“Women can be strong!” Rugby star Ilona Maher wants stereotypical men to accept non-feminine women too amid Paris Olympics boxing controversy

Burlington's Paris 2024 Olympics star Ilona Maher aims to promote body positivity in wake of Imane Khelif's gender-eligibility controversy.

“Women can be strong!” Rugby star Ilona Maher wants stereotypical men to accept non-feminine women too amid Paris Olympics boxing controversy

Paris 2024 Olympics sweetheart Ilona Maher takes a dig at stereotypes (Source: Instagram)

Recent times have seen Ilona Maher earn the label of being America’s rugby-playing social media sweetheart. Paris Olympics 2024, especially, saw her double down on women’s rights to be athletic and throw stiff arms while still being feminine. Maher has long been a proponent of body positivity. As such, the issue now has a lot of playing field to breathe after boxer Imane Khelif.

Welterweight Khelif ( — 69kg) made the walk (quarterfinals) two cycles back at 5 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ET. Full live streaming coverage comes at the courtesy of NBCOlympics.com. The Algerian faced Italy’s Angela Carini, who subsequently threw in the towel in just 46 seconds. Alleged trans boxer Khelif, who failed gender eligibility tests before, has come under heavy scrutiny for the matter. IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing unit though, lists her as a ‘biological female’. Amid the endless controversies, an emotional Maher took to socials to reiterate her own experiences.

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I always get these comments, but like recently it was kind of ramped up…like I get comments being called a man, and called masculine and asking if I'm on steriods…they put women in the box…think women should be fragile and petite, …women can be strong and they can have broad shoulders. And they can take up space and they can be big.
Ilona Maher via her TikTok reels  (@ilonamaher); H/T: kbtx.com; ?: (@EmmanuelAcho) on X

Ilona Maher came to prominence at the Tokyo Games 3 years ago. This time around, she has led the USA to bronze at the Paris Games with a heart-stopping finish in a 14-12 win over Australia. The Vermont native, who says she used to be higher-weight, has herself had issues with stereotypes all her life. Another case, similarly from the Tokyo games was Simone Biles.

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Biles had a grave case of “the twisties”; the mental block forced her out, fearing her performance output and safety. There are those like then-Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) or Mark Robinson who called her weak for it. Imane Khelif, a biological woman who once showed signs of Differences Of Sexual Development (DSD) and incurred a DQ is now the next victim of slander. In the wake of these, Maher promoted to let a woman be the judge of their own bodies.

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Ilona Maher promotes body positivity, breaks down stereotypes

When medal rounds began on July 29, 3.00 p.m. ET, United States’ Ilona Maher was the perfect example of body positivity for the Paris Games. Chugging a sandwich, she entered the Team USA House terrace in full grandeur, with the United States’ first-ever rugby sevens Olympic medal on the nape of her neck. Whoever said one cannot give in to a sandwich craving and still be hellish athletic? Maher; that’s who.

Floodgates on bodily expectations/stereotypes open after Imane Khelif controversy at Paris Olympics
Floodgates on bodily expectations/stereotypes open after Imane Khelif controversy at Paris Olympics (Source: tribune.com.pk/X)

Paris Olympics 2024 has been ripe with controversies; the issue of stereotyping women’s performances has also been an issue. Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif is smack-dabbing in the center of it. Biologically an alleged transitional female, she has come off a tad bit too strong for opponents. Those like entertainment wrestler and current WWE US champ Logan Paul have gone viral for billing her as a proper male, then retracting. Elon Musk, Riley Gaines, and a lot of others have pitched in too.

While she and Khelif fall under vastly different spectrums, the underlying issue is still the same. Maher, 27, hit back on the conception of expectations around a ‘biological female’ these days.

I think the stereotype around a rugby player is...you need to drop your femininity and play a very masculine, brutal sport...Myself and my team and some others on the circuit like Australia and Ireland, are showing that femininity...But that doesn’t take away from how amazing we tackle and hit...and the stereotypes around women’s sports just should be thrown out the window now.
Ilona Maher, Wednesday, during USA Women’s Rugby Sevens post-match interview; H/T: kbtx.com

If Maher’s tear-filled interview wasn’t enough, her familiarizing with the root of the problem should be enough. Donning a 29.3 BMI, the Team Scion Rugby athlete uses the hashtag #beastbeautybrains to the millions of her followers. She always promotes that no matter the conditions, to prejudge an athlete on stereotypes could be dire, and recent controversies only prove how.

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