09/28/2024
If you think an answer is as simple as either A or B, black or white, male or female, good or bad, you couldn't be more wrong. Most of life are shared of grey.
Here is just one example...
On biological s*x: Open Ocean Exploration
EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!
Rebecca is a biologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville USA.
She writes,
āFriendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological s*xes and gender right now. Lots of folks make biological s*x s*x seem really simple. Well, since itās so simple, letās find the biological roots, shall we? Letās talk about s*x...[a thread]
If you know a bit about biology you will probably say that biological s*x is caused by chromosomes, XX and youāre female, XY and youāre male. This is āchromosomal s*xā but is it ābiological s*xā? Well...
Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to s*x. Itās called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you āgenetically maleā. But is this ābiological s*xā?
Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now youāve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?
A Y with no SRY means physically youāre female, chromosomally youāre male (XY) and genetically youāre female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means youāre physically male, chromsomally female (XX) and genetically male (SRY). But biological s*x is simple! There must be another answer...
Sex-related genes ultimately turn on hormones in specifics areas on the body, and reception of those hormones by cells throughout the body. Is this the root of ābiological s*xā??
āHormonal maleā means you produce ānormalā levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of āmaleā hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto āfemaleā hormones. And...
..if youāre developing, your body may not produce enough hormones for your genetic s*x. Leading you to be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally non-binary, and physically non-binary. Well, except cells have something to say about this...
Maybe cells are the answer to ābiological s*xā?? Right?? Cells have receptors that āhearā the signal from s*x hormones. But sometimes those receptors donāt work. Like a mobile phone thatās on ādo not disturbā. Call and cell, they will not answer.
What does this all mean?
It means you may be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally male/female/non-binary, with cells that may or may not hear the male/female/non-binary call, and all this leading to a body that can be male/non-binary/female.
Try out some combinations for yourself. Notice how confusing it gets? Can you point to what the absolute cause of biological s*x is? Is it fair to judge people by it?
Of course you could try appealing to the numbers. āMost people are either male or femaleā you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you...
The reason I donāt have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal s*x doesnāt match their physical s*x, and learning that in the middle of a 10-point assignment is JUST NOT THE TIME.
Biological s*x is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of ābiological s*xā & identity, ask yourself: have you seen YOUR chromosomes? Do you know the genes of the people you love? The hormones of the people you work with? The state of their cells?
Since the answer will obviously be no, please be kind, respect peopleās right to tell you who they are, and remember that you donāt have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect donāt have to be.'
Note: Biological classifications exist. XX, XY, XXY XXYY and all manner of variation which is why s*x isn't classified as binary. You can't have a binary classification system with more than two configurations even if two of those configurations are more common than others.
Biology is a sh*tshow.
Be kind to people.
