Biological Sex Is

Biological Sex Is
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Biology Professor Explains What “Biological Sex” Really Means, Starts A Heated Debate On Twitter
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Sad to say, prejudice, discrimination and bigotry are still a thing in many societies, and part of it stems from people’s convictions regarding things like sex and gender identity.
In today’s case, it particularly ties in with how the term biological sex is thrown about to justify one’s beliefs on what and how humans ought to be.
Well, this one biologist explained on Twitter what biological sex actually is, that it’s not as clear-cut as some might believe it to be, and that it shouldn’t be considered a basis for bigotry and discrimination.
Rebecca R. Helm is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina, who studies ecology and evolution of how animals change through time.
Some time ago, she went to Twitter to tackle the term biological sex . You see, some people make it seem like it’s all very simple, but Helm breaks it down and shows just how simple it really is.
Now, there are several ways of approaching this: on a chromosomal, hormonal, or even cellular level. But none of them would allow you to reach a simple explanation.
Sure, you can say there are the XX/XY chromosomes and the SRY gene that really matters to sex here. But there’s also a chance where SRY can pop off the chromosome and your physical, chromosomal, and genetic sex might vary altogether because of this without you even knowing it.
And it’s the same level of complexity with the hormonal and cellular definitions too. There are abnormalities whereby women could be able to generate more male hormones than males themselves, but they would otherwise still look very much feminine. Would that make them male?
Same goes with cells—there’s this thing with cells having receptors that hear sex hormones, but sometimes they don’t work. Does that make them stuck between two traditional genders as a non-binary ?
As you might have guessed, the possibilities here are endless, where you can be a different sex on a genetic, chromosomal, hormonal, cellular, and even physical level. Yep, this is totally not complicated at all .
Helm concluded that hence biological gender shouldn’t be a basis to discriminate and judge people: “Biology is complicated. Kindness and respect don’t have to be.”
The tweet thread went viral among several communities. While some found this thread interesting and insightful, others were still trying to counter it on Twitter with constructive and not so constructive feedback.
Regardless, the Twitter thread gained over 55,000 likes and 27,000 retweets, and even found itself on Imgur , where it was viewed by another 80,000 people.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below!
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Robertas, nicknamed the Comma Inquisitor by friends, is a Bored Panda writer and content creator. After his studies at LCC International University, where he got a BA in English Language and Literature, Robertas went on to do freelance teaching, translation, and copywriting work, primarily specializing in IT. He spent nearly three years writing about all things Wi-Fi, eventually being picked up by Bored Panda. Whenever there’s free time, he spends it playing Gwent, or hosting Dungeons & Dragons sessions for his mostly chaotic neutral team.
It'll grow stronger next time for sure, brains are muscles right?...I'm not too sure /jk
Many is the time I have been called a muscle-head. I didn't know they were complementing me :)
I've made that pun before xd~! It's one of my favourites!
Brains are fat, so. Exercise should make them ... smaller?
Brains are made up of neurons and adipose tissues. There are no muscle tissues in the brain save the ones involved with the circulatory system.
'tis a joke, ya donut. There's so much to appreciate in the fine world of puns.
OK, another biology professor here. There is no way you could look at one chromosome in a class. To look at chromosomes you need to do a karyotype of the persons entire genome, and that takes a few weeks. (And costs $$$$$) You cannot do that in a bio lab! Impossible. Also, I have never read about the SRY gene jumping (or translocating) from a Y to another chromosome to another chromosome.
Here's a Nature News article about the SRY gene jumping to the X chromosome. https://www.nature.com/news/2006/061009/full/061009-14.html
Forgot also the detail that they are sterile, girls would not have their period, so pretty easy to say when a girl is in fact XX (aside from the rarity of the whole thing). This person has a personal agenda and does not uphold Biology as they should
Exactly. It might occur in very rare cases. But he is talking about if as if this is common.
It occurs. It's like the rarity of two blue-eyed people having a brown-eyed child, or two O-type parents having a kid with A-type blood. It's not as simple as we think, and that's why we don't try to think about it too much, is my guess.
Eyes are complex and I won't go there, but AOB is monogenetic, easy and straightforward to say that no, two O parents cannot have anything else than a O child, not "rare" just impossible
Well if you have never heard of it it must be fake, then.
