Imane Khelif became the first Algerian woman to win a gold medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics 2024. However, her victory was not the centre of discussion, as days before she won, the athlete’s identity had come under public scrutiny. Some notable TERFs, anti-trans politicians and right-wingers, falsely accused the boxer who is cisgender of being trans ‘male.’
Known faces like Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling have attacked the athlete online which became a talking point for anti-trans conspiracy theorists. These anti-trans groups are colloquially known online as ‘transvestigators.’
There’s no doubt that the theories are bizarre and are a result of violent transphobic phenomena. Anti-trans extremists are the ones who’ve given rise to such theories, and soon they caught the attention of social media users.
Transvestigators lurk in Facebook groups, comment sections, and dark corners of the internet. The theories they make are factually inaccurate, which concludes to “uncover” celebs and A-listed figures they believe are secretly trans. Transvestigators often use anti-semitic, racist and white beauty standards to expose “inverts,” or celebs whom they believe are trans.
These bizarre rumors have targeted many individuals, like Taylor Swift, Michelle Obama and actress Erin Darke. Undoubtedly, these speculations often attack women, but celebrities like Harry Styles have also been accused of the same. White women who do not fit the conventional beauty standards like Lady Gaga and Margot Robbie have been framed as trans.
The way transvestigations influence mainstream right-wing politics and general anti-trans sentiment is what makes them deadly. Even Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance denied allegations on X that Vice President Kamala Harris was to blame and that Khelif is “a grown man pummeling a woman.”
Transvestigator ideology was particularly rampant during the 2024 Summer Olympics, as several cis athletes, like Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting and American rugby player Ilona Maher, were accused of secretly being “men.”
Michelle Obama has faced transphobia for her strong facial features and toned body. Republicans have consistently masculinzed and dehumanized her since she became First Lady. They have convinced so many idiots that she was born a man. pic.twitter.com/WvNuw0VVnd
— Diondra La Negra (@HoochieDoll) July 1, 2020
The characteristics that transvestigators consider to be outside the parameters of a person’s biological sex, such as “broad shoulders” and “large noses” on women, are usually examined in transvestigation victims. Men are examined for “delicate features” in a similar manner. Their pseudoscientific strategies are based on the transphobic or misogynist notion that a successful individual must have achieved their success by dishonest means or deceit if they exhibit even a small amount of gender nonconformity.
Transvestigation is rooted in transphobia and misogyny, where archaic gender norms and the idea of ‘sex’ are taken as parameters to decide whether an individual is a male or female. As per The Endocrine Society, phrases like “biological sex,” “biological male,” and “biological female” are “imprecise and should be avoided.” These false standards are what transvestigators use to prove their claims.
Ivanka Trump is a biological male.
Even tons of plastic surgery and a fake moon bump can’t hide that male skeleton.
🧵part 1 of 2 pic.twitter.com/bkNLfouqGY
— Cyber Egg (@egg335374) June 1, 2025
In recent times, the right wing has been using transvestigation as a political tool. Infamous right podcaster Alex Jones accused former First Lady Michelle Obama of being trans in 2017. Trump used Khelif’s controversy during his campaign to ‘remind people of his anti-trans stances, saying “keep men out of women’s sports.”’
However, the right-wing who use an anti-trans strategy for elections aren’t protected from these wild theories. Ivanka Trump was subjected to similar accusations by online spectators. They believed her features were too manly and termed her ‘biologically male.’ The theorists believed Ivanka used multiple plastic surgeries to look like a female.
Even First Lady Melania Trump has been accused of being trans. What these accusations have in common is that they dehumanize the queer community and disregard those who are accused.
