Based on chromosomes there's about 9 sexes. If talking physical attributes, there's like 32 sexes (male, female, then a ton of different types of intersex). And even by chromosomes, XY is an arbitrary trait. It's not the only one that controls our makeup. AIS is one, as you have an XY chromosome but develop an almost entirely female form. (Testicles in the place of ovaries I believe otherwise a complete female form). Because one marker adjusted your testosterone response. But would you argue they are biologically male or female? You have an XY, but your breasts and vagina came from your genetics. And if nature can adjust the genetalia there, then where else is it occuring in our code. Plus a lot of cis men (40%) stop having Y chromosomes after 70, are they all of a sudden women?
In a sexual species, you can have females be XX and males be X (insects), you can have females be ZW and males be ZZ (birds), you can have females be females because they developed in a warm environment and males be males because they developed in a cool environment (reptiles), you can have females be females because they lost a penis sword fighting contest (some flatworms), you can have males be males because they were born female, but changed sexes because the only male in their group died (parrotfish and clownfish).
And if you think humans can not be compared to animals, yes they can, human reproduction is not radically different from that of other primates, and is most comparable to the 'great apes' (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans); perhaps the most significant difference being the length of gestation relative to maternal body weight. The majority of reptiles and plants reproduce sexually as well, although female anacondas are capable of parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) and many plants can effectively clone themselves, instead of (or in addition to) sexual reproduction. Condors spontaneously changed from female to male in a single sex colony in CA as recently as 2 yrs ago. Female lions that grow manes and behave like the other males. Frogs that change sex. And, among African chimpanzees small males often live among the females, even being mated by the alpha males. Gender-morphing has always been a part of the natural world. There are even examples of animals without gender and intersex and multiple sexes. Humans are mamalian species, if you looked up animals like Spotted Hyenas, Slippery Limpet youd see theres no absolute biological distinction between male and female.
But if someone did not want comparisons with animals and meant solely humans, you can be male because you were born female, but you have 5-alphareductase deficiency and so you grew a penis at age 12. You can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but you are insensitive to androgens, and so you have a female body. You can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but your Y is missing the SRY gene, and so you have a female body. You can be male because you have two X chromosomes, but one of your X's HAS an SRY gene, and so you have a male body. You can be male because you have two X chromosomes- but also a Y,". "You can be female because you have only one X chromosome at all. And you can be male because you have two X chromosomes, but your heart and brain are male..
We can not use one arbitrary set of markers to define sex. Man and woman are artificial definitions, we are unique contrasts to one another. We have body organs that can symbolize masculine or feminine aspect, but our entire self occupying that body is beyond definitions, unless we choose to define ourselves based on where we fit in in terms of gender identity, body instincts or the overall state of being. We can’t be taking an apple, an orange and a banana and saying "everything is either an apple or an orange, those are the only options".
Some people attempt to use gamete as a defining factor of our sex, even despite the fact that not even them can be binary, but if we even entertain that, many humans are attracted more to the hormonal development of the body than genitals, outside of procreation gametes don't play any role in our daily life that demands separation of spaces between sexes, especially considering some women are born without a womb or gametes. And sex hormones are also a defining marker of biological sex like gametes or gonads, chromosomes, gene expression, especially for intersex people. In other words, gametes cannot be used to create a sex binary in humans, because no gamete can be present along with ambiguous or mixed gonadal tissue. When this happens, other sex markers have to be considered, none of which are binary. So the need to use other biological markers for sex identification in people with no gametes and ambiguous/mixed gonads confirms sex is composed of a mosaic of traits. Gametes are not used to “sex” people in any of the 195 countries worldwide. No government or military ID worldwide has ever been issued based on gamete type.
reply
share