I've just been called "unscientific" for saying that you cannot change sex

"Erm... Babies? Anyone ever heard of any male animal suddenly growing ovaries and uterus?"

Good point. And re uteruses: I think that we should all accept that a woman who's had her uterus removed during a hysterectomy is no longer a woman. :)

"Also the earth is round and when you die you stay dead. Hope that helps."

The Earth isn't round. It's elliptical. Hope that helps! :)

There's a lot of food and drink metaphors in the NT, and they are all pretty much about how to spread an ideology or about how an ideology is an embodiment of the self: i.e. your existence has a direct correlation to the ideology you hold. Hence the nature of the whole Last Supper language.

nods sagely

Unfortunately, as a rule, Peter never gets any of the metaphors. He strikes me as being a rather unimaginative apostle.

Thanks for the clip Wbeezer

I think everyone should watch this Bertrand Russell clip once a week until they come to their senses :

Look at the collapse in spending on lesbians in post 2015 Stonewall.

This is the definition of mass psychosis.

sharksarecool

You could, in theory, clone a human being from one donor, but such a donor would be a genetic twin and not a genetic parent. Both would have the same genetic parents.

The eye colour thing is daft because eye colour IS on a spectrum whereas sex isn't.
On terms of refuting the argument, here's how I go:

1. The only way to make a human person is with one sperm and one egg. There's no other way to make a new human. (Even if it's done in a laboratory its still always onr speem and one egg)
2. Every human person is born with the equipment to produce EITHER sperm (with XY chromosomes)or eggs (with XX chromosomes). Even in cases of chromosomal abnormalities, no person has ever been born with the ability to produce both sperm and eggs, and no person has ever switched halfway through their life to produce the other type of sex cell, and no person has ever been born with a third type of sex cell by which new human life can be created.

1. Some human bodies are born with defects. For example, a person can be born with eardrums that do not function properly: they are deaf or hard of hearing. Or they might be born with eyes that do not function properly: they are blind or partially-sighted. Or the defect may be that the sexual organs are formed in such a way that they are unable to effectively produce either eggs or sperm. The organs are there, but they dont function properly. This is infertility. The people are still male/female according to their internal organs and chromosomes. This condition is infertility.

1. A person may be born with irregularities in the external appearance of their genitals, meaning that it us difficult to tell from external examination whether the body has male or female sex organs. In these cases, xray and chromisomal testing may be necessary to determine whether the body has male(sperm-producing) or female(egg-producing) sex organs. These people suffer from DSD (disorder of sexual development) but every one if them is still either male or female. These people used be referred to as intersex, but this is not an accurate term because in each case they are either female with abnormalities or male with abnormalities, and for this reason many find the term "intersex" offensive

[quote LemonMeringueThreePointOneFour]@DrSbaitso - thank you, that means a lot.[/quote]
It's all true.

And while I'm sorry that you don't have the things in life that you hoped you would by this stage, that makes you no less of a woman either. There are plenty of women without a DSD in exactly the same position. And you really never know what lies ahead.

@DrSbaitso - thank you, that means a lot.

@justawoman76 - thank you. My teens weren't a barrel of laughs, that's for sure. I'd love to say I'm now in a happy relationship and have successfully had IVF/adopted, but unfortunately neither of those is the case either.

[quote LemonMeringueThreePointOneFour]@justawoman76 - I missed your post before, but very much agree with it.[/quote]
Thank you LemonMeringue.
I have often thought that Swyers must be one of the more difficult DSDs to come to terms with, given that there are often few physical indications externally and many girls don't know they have it until quite an advanced age.
A positive diagnosis must be like a form of grieving for some people, I can't imagine what you must have gone through.
I hope that everything works out for you.

Unfortunately up here in Scotland behind included in the alphabet soup has meant DSD charities losing funding money to LGBT+ groups who are "supposed to be looking after the " I" interests.

@lemonMeringueThreePointOneFour

Yes. And what the f**k being appropriated into any alphabet!

@justawoman76 - I missed your post before, but very much agree with it.

Just as people who make such statements as the one you were responding to [that one can have XY chromosomes and a uterus] should stop, as they are misinformed and are appropriating a rare condition to shore up a weak point. It's really unpleasant.

The danger of assumptions...

As a person with a DSD, I am entitled to reference my own condition; no appropriation necessary. I am not misinformed; however, I was not using my condition (Swyer's Syndrome) to argue that it is possible to change sex. I am glad that the concensus seems to be that people with this disorder are female. I both look and feel like a woman (psychological challenges of dealing with congenital infertility and various other symptoms of the disorder notwithstanding).

I am also quite strongly opposed to the inclusion of "I" in the alphabet soup of LGBT etc.

Just checking back in... did we ever get the Super Sciencey Special Education On Complicated Sex For Biologists?

Regarding what name to call someone who is born with a mixture of not defined sex, for example in rare cases men can have XX due to so translocation of a gene. The X or Y are important for triggering development to a man or a woman in puberty.

These are so rare. That is the first important point. Which is why we don’t really have a widely agreed name and probably never will, as there won’t be consensus from enough individuals with that rarity.

I guess the word used needs to suit a need or purpose. Medically a term needs to be well defined enough for a medical person to know exactly what is going on biologically and physically. For the person/people born with these incredibly rare biologies, it is whatever helps them or suits them. It is their biology and their right to be called whatever they want.

@DrSbaitso as I’ve found out to my cost! (Single mother here... due to looking after everyone including my kids and my Ex!)

I’m tempted to say that sex could be scientifically assessed on who got the nits from their child’s hair, sent MIL a get well soon card and booked the gas boiler repair... but that would be slightly bitter of me! And possibly very unscientific.

Still, I live in hope.

@NecessaryScene - I'll have a read!