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unblock

(55,382 posts)
13. i saw a great video by a biologist, maybe it was a tiktok, not sure
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 01:45 PM
Oct 2024

he rattled off a ton of examples of things in humans and other species that don't fit easily into the simple male/female dichotomy.

then he summed it up brilliantly: nature just does what it does, in all its wonderful diversity, and then humans come along and try to understand it, making simplifications because we can't readily comprehend all the ways in which every individual life form is different, so we create simple boxes to understand MOST, but not all, of life.

but nature doesn't care about or observe human's simplistic models. it just does what it does, leaving humans to keep improving our understandings to better reflect reality.


a few things he mentioned:

humans aren't just XX or XY, there's also X, XXX, and XXY.

some species have both male and female parts (flowers have both stamen and pistil!)

some species can change sex (some frog species -- if there are "too many" of one sex, some will simply change to the opposite sex!)

homosexuality and bisexuality is in many species as well.

all fetuses start development as female, and many things have to happen in order for a baby to be born expressing maleness. it isn't just a matter of having XY chromosomes. for various reasons, a fetus may not produce enough, or any, testosterone. alternatively, the receptors may not process the testosterone, at least in certain organs. so the fetus just continues to express femaleness, notwithstanding the XY chromosomes.

then there are also chimeras -- an embryo can absorb a twin early in development. sometimes, one is XX and the other is XY, which can result in some organs being female/XX and others male/XY in the same person.


again, nature does what it does, and humans struggle to comprehend. in the process, we make simplifications, and idiots get upset when confronted with the reality that their simplification doesn't handle 100% of all the cases.



Recommendations

4 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Do you mean TommyT139 Oct 2024 #1
IDK. I guess the person who is trans because they do not have Maraya1969 Oct 2024 #4
It's complicated TommyT139 Oct 2024 #16
First, it's not a "defect", it just is what it is. People are people and no one fits exactly into simplistic boxes. unblock Oct 2024 #2
Agreed jfz9580m Oct 2024 #5
I should not have labeled it as a "defect" and I am sorry. I realize Maraya1969 Oct 2024 #7
I don't think I called it a "defect" but if I did I apologise. It is just a difference Maraya1969 Feb 2025 #30
You called it a birth defect Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2025 #32
In one year: "Beaten, Stabbed And Shot: 320 Trans People Killed In 2023 - New Monitoring Report" Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2024 #3
The active demonization by the right jfz9580m Oct 2024 #9
It is TommyT139 Oct 2024 #18
72% rise? jfz9580m Oct 2024 #19
I understand that and I believe it. Maybe it is the people who have Maraya1969 Oct 2024 #10
Think again. People wondering, considering, transitioning, and transitioned are attacked Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2024 #21
With one party actively using people like me as a scapegoat to win votes AZSkiffyGeek Oct 2024 #6
I heard once that God gives us friends to make up for our families. Maraya1969 Oct 2024 #11
"God" can't be proven and is best not invoked when religious preferences are not explicitly in common Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2024 #22
God bless your heart. TommyT139 Oct 2024 #26
doG (or Ceiling Cat) bless yours. . . . .nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2024 #28
It is just a funny saying. It kind of doesn't work without the word "God" Maraya1969 Feb 2025 #31
Some are biologically "intersex" IbogaProject Oct 2024 #8
i saw a great video by a biologist, maybe it was a tiktok, not sure unblock Oct 2024 #13
I have never understood homo/transphobia jfz9580m Oct 2024 #12
It's not religion TommyT139 Oct 2024 #14
Interesting jfz9580m Oct 2024 #15
You're welcome TommyT139 Oct 2024 #17
Understood jfz9580m Oct 2024 #20
The Episcopalians are actually participating in the Phoenix Pride Parade and Festival this weekend NT AZSkiffyGeek Oct 2024 #24
Thanks for the info jfz9580m Oct 2024 #25
Happy Pride! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🎉 TommyT139 Oct 2024 #27
Not religion. Big Religion exploits it. Kids pick it up from parents & social influences ("media") . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 2024 #23
Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2025 #29
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