There Are Only 2 Genders

Happy to think with you today. There are a few things in this discussion that are poorly addressed. Largely, This is a language issue, Not a failure to understand science on the part of either side. Allow me to clarify a bit. 1. Sex versus Gender Webster's definition of Sex is: "Either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures. " Webster's definition of Gender is this: "A subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such as shape, Social rank, Manner of existence, Or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms. " As such, When it comes to "sex" this is our typical biological definition of male and female. When it comes to "gender" this is used by some fraction of society as a synonym for Sex. It is used by another fraction of society as "the set of norms that one belonging to this group conforms to. " As such, Gender is a "social construct. " Let's put it this way. Boys are supposed to like trucks, Action figures, The color blue, Like sports, Not wear skirts, Et cetera. The term "boy" here is being used as a gender. Being "male" can be a contributing factor to this, But not necessary. I. E. Some boys do not like the color blue. Some boys don't like trucks. Does this stop them from being boys? Not necessarily. If most of the rest of the social construct applies to that person, They can be said to be a 'boy. ' So to one fraction of society, All males are boys, And all boys are males. To one fraction of society, The question of sex 'male' or 'female' is separate from the question of gender. Males or females can fall into the social construct of 'boy' or the social construct of 'girl. ' For example, If a male (a human with the primary sex characteristic of a penis) liked to wear dresses and skirts, Wear makeup, Had a slim figure, Wore high heels, Liked colors associated with femininity, Flirts or has sexual relationships with males, Et cetera, This fits more into the 'girl' category for most people. People who currently think sex=gender would say this is a Male boy who has feminine traits. People who currently view sex and gender as two distinct questions would say this is a Male who is a girl. The question of gender is a bit different, From my view, Than the question of trans people, Or people who DO want to change their sex. When people want to change their sex, They typically will attempt at some point to have a surgery done that either gives them a penis or a vagina and uses their old primary sex characteristics, And other parts of their body, To form their new primary sex characteristics. It is important to note that when we say Sex = female or male we as people tend to associate this with primary and secondary sex characteristics, But Biology would go a step further and talk about chromosomes. This is something that could potentially be changed in the future, But we aren't there yet. Either way, We don't typically call someone born infertile or impotent as "not a male" or "not a female" sex-wise. We typically still associate that with either their primary/secondary sex characteristics or their chromosomes. I think it's fair to say that the majority of society judges sex by primary/secondary sex characteristics rather than chromosomes, And that this is a fair way of judging it. The ability to reproduce is almost never a factor in this label. 2. Multiple Genders Whether or not there are multiple genders is more or less a question of if you are a strict sex=gender person, Or if you accept that gender is a social construct of median qualities that a person may exhibit. I submit that there is no reason to have two separate words for the same definition. I believe there are some societies that say "Look at those males play" rather than "look at those boys play" for the same reason. Boy and girl, Regardless of which type of view you currently have, Are stereotypes that don't fit all. If there is someone who doesn't like blue or pink, But likes red, Doesn't like action figures or dolls, Doesn't like to wear skirts or pants, Et cetera. Someone who doesn't check many boxes in either the 'boy' or 'girl' categories, Then the question is is it fair to say that person is a girl or boy? Is it fair to judge simply on sex? I submit that if I present to you the most feminine male in the world, That person is not a 'boy. ' I'll conclude this section by presenting a third and fourth gender. I should say that you can critique the validity of some pages that have hundreds of listed genders if you'd like. I'm not defending hundreds of genders, Because I find some of them to be silly, But these are all people who create these 'genders' in an attempt to tell people how they view the world, Or how the world effects them. We should take them seriously. 2a. Agender These are people who don't associate strongly with either 'boy' or 'girl. ' These people, When they refer to themselves as 'agender' aren't saying they aren't males or females. They just would like you to not refer to them as boy or girl. They would like to not be subjected to those stereotypes, And be seen as the persons that they are. 2b. Genderfluid These are people who associate with 'boy' stereotypes some days, And 'girl' stereotypes other days. I believe there are different words for those who switch between even more genders, But may be mistaken. If you have a particularly androgynous build, You may be able to wear muscle shirts some days, And skirts other days and be able to pull off the stereotypes of both. 3. Biological Sex Technically, Even with biological sex there are more than two options. People born with more than one X chromosome or extra Y chromosomes. (sources can be provided if this is disputed) Basing sex on chromosomes alone would be to suggest that there are far more than two sexes, Much less two genders. Intersex people, Those born with multiple primary sex characteristics, Do not fit into the typical male/female sex definitions at all. We usually consider intersex a third sex. Trying to fit these people into either 'boy' or 'girl' based on sex is either silly or stupid. I believe typically they go with whichever primary sex characteristic is potent/fertile, But possibly not. To conclude, Language is a silly thing that changes all the time. We tend to have multiple definitions for the same word, Much less different words. I would submit that, While there are males who fall into the boy or man gender extremely well, And you may find much of society is this way, You will find males who don't care about gender distinctions. You will find males who check all the boxes of 'girl' except for the 'sex = female' box. To say 'sex' and 'gender' should have the same definition, Or that 'female' is a requirement to be a 'girl' is an arbitrary line you have drawn. You can do so, But these people are suggesting that that definition fits poorly with them. You do yourself no harm to accept that they have a differing definition of 'gender' and that according to their definition there are multiple genders, And 'sex' is not a fundamental requirement for any of those boxes. I submit that these people, Although their definitions of language differ from yours, Are attempting to tell you something important about how reality is to them, And they should be respected. If someone doesn't wish to be called a feminine male boy, But would like to be called a male girl, Or have operations done to be a female girl, Or doesn't want the operation but just wants to live life as a girl, There is no harm done to others because of this. If I want you to call me Dick instead of Richard, You will. You won't say "but that's not your real name. " May your thoughts be clear, -Thoht