All too often, the topic of gender gets oversimplified. This is because the science, history, and commercialization of it are largely misunderstood. This happens for a few reasons.
First, although medically and scientifically inaccurate, it can be convenient to group people into “buckets.” I don’t agree with this logic, but it often happens.
Second, because gender is bimodal (not binary), much of the population does fall into the categories of “female” and “male.” By bimodal, I mean gender is a spectrum that has clusters.
Of course, there’s a diverse range of people outside these categories, but you can see how groupings of people could arise when averages are used and inclusivity is not considered.
5 Facts about Gender
To dispel this oversimplification, let’s dive into five key facts about gender that often get overlooked:
1. Gender is not binary. It can’t be because it is a personal identity and is socially constructed.
2. Sex is not binary either, because intersex people exist.
3. Gender presents as a spectrum, because it involves the overlapping interaction of at least 10 biologically relevant markers, including: chromosomes, gonads, hormones, secondary sex characteristics, external genitalia, internal genitalia, skeletal structure, gene expression, brain structure, and personal identity.
4. The colors of pink and blue have nothing to do with gender. In the 1940s, manufacturers settled on pink for girls and blue for boys, so they could sell twice as many toys/clothes.
5. Research (MRI scans) have identified that transgender kids’ brains resemble their gender identity and not their biological sex.
This was confirmed in a fascinating study published by the European Society of Endocrinology in 2018.
Stop Splitting Humans into Pink and Blue
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