Thread by @Chozoghost

Breaking down "Biological Sex"

Tweeting this rather than replying so I can make a proper chain. Credit to @RileyJayDennis for helping me frame my understanding -

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#TransRightsAreHumanRights #TranswomenAreWomen #transmenaremen #trans #TransIsBeautiful

Biological Sex is a human-created classification system for sorting organisms based on their reproductive abilities. The stuff that ‘biological sex’ describes is objective, but the system isn’t.

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The most widely used model for determining sex is:
Genitals
Gonads
Hormones
Secondary sex characteristics
Chromosomes

These 5 things are measurable facts. But grouping them together under one system is a human invention. A model for understanding and classifying bodies.

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Chromosomes
These aren’t social constructs but calling XX female and XY male is. Is this the most accurate, up to date way to do this? Given what we know about Intersex people, I personally don’t think so.

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The gender binary says “there are only 2 groups and everyone fits neatly into one or the other.” But when you ask people who support this framework how we sort people, the answers vary.

Examples:
Genitals
Chromosomes
Perception - "I can tell"

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The biological model says “sex is a distinction based on the type of gametes produced by an individual" – sperm or eggs. But we don’t test gametes at birth. We don’t even test chromosomes. The doctor just looks at the baby’s genitals and makes a pronouncement.

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The reason for this is it’s quick and easy. But it’s an educated guess at best, and it’s frequently wrong.

Biology also acknowledges other classifications of sex:
Morphological
Gonadal
Hormonal
Endocrinological
Chromosomal

These map roughly to the 5 categories above.

7/14

But lets use an example person:
Vagina
High estrogen
Low testosterone
Short
Less body hair
Breasts
XY chromosomes
No Ovaries

This describes a trans woman who transitioned early – took puberty blockers and has since had vaginoplasty.

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However, it also describes a ‘cis’ woman with Swyer Syndrome. A condition that usually isn’t discovered until the woman enters puberty and doesn’t have a period. Because they don’t have ovaries, they must undergo HRT to have a puberty.

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Intersex people fall outside this binary classification system. 1.7% of the population is intersex, roughly the same as people with red hair. If a classification system that we treat as ‘absolute’ doesn’t account for 127 million people, that system needs to be updated.

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A prevailing theory on gender is that there is some biological/neurological component that causes a child to ‘focus’ on a given adult for gender cues. For me, this was immediately my mother. How our sense of our own gender is formed is still being studied.

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But, my understanding is that cis people never question or even really examine their own gender. For many trans folks, we feel incongruence between our anatomy and gender from a young age, and question everything. My own example:

12/14

I had a trauma free young childhood and yet constantly tried to understand why my body wasn’t ‘girl’. Every assumption and 'boy' box I was put in felt instinctively wrong. Puberty was agony. I didn't choose this. So.....

13/14

If this is something we’re born with, that isn’t a mental health condition, it’s a neurological one. It follows logically that our medical establishment and society should treat it as such.

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