As a follow on to a previous blog entry of mine,
Free and Open, I feel it
worthwhile to do my bit to dismantle the pseudo-science and over
simplification in the idea that gender is binary at a biological level.
TL;DR: Science simply does not support binary sexes or binary genders.
Truth is a bit more complicated.
There is certainty and there are binary answers in mathematics. Things
get less definitive in physics, certainly as soon as quantum is
broached. Processes become more of an equilibrium between states in
chemistry, never wholly one or the other. Yes, there is the oddity of
absolute zero but no experiment has yet achieved that fully. It is
accurate to describe physics as a development of applied mathematics
and to view chemistry as applied physics. Biology, at the biochemical
level, is applied chemistry. The sciences build on each other, "on the
shoulders of giants", but at each level, some certainty is lost, some
amount of uncertainty is expanded and measurements become
probabilities, proportions and percentages.
Biology is dependent on biochemistry - chemistry is how a biological
change results in a different organism. Physics is how that chemical
change occurs - temperature, pressure and physical states are inherent
to all chemical changes.
Outside laboratory constraints, few chemical reactions, especially in
organic chemistry, produce one and only one result from two or more
known reagents.
In biology, everyone is familiar with genetic mutations but a genetic
mutation only happens because a biochemical reaction (hydrogen bonding
of nucleobases) does not always produce the expected result. Every cell
division, every viral infection, there is a finite probability that a
change will occur. It might be a small number but it is never zero and
can never be dismissed. This is obvious in the current Covid pandemic -
genetic mutations result in new variants. Some variants are inviable,
some variants produce no net change in the way that the viral particles
infect adjacent cells. Sometimes, a mutation happens that changes
everything. These mutations are not mistakes - these are simply changes
with undetermined outcomes. Genetic changes are the foundation of
biodiversity and variety is what allows lifeforms of all kinds to
survive changes in environmental factors and/or changes in prevalent
diseases.
It is precisely the same in humans, particularly in one of the
principle spheres of human life that involves replicating genetic
material - the creation of gametes for sexual reproduction. Every
single time any DNA is copied, there is a finite chance that a
different base will be put in place compared to the original. Copying
genetic material is therefore non-binary. Given precisely the same
initial conditions, the result is not always predictable and the range
of how the results vary from one to another increases with every
iteration.
Let me stress that - at the molecular level, no genetic operation in
any biological lifeform has a truly binary result. Repeat that
operation sufficiently often and an unexpected result WILL inevitably
occur. It is a mathematical certainty that genetic changes will arise
by attempting precisely the same genetic operation enough times.
Genetic changes are fundamental to how lifeforms survive changing
conditions. Life would likely have died out a long time ago on this
planet if every genetic operation was perfect. Diversity is life.
Similarity leads to extinction.
Viral load is interesting at this point. Someone can be infected with a
virus, including coronavirus, by encountering a small number of viral
particles. Some viruses, it may be a few hundred, some viruses may need
a few thousand particles to infect a vulnerable host. But here's the
thing, for that host to be at risk of infecting another host, the virus
needs the host to produce billions upon billions of copies of the virus
by taking over the genetic machinery within a huge number of cells in
the host. This, as is accepted with Covid, is before the virus has been
copied enough times to produce symptoms in the host. Before those
symptoms become serious, billions more copies will be made. The numbers
become unimaginable - and that is within a single host, let alone the
265 million (and counting) hosts in the current Covid19 pandemic. It's
also no wonder that viral infections cause tiredness, the infection is
diverting huge resources to propagating itself - before even
considering the activity of the immune system.
It is idiocy of the highest order to expect all those copies to be
identical. The rise of variants is inevitable - indeed essential - in
all spheres of biology. A single viral particle is absolutely no threat
of any kind - it must first get inside and then copy the genetic
information in a host cell. This is where the complexity lies in the
definition of life itself. A virus can be considered a lifeform but it
is only able to reproduce using another, more complex, lifeform. In
truth, a viral particle does not and cannot mutate. The infected host
mutates the virus. The longer it takes that host to clear the
infection, the more mutations that host will create and then
potentially spread to others.
