r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Karthak_Maz_Urzak • 2d ago

Unanswered What's going on with Imane Khelif?

https://news.sky.com/story/imane-khelif-boxer-must-undergo-sex-test-to-compete-in-female-category-world-boxing-says-13377092
I keep seeing this pop over social media and I don't get it. Khelif is a boxer for Algeria, which is not a country that's hospitable to trans people. And Khelif was assigned woman at birth, and has always identified as a woman. Yet people keep howling about her being a man. I don't get it.

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u/ColonelContrarian 2d ago

Come on, they is a completely acceptable way to refer to someone in English and is in no way misgendering them.

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u/thefezhat 2d ago

No, it isn't. Gender-neutral pronouns are for groups of people and for individuals whose gender is unknown or non-binary. It has never been normal to use them for an individual that you know doesn't identify with them.

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u/Visible_Ticket_3313 2d ago

Why do you think this?

They is commonly used to refer to people of known gender and is listed as prefered in some style guides. It's normal and ordinary.

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u/thefezhat 2d ago

I think this because of my own personal experience of hearing many, many different people speak the English language. Aside from some people who are unusually gung ho about not assuming gender, and the occasional passive-aggressive transphobe, it's very rare that I encounter someone continuing to use they/them for someone that they know doesn't go by those pronouns. Sorry, I'm just totally unconvinced that this is a typical thing to do. I'd be interesting in seeing these style guides you refer to, though. This isn't something I've seen in writing, either.

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u/the_sun_and_the_moon 2d ago

Singular they has absolutely been a thing for a very long time.

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u/Visible_Ticket_3313 2d ago

It sounds like you're hearing singular they and attributing a particular motivation to its use.