Facebook bans #XX hashtag amidst Olympic boxing gender controversy

After searching for the hashtag on the social media platform, users are confronted with a message that reads: “Keeping our community safe: Posts with #XX are temporarily hidden here. Some content in those posts goes against our community standards.” A “learn more” link then directs users to Facebook’s community standards policy.

The hashtag, which refers to female XX chromosomes, has gone viral since two female Olympic boxers made “X” symbols with their fingers after being defeated in the ring two athletes who have been cleared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete despite the International Boxing Association (IBA) saying that they have XY chromosomes.

The IBA had previously barred both athletes from their female competitions after testing found that they had XY chromosomes. The IOC, however, does not test athletes’ chromosomes when determining eligibility for its male and female categories. The sporting body claims that these genetic tests are not “scientifically solid.” The IOC has also claimed it does not recognize the IBA as a sporting authority.

Svetlana Staneva, of Bulgaria, first made the “X” symbol with her fingers following a defeat against Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, this week. Later, Esra Yildiz of Turkey also made the “X” symbol following her own loss to Lin. Chinese runner Lin Yuwei similarly made an “X” symbol using her arms prior to a women’s 100-metre hurdle race this week.

In addition to Lin, the other boxer competing in the women’s category is Imane Khelif of Algeria. Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in the welterweight finals on Friday evening, and Lin is scheduled to compete in the featherweight gold medal bout on Saturday afternoon.

The two boxers have ignited conversation around fairness and safety in women’s sports—in light of policies that either allow athletes to identify their way into sporting categories based on their “gender identity,” or enable athletes with disorders of sexual development (DSDs), previously known as intersex conditions, to compete in the incorrect category. Neither of the athletes at the center of the Paris Olympics controversy identify as transgender.

The online and media discourse surrounding the controversy has been rife with misinformation and confusion—particularly from left-wing media outlets obfuscating facts about biological sex and DSDs—as well as accusations of transphobia, and even a Russian conspiracy (in the form of the IBA’s attempt to set the record straight about the athletes’ biological sex).

On Facebook, the social media giant has apparently decided to use censorship to silence the voices of those calling for women’s sports to be fair and safe—and the voices of those standing up for biological reality.

According to their community standards, Facebook “takes great care to create standards that include different views and beliefs, especially from people and communities that might otherwise be overlooked or marginalized.” On “safety,” the company claims that they will “remove content that could contribute to a risk of harm to the physical security of persons. Content that threatens people has the potential to intimidate, exclude or silence others and isn’t allowed on Facebook.”

The move to ban the #XX hashtag has been met with furor online.

“Female defiance must be smashed. Keep being defiant,” writer and feminist Jean Hatchet posted to X.

“Getting people [to] believe that men are women is only possible with a lot of censorship,” posted women’s rights advocate Sall Grover.