The exception verifies the rule. With humans, biologically, there are two healthy sex phenotypes. Everything else is a) extremely rare and b) the result of something going wrong.
Also, the fact that the sex/gender split in meaning was invented in the english language and many languages only have one word for it really confuses things. My other language, Swedish, only has “kön” for humans, which translates as sex. The Swedish words for sex are used both in instances where male/female would be used, and in the instances where man/woman would be used.
there are two healthy sex phenotypes … and b) the result of something going wrong.
What about intersex people makes them “unhealthy”? What makes what their bodies do “wrong”?
Everything else is a) extremely rare
Intersex people are about as common than redheads. Would you agree with the statement that redheads are the exception that proves the rule that there are 3 hair colors, blond, brown, and black?
someone quoted judith buttler to me in the past with “sex is a gendering of biology” (not word for word) and i think that makes things a lot clearer.
this does not necessairily explain how gender and sex as social categories came to be, but it does explain well why both are so inconsistent.
genders are social categories imposed on every aspect of human life, but it is not done because there is a material aspect to it, rather out of the mindset “when you have a hammer (gender), everything becomes a nail (gendered)”.
sex is this same thing done to biology. we gender chromosomes, hormomes, reproductive organs, bone structure, hair, biological capabilities,… as if they could be hard categorized, when they are only loosely related.
categories like gender, that attempt to categorize everything, are sometimes useful for simplyfied, generalizing analysis, but they do not hold up on an individual level. they should not have any final say over anything that will affect people and should definitly not be assumed to be applicable to individuals.
i think this meme is very correct, in that it points out, that reality is infinitely more complex than the flawed models we construct to think about it. we should not take these models as gospel.
that isn’t so binary, intersex people exist, that’s a whole rabbithole too.
Damn didn’t think of that thanks for reminding me
The exception verifies the rule. With humans, biologically, there are two healthy sex phenotypes. Everything else is a) extremely rare and b) the result of something going wrong.
Also, the fact that the sex/gender split in meaning was invented in the english language and many languages only have one word for it really confuses things. My other language, Swedish, only has “kön” for humans, which translates as sex. The Swedish words for sex are used both in instances where male/female would be used, and in the instances where man/woman would be used.
What about intersex people makes them “unhealthy”? What makes what their bodies do “wrong”?
Intersex people are about as common than redheads. Would you agree with the statement that redheads are the exception that proves the rule that there are 3 hair colors, blond, brown, and black?
[Edit: more common -> about as common]
Though it’s also not a given that being intersex even shows itself in the phenotype, is it?
Karyograms aren’t something that’s being done for a lot of people, so who knows how many intersex people actually exist.
Unless I’m confusing something, I’m not 100% sure.
Nah fam u wrong x
someone quoted judith buttler to me in the past with “sex is a gendering of biology” (not word for word) and i think that makes things a lot clearer.
this does not necessairily explain how gender and sex as social categories came to be, but it does explain well why both are so inconsistent.
genders are social categories imposed on every aspect of human life, but it is not done because there is a material aspect to it, rather out of the mindset “when you have a hammer (gender), everything becomes a nail (gendered)”.
sex is this same thing done to biology. we gender chromosomes, hormomes, reproductive organs, bone structure, hair, biological capabilities,… as if they could be hard categorized, when they are only loosely related.
categories like gender, that attempt to categorize everything, are sometimes useful for simplyfied, generalizing analysis, but they do not hold up on an individual level. they should not have any final say over anything that will affect people and should definitly not be assumed to be applicable to individuals.
i think this meme is very correct, in that it points out, that reality is infinitely more complex than the flawed models we construct to think about it. we should not take these models as gospel.