Biological sex is neither binary nor a spectrum – a biologist explains how it’s multidimensional
Each person is a mosaic of sex-related and postpubertal biological traits that vary in their degree of femaleness and maleness.
Biological sex is not as simple as being strictly male or female. A biologist explains that biological sex is multidimensional, with traits overlapping between the sexes. Many people have traits that are more typically female, more typically male, or somewhere in between. Intersex variations occur in a significant portion of the population, with primary sex traits like chromosomes, gonads, and genitals not always being unmistakably female-typical or male-typical.
These traits can be thought of as falling on a spectrum, with each person occupying a unique position on multiple sliding scales. The color spectrum analogy is misleading because primary sex characteristics other than genitals can vary greatly. The sex chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and internal reproductive ducts can all differ in their "femaleness" or "maleness," making it difficult to accurately place someone on a sex spectrum.
No consistent definition of human biological sex exists due to the variability in these traits. For example, someone with a Y chromosome but complete androgen insensitivity can develop typically female genitals despite having male-typical gonads. This highlights the complexity of defining biological sex beyond just being binary.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
