"the reality of sex differences"
I saw an opinion essayist toss this phrase into an essay, intending it as an example of how some people on the Left have gone too far --> denying the reality of sex differences while supporting the rights of transgender and nonbinary people, and arguing that gender is a mere societal construction.
"the reality of sex differences"
Note that sex and gender are not the same thing. I don't argue that sex is fake. Sex is biological, gender is cultural.
And, yes, there are sex differences, of course. Starting with the shape of the XX vs. XY chromosome pair, moving forward from there with the development of the sex organs, and associated sex hormones that regulate these sex organs. Of course! Duh!
But as a society we take these sex differences and blow them entirely out of proportion -- generally acting like men and women are two different tribes within the human species; generally acting like you can predict a wide variety of behaviors, attitudes and traits from sex alone; generally assigning people to societal roles based on their sex; creating completely different sets of clothing, hairstyles, and accessories depending on sex. It's the first thing we ask about a newborn baby, because we imagine how very different the child's life will be based on its sex, starting with the color of the walls in its nursery. And it's the first thing that most of us think about when looking for a romantic partner -- what sex are they -- I mean, for most of us this is so implicit that we don't even think about it -- we simply automatically look for the sex we're attracted to.
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Somehow we've never had a woman President in the US, whereas we've had 46 Presidents so far -- the odds this would happen by mere chance are 1 in 70 trillion -- are there 69 trillion alternate universes where the US has had some women Presidents? No, our universe is this way because we've not believed so far that women are capable of leading our country.
Sure, sex is a relevant variable when doing medical examinations and prescribing medication. Sure, sex is relevant to success in elite sports (though it doesn't matter so much on the playground). Sure, sex is relevant regarding whether you can nurse a baby, or whether you can ovulate, though not all women can do these things.
But gender is how we turn these real, but limited, sex differences into completely fictional stories about how men and women differ in ways unrelated to, or poorly correlated with, their sex.
Gender stereotyping is the practice of ascribing to an individual woman or man specific attributes, characteristics, or roles by reason only of their membership in the social group of women or men.
So, don't toss around that phrase "the reality of sex differences" as though people on the Left don't know this reality. Believe me, transgender and nonbinary people know all about sex differences! But we also know there's a difference between sex and gender, and that gender is a societal construct, and that these societal gender constructs don't fit everybody well.
We also know that advances in medical technology are starting to blur the differences between the sexes. You can take sex hormones, you can have sex reassignment surgery, you can make cosmetic changes to your appearance.
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Imagine if there were a course of medication that would completely change your sex over 30 days -- either way, male to female, or female to male -- and that this course of medication were completely reversible -- you could change either way as often as you'd like, whenever you'd like. Anybody could choose, at any time, to change their biological sex, all the way down to the XX vs. XY chromosome. Imagine you could do this. Perhaps you wouldn't, but ... if anybody could change their sex, all the way down to the chromosomes, and back, at any time ... would we still make such a big deal about "gender"?
Would be still make such a big deal about "sex"?
There may come a time when everybody gets to choose their sex. Sex would no longer be some "innate" characteristic. Maybe some couples would take turns being the pregnant one. Maybe many professional athletes would switch to the sex favoring their particular sport. Wouldn't it be fun! Would it even matter which sex you were at birth?
Gender is completely arbitrary, and some day so may sex become completely arbitrary. Maybe it's time to get over thinking there are essential natures to, or traditional roles for, men or women. Let's explore!
"the reality of sex differences"
Note that sex and gender are not the same thing. I don't argue that sex is fake. Sex is biological, gender is cultural.
And, yes, there are sex differences, of course. Starting with the shape of the XX vs. XY chromosome pair, moving forward from there with the development of the sex organs, and associated sex hormones that regulate these sex organs. Of course! Duh!
But as a society we take these sex differences and blow them entirely out of proportion -- generally acting like men and women are two different tribes within the human species; generally acting like you can predict a wide variety of behaviors, attitudes and traits from sex alone; generally assigning people to societal roles based on their sex; creating completely different sets of clothing, hairstyles, and accessories depending on sex. It's the first thing we ask about a newborn baby, because we imagine how very different the child's life will be based on its sex, starting with the color of the walls in its nursery. And it's the first thing that most of us think about when looking for a romantic partner -- what sex are they -- I mean, for most of us this is so implicit that we don't even think about it -- we simply automatically look for the sex we're attracted to.
-----
Somehow we've never had a woman President in the US, whereas we've had 46 Presidents so far -- the odds this would happen by mere chance are 1 in 70 trillion -- are there 69 trillion alternate universes where the US has had some women Presidents? No, our universe is this way because we've not believed so far that women are capable of leading our country.
Sure, sex is a relevant variable when doing medical examinations and prescribing medication. Sure, sex is relevant to success in elite sports (though it doesn't matter so much on the playground). Sure, sex is relevant regarding whether you can nurse a baby, or whether you can ovulate, though not all women can do these things.
But gender is how we turn these real, but limited, sex differences into completely fictional stories about how men and women differ in ways unrelated to, or poorly correlated with, their sex.
Gender stereotyping is the practice of ascribing to an individual woman or man specific attributes, characteristics, or roles by reason only of their membership in the social group of women or men.
So, don't toss around that phrase "the reality of sex differences" as though people on the Left don't know this reality. Believe me, transgender and nonbinary people know all about sex differences! But we also know there's a difference between sex and gender, and that gender is a societal construct, and that these societal gender constructs don't fit everybody well.
We also know that advances in medical technology are starting to blur the differences between the sexes. You can take sex hormones, you can have sex reassignment surgery, you can make cosmetic changes to your appearance.
-----
Imagine if there were a course of medication that would completely change your sex over 30 days -- either way, male to female, or female to male -- and that this course of medication were completely reversible -- you could change either way as often as you'd like, whenever you'd like. Anybody could choose, at any time, to change their biological sex, all the way down to the XX vs. XY chromosome. Imagine you could do this. Perhaps you wouldn't, but ... if anybody could change their sex, all the way down to the chromosomes, and back, at any time ... would we still make such a big deal about "gender"?
Would be still make such a big deal about "sex"?
There may come a time when everybody gets to choose their sex. Sex would no longer be some "innate" characteristic. Maybe some couples would take turns being the pregnant one. Maybe many professional athletes would switch to the sex favoring their particular sport. Wouldn't it be fun! Would it even matter which sex you were at birth?
Gender is completely arbitrary, and some day so may sex become completely arbitrary. Maybe it's time to get over thinking there are essential natures to, or traditional roles for, men or women. Let's explore!