Olympics Gender Controversy: An Intimate Perspective of the (Real) Male Gaze
Toulouse-Lautrec and his gentle view of female love against the viral crotch shots at the Paris Games
The Paris Olympics have come and gone, and even though a month has passed, it’s still hard to fathom the level we reached on vile and degrading comments aimed at women’s bodies — and how much they differed from those aimed at men.
Attacks against Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting took center stage above any sports achievement. These two boxers, who don’t bow to conventionally accepted gender theatrics, had their identity as women questioned by the Internet and some of the most powerful people in the world. In a mix of transphobia, racism and misinformation, they had to overcome some of the worst challenges they have already faced — and then also fight for medals.
The entire show of horrors had somewhat of a happy ending for them, since they both went on to win gold, but that still didn’t magically end prejudice around the world, unfortunately.
As for the other side of the fence, another one of the most shared moments in Paris was perhaps that of the French pole vaulter, Anthony Ammirati, who lost his chance at advancing the competition because his protruding male appendage ended…
