To those who say sex isn’t binary…
The definition of biological sex is simple. The Universal Biological Definition is that sex is the two evolved body types which produce either large or small gametes, called eggs and sperm. There are only male and female sexes and both of them are needed for an animal or plant to sexually reproduce. Female body types have evolved to produce eggs and male body types have evolved to produce sperm. It’s simple, elegant, universal and widely accepted and understood.
However, lately I’ve seen this quote post below going around Facebook amongst my friends. It’s also quoted in full by the Communication Workers Union in their Trans 101 educational materials. It contains so many embarrassing misdirections (and starts with an appeal to authority by the author) that I thought it would be worthwhile to address.
Here it is in full:
Rebecca Helm, a biologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville US writes:
Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological sexes and gender right now. Lots of folks make biological sex sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex…[a thread]
If you know a bit about biology you will probably say that biological sex is caused by chromosomes, XX and you’re female, XY and you’re male. This is “chromosomal sex” but is it “biological sex”? Well…
Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to sex. It’s called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you “genetically male”. But is this “biological sex”?
Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now you’ve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?
A Y with no SRY means physically you’re female, chromosomally you’re male (XY) and genetically you’re female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means you’re physically male, chromsomally female (XX) and genetically male (SRY). But biological sex 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 “biological sex”??
“Hormonal male” means you produce ‘normal’ levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of ‘male’ hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto ‘female’ hormones. And…
…if you’re developing, your body may not produce enough hormones for your genetic sex. 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 “biological sex”?? Right?? Cells have receptors that “hear” the signal from sex hormones. But sometimes those receptors don’t work. Like a mobile phone that’s on “do not disturb’. 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 sex is? Is it fair to judge people by it?
Of course you could try appealing to the numbers. “Most people are either male or female” you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you…
The reason I don’t have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal sex doesn’t match their physical sex, and learning that in the middle of a 10-point assignment is JUST NOT THE TIME.
Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & 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 people’s right to tell you who they are, and remember that you don’t have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect don’t have to be.
Note: Biological classifications exist. XX, XY, XXY XXYY and all manner of variation which is why sex 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 shitshow. Be kind to people.
Firstly, she wrote this on 20 Dec 2019 and posted a thread on Twitter. Yes, really, a thread on Twitter. Not a scientific paper.
Here’s my response to this embarrassingly misleading diatribe:
Rebecca Helm, a biologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville US writes:
That’s an appeal to authority. Who cares if Rebecca Helm is an Assistant Professor if she’s wrong? Having a job is no guarantee of being infallible. It also doesn’t matter that her specialist area is jellyfish, that’s no reason to mock her expertise. Jellyfish are cool.
Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological sexes and gender right now. Lots of folks make biological sex sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex…[a thread]
The use of ‘Friendly neighbourhood’ suggests a sense of community and trustworthiness, implying that she is readily available and approachable for the benefit of those who need her. It’s straight from Spiderman, or, in this case, Jellyfishwoman. She protects her tweets so I can’t see anything she’s ever posted.
If you know a bit about biology you will probably say that biological sex is caused by chromosomes, XX and you’re female, XY and you’re male. This is “chromosomal sex” but is it “biological sex”? Well…
The thing you need to know about the biology of sex is the definition of sex: there are two of them in species which produce large (egg) and small (sperm) gametes. It’s called the Universal Biological Definition of Sex. In species with different sized gametes there are two and only two sexes.
The actual sex of an organism is determined by the sex determination mechanisms in your genes. To create a fully developed male and a fully developed female is tricky. That doesn’t stop there being only two sexes, because that’s how sex is defined.
In species with two sexes, there are two body types – body types evolved to produce eggs and body types evolved to produce sperm and there are no other body types.
Your chromosomes aren’t your sex, just like the assembly instructions booklet in the flatpack box isn’t an Ikea table. You can have a page missing, or a duplicate page, or have wrong instructions. That doesn’t change what a table is. A table is a table, whatever the Ikea instructions say. It’s not a chair.
How would we know that XX is female and XY is male in humans? It’s because XX people have bodies which evolved to produce eggs, while XY people usually have bodies which evolved to produce sperm.
Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to sex. It’s called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you “genetically male”. But is this “biological sex”?
