28/09/2024
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,
โFriendly 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 itโs so simple, letโs find the biological roots, shall we? Letโs 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 youโre female, XY and youโre male. This is โchromosomal s*xโ but is it โbiological s*xโ? Well...
Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to s*x. Itโs called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you โgenetically maleโ. But is this โbiological s*xโ?
Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now youโve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?
A Y with no SRY means physically youโre female, chromosomally youโre male (XY) and genetically youโre female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means youโre 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 โbiological s*xโ??
โHormonal maleโ means you produce โnormalโ levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of โmaleโ hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto โfemaleโ hormones. And...
..if youโre 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 โbiological s*xโ?? Right?? Cells have receptors that โhearโ the signal from s*x hormones. But sometimes those receptors donโt work. Like a mobile phone thatโs on โdo not disturbโ. 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. โMost people are either male or femaleโ you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you...
The reason I donโt have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal s*x doesnโt 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 โbiological s*xโ & 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 peopleโs right to tell you who they are, and remember that you donโt have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect donโt 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.