Sit down.
I'm sure he didn't mean "jumping" literally and also he didn't say everyone should look at their chromosomes
Well, it looks like we've all learned something new today, doesn't it?
Okay, three things. Yes, yes, and most definitely yes! The world needs to hear this. <3
Sorry, but there are misconceptions and misguidances in that person's post. Lying (augmenting, embellishing and omitting information to fabricate a point) about biology is not what will bring ppl to be less prejudicial
Exactly. This is very inaccurate from a scientific point of view because it describes very rare cases as if they are the norm. Humans only have two sexes xx and xy. But that doesnt mean that they cannot exoress their gender as they please.
Two sexes only huh? Do you not believe in intersex people then?
In science it is not the norm which defines the rules. It is the exceptions. If the rule does not fit all the data, then the rule is wrong not the data.
Did you just redefine the word ‘lying’? Or were you augmenting and embellishing its meaning?
NVM Indeed. I agree with you 100%. Yet people are going to think what they want. Who are we to correct them? I mean honestly, just live and let live.
People have the right to express their gender freely. But this is not accurate or realistic. Its just a person being very exagerated to fit his narrative. Sex in mammals is very clear biologically. You are XX or XY. That is how the species works. Yes, some very rare individuals have variations like he described but they are a small minority and not the rule. Ifs the same with other development alterations. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. That is the rule. Yes, some people have genetic defects and have more or less but that doesnt change the fact that as species we have 23 pairs.
So you’re either xy or xx, except when you’re not? Got it.
That's not what they said and I feel like you know that.
No it's really not. Biological sex is best described by the shape if your junk, and even then there are many ways to be born with ambiguous genitalia, or to have hormone pathway disruptions that change maturation. Check out adrenal hyperplasia, aromatase deficiency, and androgen resistance.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
If there's one thing the world hates that's facts..
It'll grow stronger next time for sure, brains are muscles right?...I'm not too sure /jk
Many is the time I have been called a muscle-head. I didn't know they were complementing me :)
I've made that pun before xd~! It's one of my favourites!
Brains are fat, so. Exercise should make them ... smaller?
Brains are made up of neurons and adipose tissues. There are no muscle tissues in the brain save the ones involved with the circulatory system.
'tis a joke, ya donut. There's so much to appreciate in the fine world of puns.
OK, another biology professor here. There is no way you could look at one chromosome in a class. To look at chromosomes you need to do a karyotype of the persons entire genome, and that takes a few weeks. (And costs $$$$$) You cannot do that in a bio lab! Impossible. Also, I have never read about the SRY gene jumping (or translocating) from a Y to another chromosome to another chromosome.
Here's a Nature News article about the SRY gene jumping to the X chromosome. https://www.nature.com/news/2006/061009/full/061009-14.html
Forgot also the detail that they are sterile, girls would not have their period, so pretty easy to say when a girl is in fact XX (aside from the rarity of the whole thing). This person has a personal agenda and does not uphold Biology as they should
Exactly. It might occur in very rare cases. But he is talking about if as if this is common.
It occurs. It's like the rarity of two blue-eyed people having a brown-eyed child, or two O-type parents having a kid with A-type blood. It's not as simple as we think, and that's why we don't try to think about it too much, is my guess.
Eyes are complex and I won't go there, but AOB is monogenetic, easy and straightforward to say that no, two O parents cannot have anything else than a O child, not "rare" just impossible
Well if you have never heard of it it must be fake, then.
Sit down.
I'm sure he didn't mean "jumping" literally and also he didn't say everyone should look at their chromosomes
Well, it looks like we've all learned something new today, doesn't it?
Okay, three things. Yes, yes, and most definitely yes! The world needs to hear this. <3
Sorry, but there are misconceptions and misguidances in that person's post. Lying (augmenting, embellishing and omitting information to fabricate a point) about biology is not what will bring ppl to be less prejudicial
Exactly. This is very inaccurate from a scientific point of view because it describes very rare cases as if they are the norm. Humans only have two sexes xx and xy. But that doesnt mean that they cannot exoress their gender as they please.
Two sexes only huh? Do you not believe in intersex people then?
In science it is not the norm which defines the rules. It is the exceptions. If the rule does not fit all the data, then the rule is wrong not the data.
