Sexes: Difference between revisions
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==Biological essentialism== | ==Biological essentialism== | ||
The form of sexism called biological essentialism is the belief that your body is the main thing that makes you who you are. It is supposed to define you forever, no matter what you change about yourself, think about yourself, or anything. It says the gender you were assigned at birth must be your only real gender. Biological essentialism is used to justify most forms of sexism. It is harmful to virtually everyone, of any sex or gender.<ref name="Weiss">{{Cite web |title=How Gender Essentialism Hurts Us All |last=Weiss |first=Suzannah |work=Bustle |date=13 March 2017 |access-date=16 February 2021 |url= https://www.bustle.com/p/7-ways-gender-essentialism-hurts-everyone-43897|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330090711/https://www.bustle.com/p/7-ways-gender-essentialism-hurts-everyone-43897 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> Some [[transgender exclusionists]] use biological essentialism to discriminate against | The form of sexism called biological essentialism is the belief that your body is the main thing that makes you who you are. It is supposed to define you forever, no matter what you change about yourself, think about yourself, or anything. It says the gender you were assigned at birth must be your only real gender. Biological essentialism is used to justify most forms of sexism. It is harmful to virtually everyone, of any sex or gender.<ref name="Weiss">{{Cite web |title=How Gender Essentialism Hurts Us All |last=Weiss |first=Suzannah |work=Bustle |date=13 March 2017 |access-date=16 February 2021 |url= https://www.bustle.com/p/7-ways-gender-essentialism-hurts-everyone-43897|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330090711/https://www.bustle.com/p/7-ways-gender-essentialism-hurts-everyone-43897 |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> Some [[transgender exclusionists]] use biological essentialism to discriminate against gender-diverse people. | ||
==Assigned gender at birth== | ==Assigned gender at birth== | ||
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People writing about gender use several different phrases to refer to assigned gender at birth. Some of them are more accurate and respectful than others. This list gives some of these phrases. | People writing about gender use several different phrases to refer to assigned gender at birth. Some of them are more accurate and respectful than others. This list gives some of these phrases. | ||
* '''Assigned Gender At Birth (AGAB)'''. Most people are either '''Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB)''' or '''Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB)'''. This is an accurate and respectful phrase. | * '''Assigned Gender At Birth (AGAB)'''. Most people are either '''Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB)''' or '''Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB)'''. This is an accurate and respectful phrase for many people, but should not be used before asking if the person is comfortable with it. | ||
* '''Gender Assigned At Birth (GAAB)''' is a different word order for the above phrase, with the same meaning. This makes '''Female Assigned At Birth (FAAB)''', and '''Male Assigned At Birth (MAAB)'''. | * '''Gender Assigned At Birth (GAAB)''' is a different word order for the above phrase, with the same meaning. This makes '''Female Assigned At Birth (FAAB)''', and '''Male Assigned At Birth (MAAB)'''. | ||
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==Sexes of nonhuman animals== | ==Sexes of nonhuman animals== | ||
[[File:ZwitterHauhechelblaeuling.jpg|thumb|A Common Blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') individual that is a gynandromorph, having a female form on one side and male on the other. Gynandromorphs occur in some animal species.]] | [[File:ZwitterHauhechelblaeuling.jpg|thumb|A Common Blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') individual that is a gynandromorph, having a female form on one side and male on the other. Gynandromorphs occur in some animal species.]] | ||
One common misconception is that all animals have only male and female sexes. However, nature is much more complex and varied. Many animal species are known to have a variety of | One common misconception is that all animals have only male and female sexes. However, nature is much more complex and varied. Many animal species are known to have a variety of diverse sex characteristics, or very different kinds of sexes than occur among humans. For example: male seahorses that get pregnant, fish that change sex if there aren't enough of a particular sex in their group, female deer with antlers, lionesses with manes, lizards that lay fertile eggs after two females mate together (''parthenogenesis''), hyenas that give birth through an organ that is nearly indistinguishable from a penis, and so on. Most animals don't have sex chromosomes that are the same as the XX or XY set that are most common in humans. Learning about the diversity of animal sexes can help one recognize how much the sexes are an idea constructed by humans to describe and simplify reality, but our understanding of that reality tends to be limited by our own sexual stereotypes widespread in our culture. | ||
To learn more about the diversity of animal sexes, read Joan Roughgarden's book, ''Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People'' (2009). | To learn more about the diversity of animal sexes, read Joan Roughgarden's book, ''Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People'' (2009). | ||