Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Fb post about sexes

25 replies

holdmybutterbeer · 07/11/2019 05:05

This just got shared via a friend on fb, it's an older post but getting recent comments via various channels. I'm confused, what are they talking about? Is it about intersex people? I don't understand.

Fb post about sexes
OP posts:
Alicewond · 07/11/2019 05:12

Since you have posted about similar issues surely you do understand and have comments

PlanDeRaccordement · 07/11/2019 05:13

Lol. Well ignore everything about non human, non mammalian animals because many of what she listed are not actually considered to be sexual species but rather asexual species that use sexual reproduction as well as asexual reproduction.

On the human end of her tirade. Yes she is talking mostly about intersex people who are born with genetic mutations or hormone deficiencies that cause secondary sex characteristics to be altered or less apparent (this doesn’t change their biological sex like she says though, it just changes the outward physical appearance of their sex). The whole born male but with female brain does not scientifically exist at all. There is no such thing as having a body one sex and a brain another sex.

Alicewond · 07/11/2019 05:21

If we’re going for human rights of any kind, did you ask for permission to copy and post the thread?

Anotherlongdrive · 07/11/2019 05:29

Do you need to permission if someone has publically posted something on social media?

holdmybutterbeer · 07/11/2019 05:30

Alice - As you rightly say, I've posted previously with GC views but genuinely did not understand this post. It was shared this evening, and I wanted some perspective on what it meant. I did google some of the terms, and presumed it referred to intersex people, but wasn't sure.

The post is on social media and being commented on widely.

plan - thanks for the info. It was very useful.

OP posts:
PlanDeRaccordement · 07/11/2019 05:58

Well the FB poster was doing that Im a scientist and I’m going to vomit science terms everywhere and then make sweeping generalisations of opinion that are not supported by the scientific facts. So I understand 100% why anyone could be confused by the post.

Pukeworthy · 07/11/2019 06:03

Yes there was lots of irrelevant science vomit and a very hasty flimsy thing about 'hearts' right at the end Hmm

holdmybutterbeer · 07/11/2019 06:14

I'm interested to know why there is some disagreement amongst scientists on this. Wider than this example obviously. When I've been reading more into the subject there does seem to be a divide. I think of science as fact, but some dismiss views on there being 2 sexes as being a 6th grade notion.

OP posts:
PlanDeRaccordement · 07/11/2019 06:17

Yes! There was heart as well as brain. As if ti say that what you feel in your heart or think in your brain is biology and sex when it is absolutely not.
The “don’t use science to justify your bigotry” was a nice touch too. Saying if you disagree with the poster you are de facto a bigot I suppose because according to self proclaimed scientist poster science agrees that heart and mind determine your biological sex (ha ha ha ha)

How do we treat people with hearts and minds of nonhuman entities? Or who actually believe the “you are as young as you feel” (really, so a 39 yr old who feels like a baby and wants to wear a nappy and sleep in a cot and ‘breastfeed’ is actually 3.9 months old because heart and mind determine biology?)

PlanDeRaccordement · 07/11/2019 06:23

I’m not convinced actual scientists disagree with there being two sexes because it has always been presented in the scientific community as a rule of thumb with rare exceptions. The existence of intersex genetic defects doesn’t change the base number of sexes from two just like the existence of 12 fingered people changes the base number of fingers from ten. The existence of people born with tails does not change the base model of human as having no tail. And so on.

PlanDeRaccordement · 07/11/2019 06:28

Gender is completely different. Gender is 100% heart and mind and not biology. Just thought I’d be clear that I am not denying transgender as a reality. Gender and sex are independent from each other.

donquixotedelamancha · 07/11/2019 07:06

I would be tempted to reply with:

What does this have to do with someone being transphobic? You've listed several disorders of sexual development, that's not related to being transgender.

donquixotedelamancha · 07/11/2019 07:10

I'm interested to know why there is some disagreement amongst scientists on this.

There is not really disagreement on the facts. Some people who should know better do seem to deliberately misrepresent facts or distort language to support this ideology. It's something I find quite bizarre.

FemaleAndLearning · 07/11/2019 07:15

Fair play for women have a really good article on this you can point people to who are confused about intersex and transgender.

fairplayforwomen.com/chromosomes-biological-sex-gender/

EndoplasmicReticulum · 07/11/2019 07:19

Nemo's Law applies here!

Datun · 07/11/2019 07:42

Isn't it all to do with gametes? Large and small. There isn't a third gamete, is there.

Datun · 07/11/2019 07:48

Oh and mushrooms? Cuttlefish? Flatworms?

Strewth. Is this all so we have to accept men who are neither mushrooms, cuttlefish nor women, have changed sex?

ChipOnMyOvary · 07/11/2019 12:48

Course there are three gametes, look.

Fb post about sexes
RoyalCorgi · 07/11/2019 12:58

That Fair play for women link is excellent, Female. I'm assuming it was written by Nic Williams, who is a human biologist. I think some of our more idiotic gender studies academics like Sally Hines, Alison Phipps et al should be forced to read it.

What drives me nuts is that all these pomo-addled types imagine that when they say things like "sex is a spectrum" and "look, clownfish" they are being somehow cleverer and more sophisticated than us, when in fact they are just being very, very stupid.

Barracker · 07/11/2019 13:03

No, look, at least 4 gametes

Fb post about sexes
Butterisbest · 07/11/2019 13:04

I stopped reading after "so you grew a penis aged 12"

Barracker · 07/11/2019 13:11

To be fair butterisbest the DSD condition 5ARD (the DSD Semenya has) which affects exclusively male children, is known as "guevedoces" in parts of the world which translates to "penis at twelve".
These are boys who are physically male internally and externally but who have a small penis and undescended testes at birth and so are assigned female, only to have testosterone kick in at early puberty and reveal their true male status. Although in many cases it becomes apparent before puberty even hits.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencealert.com/remote-town-in-the-dominican-republic-some-girls-turn-into-boys/amp

thirdfiddle · 07/11/2019 13:19

It's contradictory. If they think you're male and female according to feelings then genetics and intersex conditions are irrelevant.
(And hearts pump blood, same in both sexes. Maybe a little more on average if born male but that's not a classifying condition.)

Inebriati · 07/11/2019 13:21

Humans only have 2 sexes. We know this because there are 2 kinds of gamete involved in sexual reproduction, and every member of each sex class only ever produces one kind of gamete.
Not only that, but each person reliably creates only the type of gamete you would expect a member of their sex class to create.

No man has ever created a female gamete, or gestated a fetus.
No woman has ever created sperm, or made another woman pregnant.
It really is that simple.

Other species have different rules for reproduction. But again, each animal, insect, fish, amphibian, reptile or bird reliably uses the rules for its species.

WhereYouLeftIt · 07/11/2019 13:48

It's a sloppy and disingenuous piece of writing.

For example "you can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but are insensitive to androgens" the reality is that "you can APPEAR female ...". Appear, not be. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy writing. Just like their thinking.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.