On July 30th (Korean time), Rowling used her personal SNS account to publicly express her opposition towards the participation of transgender boxers Imane Khelif from Algeria (66kg) and Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan (57kg) in the Olympics.
The female author conveyed her deep concerns through blunt comments, questioning, “What needs to happen to put an end to this madness? Must a female boxer be left with permanent injuries? Must a female boxer lose her life?”
On March 29th, the IOC announced that Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting would be allowed to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. In light of this, Rowling had already expressed her unease.
Despite winning a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships in India, both boxers, Lin Yu-ting and the other athlete, were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to having male chromosomes. This occurred before the finals, where Lin Yu-ting had previously won a gold medal in 2018 and another in 2022 at the World Championships in New Delhi. However, her 2021 bronze medal was later revoked due to her failing the gender test.
Regarding this issue, Taiwanese netizens expressed their criticism towards Rowling, stating that “Lin Yu-ting is a woman, not a transgender”and “Rowling’s mindset is too limited, this situation is extremely frustrating.”A doctor also chimed in, stating that “There should be no doubts as long as they pass the Olympic Committee’s test.”However, in contrast, Rowling’s supporters attempted to defend her by arguing that “Competitions like this are unjust”and “Female athletes should boycott the Olympics.”
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