Did you just redefine the word ‘lying’? Or were you augmenting and embellishing its meaning?
NVM Indeed. I agree with you 100%. Yet people are going to think what they want. Who are we to correct them? I mean honestly, just live and let live.
People have the right to express their gender freely. But this is not accurate or realistic. Its just a person being very exagerated to fit his narrative. Sex in mammals is very clear biologically. You are XX or XY. That is how the species works. Yes, some very rare individuals have variations like he described but they are a small minority and not the rule. Ifs the same with other development alterations. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. That is the rule. Yes, some people have genetic defects and have more or less but that doesnt change the fact that as species we have 23 pairs.
So you’re either xy or xx, except when you’re not? Got it.
That's not what they said and I feel like you know that.
No it's really not. Biological sex is best described by the shape if your junk, and even then there are many ways to be born with ambiguous genitalia, or to have hormone pathway disruptions that change maturation. Check out adrenal hyperplasia, aromatase deficiency, and androgen resistance.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
If there's one thing the world hates that's facts..
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Biological Sex, Gender Identity And Sexuality: Explained

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Between the r ecent transitions of Caitlin Jenner, to the new controversy of transgender bathroom laws, there has been a lot of discussion on transgender rights, and what it means to be transgender. With all the confusion in the differences between biological sex, gender identity and sexuality here's a go to guide for the three.
In today's society we tend to see things as dichotomies. Two sets of opposing ideals like the moon and sun, oil and water, and the most prominent: boys and girls. Humans have always found comfort in classification; putting labels on certain groups of people to help predict how they will act and carry out their lives. This is where the idea of gender came to be. Society created two opposing boxes in which people of certain biological sexes fit into in order to determine how that person will live their life. It seems like a harmless means of classification until someone doesn't fit in either box. Considering the estimate of transgender boys and girls in America is around 700,000, maybe it's time we move from the system of dichotomies into something more realistic and inclusive. Yet the main issue is that even with its new and upcoming presence in our society there is still a general lack of knowledge about who doesn't fit in the dichotomy gender boxes and why. To be fair, the differences between sex, gender and sexuality can be extremely complex, so let’s break it down piece by piece.
This one is the easiest to explain, because well everyone has a biological sex. Your biological sex is what you check off at your doctor's office and is based on factors like genitalia, chromosomes, and a few other things sometimes but not always including general appearance and hormones. This is where the gender dichotomy comes from. When it comes to biological sex, males usually have penises, XY sex chromosomes and higher level of testosterone. Females usually have vaginas and clitorises, XX chromosomes, and higher levels of estrogen. Seems simple right? You're either one or the other? Well not exactly, because in every one and 1000 births, there is not a clear underlying sex of a baby, they could have a combination of any of the factors that makes a female a female and a male a male. These people are considered intersex and they can vary quite a bit. Some people who are intersex have both vagina and penis like genitalia that can vary on how much it appears to be one or the other. Some have "mosaic" chromosomes where some of their cells carry XX sex chromosomes and some carry XY. Sometimes both estrogen and testosterone are produced. Sometimes people don't know they're intersex until they try to have children, or get certain medical treatments or testing, sometimes it is not discovered that someone is intersex until an autopsy is done after they die. It's important to remember that not even biological sex is a dichotomy, it’s a spectrum with an infinite amount of possibilities in between male and female. It's also a solid reminder that you can't tell someone’s sex from their face, body or even genitals.
The idea of gender identity comes from the idea of biological sex: it's a way to help predict the actions and behaviors of other humans based on biological sex. Mostly the idea of gender is based of off male and female and the qualities that go along with either of them, but with a lot of genders being masculine or feminine has nothing to do with. Gender is socially constructed and sometimes the way we feel is correlated with the set of standards that society has made for it and sometimes it doesn't. It's completely based on how one "feels" and what they may or may not personally identify with. A non-binary gender is a gender that doesn't go along with the dichotomy of male and female. There's an infinite amount of possibilities for different feelings and identifications. You can find a master list of genders here: http://genderfluidsupport.tumblr.com/gender/
Here's a summary of a few of the more prominent non binary genders:
Agender - the feeling of no ge
Cat Nuar Porn
Hair Stylist Sex Coiffeure
Little Twinks Ass

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