There are many genes which matter to developing a sexed body. The one which kick-starts male development is the SRY gene.
How would we know that a functioning SRY gene produces a male in humans? It’s because functioning SRY gene people are bodies which evolved to produce sperm.
Your sex is your evolved body type – either egg-producing type or sperm-producing type.
Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now you’ve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?
It means people with genetic disorders aren’t different sexes. Your sex is your evolved body type. There are two evolved body types.
A Y with no SRY means physically you’re female, chromosomally you’re male (XY) and genetically you’re female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means you’re physically male, chromsomally female (XX) and genetically male (SRY). But biological sex is simple! There must be another answer…
Your sex is your evolved and developed body type. If you are a female body, you’re female. If you are a male body, you’re male.
Biological sex is simple in its definition. There are two of them. Sex determination and embryo development are complicated. Sometimes it goes wrong. That doesn’t mean there are more than two sexes, or that sex is a spectrum, or that you can’t tell what sex someone is. It certainly doesn’t mean that because there are genetic disorders, men who feel like a woman are the opposite sex.
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 “biological sex”??
Sex hormones are essential to the development of sexed bodies and in determining which sex you will be. They’re not the definition of sex.
“Hormonal male” means you produce ‘normal’ levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of ‘male’ hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto ‘female’ hormones. And…
Not true. There is no overlap between the sex hormone levels of males and females.
How would we know that female-associated hormones are female and male-associated hormones are male in humans? It’s because female-associated hormones are in people who are bodies which evolved to produce eggs, while male-associated hormones are in people who are bodies which evolved to produce sperm.
…if you’re developing, your body may not produce enough hormones for your genetic sex. 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…
There’s no such thing as non-binary.
How would you know which chromosomes are the male or female ones? How could you tell which was which? Ah yes, male chromosomes are in the bodies of people who are bodies which have evolved to produce small gametes and female chromosomes are in the bodies of people who are bodies which have evolved to produce large gametes.
How would you know which are male sex hormones and which are female sex hormones. Ah yes, male sex hormones are more prevalent in the bodies of people who are bodies which have evolved to produce small gametes and female sex hormones are more prevalent in the bodies of people who are bodies which have evolved to produce large gametes.
Maybe cells are the answer to “biological sex”?? Right?? Cells have receptors that “hear” the signal from sex hormones. But sometimes those receptors don’t work. Like a mobile phone that’s on “do not disturb’. Call and cell, they will not answer.
Biological sex is your evolved body type, either male or female. There are no other body types.
This is turning into a Gish Gallop now.
A Gish gallop is a rhetorical device where someone overwhelms an opponent with a barrage of arguments, regardless of their accuracy or logical strength, making it difficult to respond effectively. The technique prioritizes quantity of arguments over quality, hindering rational debate. The term was coined by anthropologist Eugenie Scott, who named it after creationist Duane Gish.
What does this all mean?
It means that Rebecca Helm is clueless about the biology of sex and is ideologically driven rather than using the scientific method.
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.
The Universal Biological Definition of Sex – the type of gametes the two different evolved body types produce – is at the heart of everything here. It’s not possible to tell which are male chromosomes or male hormones or male genes without something which tells you whether they are male or female. Gametes are what tell you that.
There are no non-binary bodies. There are two developmental pathways. Show me the third gamete, or a naturally conceived person with three parents and we can talk. There are two gamete types.
Try out some combinations for yourself. Notice how confusing it gets? Can you point to what the absolute cause of biological sex is? Is it fair to judge people by it?
Not confusing at all. In fact, it’s Rebecca Helm who is trying to confuse it. There are two sexes. That’s the definition of sex. There are only two gamete types.
I’ve known all of this – including the correct words to describe it – since reading my brother’s A-level biology textbook in the summer when I was sixteen.
Karyotype – which chromosomes you have
Genotype – which genes you have
Phenotype – which body you are
Of course you could try appealing to the numbers. “Most people are either male or female” you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you…
All people are either male of female bodies. Not ‘most’. And “as a biologist professor I will tell you” is yet another appeal to authority. She doesn’t have special knowledge of other sexes which are not obvious to anyone else.
The reason I don’t have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal sex doesn’t match their physical sex, and learning that in the middle of a 10-point assignment is JUST NOT THE TIME.