Now apply this to the creation of gametes in humans. With seven billion
humans, the amount of copying of genetic material is not as large as
the pandemic but it is still easy for everyone to understand that
children do not merely combine the DNA of both parents. Changes happen.
Human sexual reproduction is not as simple as 1 + 1 = 2. Sometimes, the
copying of the genetic material produces an unexpected result. Sexual
reproduction itself is non-binary. Sexual reproduction is not easy or
simple for lifeforms to adopt - the diversity which results from the
non-binary operations are exactly why so many lifeforms invest so much
energy in reproducing in this way.
Whilst many genetic changes in humans will be benign or beneficial, I d
like to take an example of a genetic disorder that results from the
non-binary nature of sex. Humans can be born with the XY phenotype -
i.e. at a genetic level, the individual has the same combination of
chromosomes as another XY individual but there are changes within the
genes in those chromosomes. We accept this, some children of blonde
parents do not have blonde hair, etc. There are also genetic changes
where an XY phenotype is not binary. Some people, who at a genetic
level would be almost identical to another person who is genetically
male, have a genetic mutation which makes it impossible for the cells
of that individual to respond to androgens (testosterone). (See
Androgen insensitivity syndrome). Genetically, that individual has an X
and a Y chromosome, just like many other individuals. However, due to a
change in how the genes on those chromosomes were copied, that
individual is biologically incapable of constructing the secondary
sexual characteristics of a male. At a genetic level, the individual
has the XY phenotype of a male. At the physical level, the individual
has all the sexual characteristics of a female and none of the sexual
characteristics of a male. The gender of that individual is not binary.
Treatment is centred on supporting the individual and minimising some
risks from the inactive genes on the Y chromosome.
Human sexual reproduction is non-binary. The results of any sexual
reproduction in humans will not always produce the binary option of
male or female. It is a lie to claim that human gender is binary. The
science is in plain view and cannot be ignored.
Identifying as non-binary is not a "cop out" - it can be a biological,
genetic, scientific fact.
Human sexuality and gender are malleable. Where genetic changes result
in symptoms, these can be ameliorated by treatment with human sex
hormones, like oestrogen and testosterone. There are valid medical uses
for anabolic steroids and hormone replacement therapies to help
individuals who, at a genetic level, have non-binary gender. These
treatments can help align the physical outer signs with the personality
and identity of the individual, whether with or without surgery. It is
unacceptable to abandon such people to suffer life long discrimination
and harassment by imposing a binary definition that has no basis in
science.
When a human being has an XY phenotype, that human being is not
necessarily male. That individual will be on a spectrum from female
(left unaffected by sex hormones in the womb, the foetus will be
female, even with an X and a Y chromosome), to various degrees of male.
So, at a genetic, biological level, it is a scientific fact that human
beings do not have binary gender. There is no evidence that this is new
to the modern era, there is no scientific basis for thinking that
copying of genetic material was somehow perfectly reliable in earlier
history, or that such mutations are specific to homo sapiens. Changes
in genetic material provide the diversity to fight infections and adapt
to changing environmental factors. Species have and will continue to go
extinct if this diversity is absent.
With that out of the way, it is no longer a stretch to encompass other
aspects of human non-binary genders beyond the known genetic syndromes
based on changes in the XY phenotype. Science has not uncovered all of
the ways that genes affect personality, behaviour, or identity.
How other, less studied, genetic changes affect the much more subtle
human facets, especially anything to do with consciousness, identity,
personality, sexuality and behaviour, is guesswork. All of these facets
can and likely are being affected by genetic factors as well as
environmental factors in an endless range of permutations. Personality
traits are a beautiful and largely unknowable blend of genes and
environment. Genetic information has a finite probability of changes at
each and every iteration. Environmental factors are more akin to chaos
theory. The idea that the results will fit into binary constructs is
laughable.
Human society puts huge emphasis on societal norms. Individuals who do
not fit into those norms suffer discrimination. The norms themselves
have evolved over time as a response to various influences on human
civilisation but most are not based on science. It is up to all humans
in that society to call out discrimination, to call for changes in the
accepted norms and support those who are marginalised. It is a
precarious balance, one that humans rarely get right, but it must be
based on an acceptance that variation is the natural state. Artificial
constraints, like binary genders, must be dismantled because human
beings and human sexual reproduction are not binary.
