Did South Park Call It? Outrage Brews As Olympic Boxer At Center Of Gender Controversy Wins Match In Only 46 Seconds

We really are living in a South Park episode these days. I know that the animated show is supposed to be satire, but it seems like it's getting closer and closer to reality in these strange times we're living in. And now, people are even claiming that the show predicted the Olympics after controversy over the opening round of women's boxing. The controversy has actually been brewing for a while, after the Olympics decided to allow Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to compete in Paris, despite questions over Khelif's biological gender. Back in 2023, Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association's world championships after failing a gender identity test, after reportedly having elevated levels of testosterone and being found to have an XY chromosome found in biological males. (In case you don't remember your high school biology classes, males have XY chromosomes while females have XX chromosomes). But the International Olympic Committee allowed Khelif to compete after stripping the IBA of their status as the governing body for boxing after a series of judging scandals. And the IOC claims that Khelif meets their criteria to compete as a woman: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women's category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports." Khelif has reportedly never identified as male, transgender, or intersex (which apparently means that a person has the biological characteristics of both males and females), and has always competed as a female. But the boxer's appearance at the Olympics has been controversial, with many claiming that Khelif has a biological advantage over the other women in the competition.. And it sure looked it when Khelif matched up against boxer Angela Carini of Italy in the first round match. Khelif landed a few strong punches, dislodging Carini's headgear and possibly breaking her nose, before the Italian boxer raised her hands and abandoned the fight. And after the match, she refused to shake Khelif's hand, calling the situation "unjust." "I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said 'enough,' because I didn't want to, I didn't want to, I couldn't finish the match." Meanwhile, the IBA released a statement after the match regarding Khelif failed gender testing: "Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors." Khelif initially appealed the ruling before dropping the appeal, leaving the IBA ruling in place. But after competing in the Olympics, folks over on Twitter immediately noticed the parallels between the boxing match and a 2019 episode of South Park called "Board Girls," where a man identifies as female two weeks before the local Strong Man competition and beats the shit out of the women he's competing against. https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1818999975587516612 Seems like we're getting closer and closer to living in a South Park episode every day.