Comment on Denying the Human Sex Binary Turns Biology into Nonsense
Chucklestheclown@hilariouschaos.com 4 days agoNo sex is not a spectrum. It’s male or female.
As stated by interactadvocates.org
No, intersex is not a third sex in the traditional sense of male or female. It’s an umbrella term for people born with sex characteristics that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. Intersex individuals can have any gender identity and sexual orientation, and many identify as either male or female
Go look at any biology book at the college level and you won’t find sex is a spectrum. That’s a fringe theory that ignores human biology.
communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 4 days ago
This is a matter of opinion, not an objective fact.
Yes, which is why it’s a spectrum. They don’t cleanly meet either, they are somewhere inbetween and where exactly they are cannot be cleanly defined. You can try to determine this by size of gametes, etc, but you’ll find complicating factor and exceptions in any definition. Since there’s no clean, clear way to define these things, it is in fact a spectrum.
So?
So? They aren’t talking about gender identity, this is a specific guide for a specific course, not representative of all positions by all experts in every field, textbooks are not masters of nuance, they explain things in simple terms to build mastery of a topic, just because a textbook author didn’t want to get into the weeds of this doesn’t mean it isn’t a spectrum and there isn’t complexity and nuance to the topic.
Talk to an expert with a PHD about this, ask them this specific question, you’ll find a better answer than what the textbook says.
Chucklestheclown@hilariouschaos.com 4 days ago
We are not talking about gender identify. We are talking biological sex. There are two. That hasn’t and won’t change in our lifetime.
communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 4 days ago
There’s no definite way to classify intersex and non-sexed people that isn’t simply a matter of opinion.
Chucklestheclown@hilariouschaos.com 4 days ago
It’s a birth defect. Their sex is still male or female. Intersex groups like to call it a variation but as I cited previously even they don’t consider it another sex. That’s because we are binary when it comes to reproduction.
tahira@hilariouschaos.com 4 days ago
It is an objective fact. I’ll link you to Wikipedia because it’s easy, but feel free to cite anything that contradicts it: “The type of gamete an organism produces determines its sex”
You literally avoided reading the article, where a PhD in evolutionary biology explains exactly why you’re wrong.
communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 4 days ago
Yes, that is a fact, as is the fact that sex is a spectrum because of intersex people.
Plenty of PhD’s in evolutionary biology would agree with me, even in the article
“Sometimes, the complex machinery involved in reproduction can develop wrong, and people can suffer from infertility or exhibit reproductive traits that are atypical for their sex, including ambiguous genitalia (intersex conditions). However, as pointed out by others, these are not additional sexes because these body plans do not produce a new type of gamete besides sperm or eggs. Someone who does not produce any gametes would also not be a third sex since they would be fundamentally incapable of sexual reproduction.”
They make the claim that this doesn’t count as another sex, but even not being any sex would be a sex all on its own… resulting in it not being a simple binary. There’s nuance here that is going over your head.
tahira@hilariouschaos.com 4 days ago
Are you misreading the article? When it says “However, as pointed out by others”, that is pointing out that you’re 100% incorrect. I’m not sure why you cited something that proves you wrong. Nowhere is a single PhD cited that agrees with you.