To those who think, "well it is for 99%", think again about Covid. 99%
(or closer to 98%) of infected humans recover without notable after
effects. That has still crippled the nations of the globe and humbled
all those who tried to deny it. Five million human beings are dead
because "most infected people recover".
Just because something only affects a proportion of human beings does
not invalidate the suffering of those humans and the discrimination
that those humans will face.
Societal norms are not necessarily correct. Religious and other
influences typically obscure and ignore scientific fact and undermine
human kindness.
The scientific truth of life on this planet is that gender is not
binary.
The more complex the lifeform, the more factors will affect where on
the spectrum any one individual will appear.
Just because we do not yet fully understand how genes affect human
personality and sexuality, does not invalidate the science that
variation is the natural order.
My previous blog about diversity is not just about male vs female, one
nationality vs another, one ethnicity compared to another. Diversity is
diverse. Diversity requires accepting that every facet of humanity is
subject to variation. That leads to tension at times, it is inevitable.
Tension against societal norms, tension against discrimination, tension
around those individuals who would abuse the tolerance of others for
their own gratification or from their own ignorance.
None of us are perfect, none of us have any of this fully sorted and
all of us will make mistakes. Personally, I try to respect those around
me. I will use whatever pronouns and other conventions that the person
requests, from their perspective and not mine. To do otherwise is to
deny the natural order and to deny the science.
Celebrate all diversity, it is the very stuff of life.
The discussions around (typically female) bathroom facilities often
miss the point. The concern is not about individuals who describe
themselves as non-binary. The concern is about individuals who are
fully certain of their own sexuality and who act as sexual predators
for their own gratification. These people are acting out a lie for
their own ends. The problem people are the predators, so stop blaming
the victims who are just as at risk as anyone else who identifies as
female. Maybe the best people to spot such predators are those who are
non-binary, who have had to pretend to fit into societal norms. Just as
travel can be a good antidote to racism, openness and discussion can be
a tool to undermine the lies of sexual predators and reassure those who
are justifiably fearful. There can never be a biological binary test of
gender, there can never be any scientific justification for binary
division of facilities.
Humanity itself is not binary, even life itself has blurry borders
around comas, suspended animation and locked-in syndrome. Legal
definitions of human death vary around the world.
The only common thread I have ever found is: Be kind to each other.
If you find anything above objectionable, then I can only suggest that
you reconsider the science and learn to be kind to your fellow humans.
None of us are getting out of this alive.
- Useful sources and further reading:
I Think You ll Find It s a Bit More Complicated Than That - Ben Goldacre
ISBN 978-0-00-750514-2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HATQA8K/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgen_insensitivity_syndrome
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51235105
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleobase
My degree is in pharmaceutical sciences and I practised community and
hospital pharmacy for 20 years before moving into programming. I have
direct experience of supporting people who were prescribed hormones to
transition their physical characteristics to match their personal
identity. I had a Christian upbringing but my work showed me that those
religious norms were incompatible with being kind to others, so I
rejected religion and I now consider myself a secular humanist.
A full month has passed since Claws Mail 4.0.0 was uploaded to Debian experimental, and, somewhat surprisingly, I've received no bug report about it.
This of course can be either because nobody has been brave enough to install it or because well, it works really nice.
For those who don't know what I'm talking about, just note that this version is the first Debian upload for the GTK+3 version of 
For 
Finally, I think you assume a little to strongly that we do what we do because we have a pre-formed existing desired to do so. While I think this is the case for many things (and I knew the minute I learned about anthropology, I wanted to be one, which was odd but it proved to be correct), I think desire is also formed as much through experience and hence the importance of exposure to different worlds and experiences. I know that there are many things I could have never imagined I would have loved–karoake and sailing are two things that come to mind—until I tried them about both took some degree of courage. In the later case, it took a lot of guts to move onto some ship at the age of 18 instead of going to college and I am so glad I did. This is an instance where confidence and an initial curiosity led to discovering a love and passion I never knew I had. So if desire can be formed and not just expressed, I think it is key to make sure people have all sorts of opportunities to cultivate the passions they never knew they had.