How Sex is Binary

How Sex is Binary

          How is sex binary?   Well let’s talk about a definition of sex.  Now there can be multiple definitions for sex, but let’s talk about the ultimate definition for humans.  We can define sex this way as Male and Female, but what exactly is this describing?  If we take a look at these two humans one’s DNA would read as male and the other female.  It’s important to understand that DNA controls every last thing about you, not just physical characteristics but also your emotions and behaviors.  

          We have two great words that can describe what we are seeing in this DNA make up of the male and female forms and these words are masculine and feminine.  The DNA in the Female that differs from the male are the Feminine characteristics we see and can be described as such, and vice versa for the males.  What we must understand though about DNA is that it is not perfect, and DNA isn’t perfect in some places and imperfect in others, it has the opportunity to be imperfect everywhere.  So what happens when the DNA differentiates from this ultimate definition we have for sex?  Well there can be quite a few different outcomes.  

          The first, and more obvious, would be transgender and intersex individuals.  In that ultimate definition of sex we talked about before, we were talking mainly about our sex chromosomes, however it should be mentioned that other chromosomes do have contributing genes to what we consider our biological makeup for sex.  For a more simple way of understanding this though, females typically will have an XX pairing and males will usually have the XY chromosome pairing, but it’s important to understand that’s not always the case and there’s cases of males with XX, females with XY and individuals who are born with single X, triple X, XYY chromosomes and in rarer cases other combos.  

          When an individual is born transgender or intersex they can be born with physical characteristics that develop into both male and female anatomy.  Same with their neurological characteristics driven by how their body reacts to different chemicals, but we will still typically see the XY pair with the SRY gene coming into play for those with the physical differences, but this doesn’t account for all and we must understand that DNA is complicated and there are so many factors to consider when multiple genes affect certain areas of development.  

          How do these chromosomes work if someone can be born with both male and female anatomy?  For starters, DNA is not a single straight line of code that is continually read, it has what are called switches that turn different genes on and off creating different paths for the DNA to take.  So when a human has the XX chromosome pairing, that double X tells the DNA to turn on the female genes instead of the male genes inside the X chromosome.  One physical example would be turning gonads into ovaries instead of testes.  

          Something to know though only one X chromosome is active for all cases.  Yes, only one X chromosome is active when someone has the XX pairing, but it’s not either or.  A female receives one X chromosome from their mother and one from their father.  In some cells the X chromosome received from the mother is active and in the others the one received from the father is active.  When a baby is born with the XY pairing the entire X chromosome is active however the presence of the Y chromosome instructs the DNA in this X chromosome to turn on the male genes instead of the female genes, and the SRY gene functioning to turn those gonads into testes instead of ovaries.  

          So how can someone be transgendered?  Well remember what we said about DNA not being perfect?  It’s imperfect everywhere so even if an individual is born with XX chromosomes those switches can still turn on male genes instead of the female genes even without the Y chromosome present and vice versa with an XY pairing, those switches can still turn on female genes because DNA is imperfect and it’s capable of being imperfect in every single aspect of it’s functions.  

          Let’s look at another example, I’ll choose one that hits close to home because I am a gay male.  Our sexuality is largely driven by pheromones.  A female will release pheromones that causes arousal in males but not females, and males will release pheromones that will cause arousal in females but not males.  However DNA is not perfect!  I identify as a cis male.  Which means I was classified as male at birth and still continue to identify as male.  My DNA however, causes male pheromones to arouse me and female pheromones do not.  This is distinctively female DNA that in our ultimate definition for sex should only be active in females and not males.  It is active in me though because DNA is not perfect and it’s capable of being not perfect everywhere which is what causes individuality.  Where does that put me in this definition?  

          Well as humans we like to categorize and define everything we can with precision.  I do not fit this definition of sex because if you were to unravel my DNA, yes most of my genes will have taken the male path but there are obvious places that it has taken the female path instead.  Giving me feminine characteristics.   Male pheromones causing arousal instead of female pheromones being the big one.  

          So instead we have what we can categorize as gender.  Gender is the actual DNA make up someone is born with, because our definition of sex falls short in correctly describing what we are seeing in how all humans are born.  Gender is a spectrum of maleness and femaleness, that is used to describe the consequence of production of gametes of different sizes, and what we see is a variety of ways in how humans are born with our DNA’s goal to achieve this sexual way of reproduction.  