Children in developed countries have genetic tests to rule out rare chromosomal disorders which might lead to them being infertile or having health problems in the future. Their parents might need counselling, or they might if they don’t know until they get to the usual age for sexual development. These genetic disorders are rare and usually identified by genetic screening.
They are not different sexes.
Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & 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?
The definition of sex is simple. Biological development is complicated. There are sex determination systems which can and do go wrong. There are two sexes based upon the Universal Biological Definition of sex: the body type evolved to produce either large or small gametes.
Nobody needs to have ‘seen their chromosomes’ to know whether they are male or female. My girlfriend’s dog isn’t an Assistant Professor but can still tell the difference between men and women.
Hold on, where did this word ‘identity’ come from and suddenly slip into the conversation? I thought we were talking about biology?
The argument here seems to be that because developmental biology is complicated and because there are layers of sex determination pathways, that somehow it’s okay for men to identify as women and women to identify as men. What a sneaky sleight of hand. Clearly they are completely different subjects. It’s a crude attempt to conflate biology with identity. It’s an attempt to say “you can’t tell what someone’s chromosomes are, so any man could be a woman and we just don’t know”. How embarrassing for her. Of course we know. Women in particular are better at identifying men who are sex-mimics because the ones who couldn’t identify a man from 100 metres didn’t survive to reproduce as often as the ones who could spot the danger. It’s a perfect example of evolution in action.
Since the answer will obviously be no, please be kind, respect people’s right to tell you who they are, and remember that you don’t have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect don’t have to be.
‘Be kind’ is a mantra designed to manipulate people into not objecting to things they are very uncomfortable with. It’s manipulation to get your own way. Don’t accept it.
No. Men with a serious and debilitating sexual disorder should be the ones ‘being kind’ and keeping it in their bedrooms.
Note: Biological classifications exist. XX, XY, XXY XXYY and all manner of variation which is why sex 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.
XXY and XXYY are not other sexes because, by definition, there are only two sexes. They are chromosomal disorders leading to differences in sexual development.
47, XXY is a genetic disorder that occurs in males and is characterized by an additional sex chromosome compared to the typical male karyotype of 46, XY.
48, XXYY is a genetic disorder that occurs in males and is characterized by additional sex chromosomes compared to the typical male karyotype of 46, XY.
Only males can be XXY or XXYY. There are only two sexes, male and female. There are only two development pathways to develop a human body.
Biology is a shitshow. Be kind to people.
Biology is brilliant. It just needs logic and good faith discussions. Sex is binary. Bodies develop. Identity is psychological.
“Be kind to people.” No, you be kind.
A misrepresentation of biology might seem minor. However, it’s not just this doing the rounds of Facebook. It’s quoted in training materials, induction packages and defences of transgender identity. The Communication Workers Union, the CWU has gone ‘full trans’ with its ‘Trans 101‘ training materials on Gender Identity Theology and quotes the Twitter thread in full as if it is settled science. It starts with this unscientific nonsense:
There are records of trans and gender-divergent people going right back to the earliest days of humanity, from cultures all around the world. The latest scientific evidence suggests that biological sex is not a simple binary but instead more of a spectrum. Yet, despite this our transgender comrades are subjected to intolerance, bigotry and often violence – just for trying to be true to themselves. This course seeks to address misunderstandings about transgender issues and help us all to be better allies to our transgender friends and comrades.
Well, comrades, it’s time to tell men with sexual identity disorders and their women enablers that women’s rights supersede their gender religion.
Even worse than this are the pseudo-scientific religious articles on ‘identity’
Scientific American: Sex Redefined: The Idea Of 2 Sexes Is Overly Simplistic
Harvard Blog: Between The (Gender) Lines: the Science of Transgender Identity
Heed Lessons From Past Studies Involving Transgender People: First, Do No Harm
Healthcare: Transgender Pregnancy: Moving Past Preconceptions
The Transgender Exigency: A Brief History of Defining Sex and Gender
Why are so many people trying so hard to convince you of something which is clearly untrue. There are only two sexes, so why would Scientific American, Harvard, and the Communication Workers Union amongst many others be dedicating themselves to spreading nonsense.
The answer is that Gender Identity a sexist and homophobic religion based upon asserting male rights to express disordered sexuality. It’s not science. None of it is. Here’s my summary of it:
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