banned the International Boxing Federation from the Olympic world because it is accused of corruption and being at the mercy of the Kremlin. The IOC has also defended Imane Khelif on several occasions.
The stalkers analyze photos of the boxer, her voice, her body, her private parts… Everything goes. If we follow their transphobic cliché, because she is very tall, very muscular and almost chestless then, he is a man. But the supreme argument of these harassers is Imane Khelif's high testosterone level. I remind you that according to medical experts, this does not mean that she is a man, it is a biological hormonal disorder which exists and which is accentuated by the practice of sport. She is not the only athlete to be in this situation.
And yet Imane Khelif has been hounded for months on this subject. And it doesn't stop. For a week, Internet users have been sharing an unauthenticated medical report which claims that Image Khelif is a carrier of male XY chromosomes, which proves that he is indeed a man.
And behind this relentlessness towards the athlete, there are mainly conservative and transphobic communities, very active on the networks.
And they have very powerful figureheads. Imane Khelif was attacked by Elon Musk, JK Rowling, Giorgia Meloni and even Donald Trump. In other words, the billionaire boss owner of That's a lot. Their influence goes beyond their number of followers. Imane Khelif therefore filed a complaint for aggravated cyberharassment, citing among others the names that I have just given you. She is also reportedly preparing action in response to this famous unauthenticated medical file relayed by conservative media.
This is symptomatic of a latent transphobia that goes beyond social networks alone, even if that is mainly where it is expressed. The victims are numerous, I cited Brigitte Macron and Madonna at the start of the column but I could add Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Aniston, Zendaya or Serena Williams. It's the same technique every time. It all starts with a photo or video that goes viral, where the celebrity's body is scrutinized and judged. For example, there is a photo of Taylor Swift with a so-called bump in the vagina, photos of Brigitte Macron in a swimsuit which would have a masculine body or even Jennifer Aniston's abs which would be those of a man. And then these photos are shared in private groups on Reddit or Facebook. And everyone then shares them with so-called new clues.
In fact, these trans investigations are set up as real conspiracy theories. Theories which mainly contribute to the sexist body shaming of which women are victims daily on the networks, in particular celebrities. According to GLAAD, the American LGBTQIA+ association, these hateful transphobic theories appeared in 2017 and have experienced a resurgence on the networks since last year. The reason: trans people are increasingly represented, in the media, in culture, in politics too… And that doesn’t please the conservatives who see it as pro LGBTQIA+ propaganda. Some even speak of “transmania”. The opportunity to recall that practices, behaviors or repeated comments aimed at modifying or repressing sexual orientation or gender identity are punishable by two years of imprisonment and 30 000 euros fine. So if you are a victim, file a complaint!