          This means we see those born with XY chromosomes can have more and more female DNA active in them but still in keeping with the small gamete production up to no gamete production, what we are seeing is males becoming more and more feminine.  We see those born with XX chromosomes having more and more male DNA active in them but still keeping up with the large gamete production up to no gamete production, what we are seeing is females becoming more and more masculine.  DNA being capable of taking either of these female paths or male paths with no matter to what chromosomes are present, we end up with such a mixture that there are individuals who can be born and not feel they identify with either the male or female category because their DNA is so mixed between the two.  

          These traits and genes also develop over time, with social and environmental factors playing in effect.  That someones gender expression can change as their DNA develops. This makes our gender spectrum very wide and all over the place, not like a straight line spectrum but more like the DNA structure that makes us up and being a wide variety of possibilities that are all over.  

          Why is this important to understand?  Well if you’re human it’s first of all just in your nature to want to understand the mechanics on how everything works.  It’s that conscious curiosity that drives us to be the intellectual beings that we are.  More importantly we need to understand this, because when people are born different they can be treaty cruelly by those who do not understand how it’s possible someone can be born different than they are.  

          Transgender and intersex individuals, those born with physical characteristics of both male and female, make up about 1% of the population.  That comes out to millions of people yet knowing someone who is transgender can be rare.  The reason for that is because transgender individuals are so ostracized from being born different that they typically avoid social interaction.  Because of this social exclusion and foul treatment many end up either taking their own life or are murdered at a much higher rate than other social groups.  We must fight this hateful ignorance with education to help protect those who are vulnerable from being so cruelly excluded from our society simply for being born different.  Please though if there’s something to take away from this it isn’t how people should be categorized into narrow definitions like this, and people shouldn’t just be viewed as being marginalized.  These humans are so much more than just a sum of others misgivings.  They are heart filled, generous, charismatic, amazing human beings that we should try and not just solely represent them by their struggle, but need to be viewed for what they bring to society and that is love.

          If you still believe man is man because they have XY chromosomes and woman is woman because XX chromosomes I ask you, did you know prior to this how the X chromosome functions with only one in total being active and it containing the different genes for both male and females?  If not then I ask you to open up to the fact that if you didn’t know how these chromosomes basically function then how could you know what they mean.  You have cemented your definition that these chromosomes behave perfectly when DNA itself is not perfect, and made this conclusion without even knowing the basic functionality of these chromosomes.  If your objections are religious, I ask you does the definition by your God of creating Man and Woman mention transgender individuals?  Because they do exist with a difference in their chromosomes you can see, so maybe that simple man and woman definition is missing some key information and isn’t quite complete in what we actually see in the genetic makeup of human kind.  

          I’ll also leave you on this note.  You wouldn’t go to pediatrist for brain surgery you would go to a neurosurgeon who is dedicated in that field you need them for.  Our leading genetic researches have come to the conclusion that gender is not binary.  The christian religion on the other hand use to teach the world was flat and everything revolved around it and when scientist discovered it wasn’t people used their faith to say these scientist were wrong.  

          Christians also used their faith to say masturbation was murder because either the sperm of a man carried the entire child or that it was worse than murder by denying a baby be born from those lost gametes and when people started to not listen to this garbage they began spreading the lie that masturbation causes blindness. So the people using this type of faith as logic might not be the best option for a scientific explantation on how life works and how humans are made. 

          With our leading scientist in genetic research telling us gender is a spectrum, how are you not using the same logic like the christians and religious zealots before you who refused to believe the world was round because their faith was right or that male masturbation was the equivalent of murder because their faith taught them that was true.  They were ignoring scientific data and discovery because of their faith, and you are using that same faith based logic to ignore the facts and discoveries by scientific researchers today. 

          Facts don’t care about your faith.  I know it’s hard when new information disrupts your world view especially when it’s rooted so deep with in you by those who were closest to you who had a profound influence on you, like those bestowed upon you by your parents.  I am lucky enough to have been taught to view both sides of a story before coming to a conclusion, which is why I listen to modern science.  

          You now more than ever have the capability of researching information in the palm of your hand so why not use it to see what our geneticist, ecologist, anthropologist, neuroscientist, those who have dedicated their lives into studying how humans are made up and work, listen to what they have to say on gender, instead of listening to a religion that use to teach the world was flat and at the center of the universe, that male masturbation was murder, all on the pretense of wisdom they said they received from a god. 

          Thank you, and I hope you find peace for your soul.  Note I use very narrow terms here to describe gender and sex.  Know that these terms are seriously complex and I mean no hard feelings by keeping it to such simple terms such as just mentioning transgender and intersex interchangeably and not others.  This was by design to help those who have too much of a simple definition for sex and gender, to help them comprehend in as layman as I could get with such an intrinsic topic.

Author Jay

Image by Qimono from Pixabay

REFERENCES