This is a really short. Basically, there are a bunch of things the make us decide whether a sex is “male” or “female” or “intersex” and they often contradict.
Suppose someone has XX chromosomes, but has every male phenotypical characteristic from jawline to beard to hormones to penis, such as in the case of
XX Male Syndrome? Socially and practically they are male—the only way someone would be able to claim differently is if they had some of his cells and microscope that could identify his chromosomes. Is he biologically male or female?
What about, in contrast, females with high testosterone? The Olympic committee has flirted with banning certain females based on their hormone levels—regardless of primary or secondary sex characteristics.
Or consider genitalia. There is actually a penis-to-clitoris continuum—the same parts develop differently. So what length defines a penis, what length a clitoris, and what length ambiguous genitalia? How we classify genitalia, in each case, is based on sociomedical convention.
These cases point to the larger truth—male and female are social constructs. We live with bodies—how we define them is political and conventional and sometimes contradictory. Life is much messier than the classification system we offer them.
So, say I have a penis. What makes it a “penis” as opposed to a “clit?” Hint: both are words. The answer is social convention. That does NOT mean that anything goes—words still have meaning. But it is important that society created those meanings—they were not handed down from on high.
Now come the question of gender. Say I have accepted that my penis is indeed a penis—say that it is an uncontroversial length. Now, comes the question of whether that penis is masculine or feminine. What defines the feminine body? Do all females have to conform to feminine beauty standards? Who is to say how womanhood is defined? Thus, many trans women would say that their bodies both ARE and HAVE ALWAYS BEEN feminine. That is because they are asserting the definition of their body politically.
So, the discussion comes to politics. Am I “a female who looks male” or “a male who thinks he’s female”? I can’t really persuade you that I am really am female, as this is a political and cultural designation. I can cite a bunch of experts, but that just shows the experts’ standpoint. What is needed is compassion, faith, open mindedness, respect, ethics, and decolonial thinking. What is needed is a whole change of perspective, as well as policy changes to back that up. That’s the only way I know that we will ever be accepted.
