Biology vs. Gender Ideology: The Science Behind the Debate

[@MrNobody66]

For someone who is an older transsexual who transition years ago, its the worst time to be trans. The whole point of transitioning was to live and blend into society as the opposite sex. Not to change our sex just live as.. this new out and proud trans is really damaging for people like me

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Indeed. Sadly a political agenda has reared its ugly head. Fortunately more and more are starting to see through the " Emperor's new clothes " brigade.

[@honberg193]

Very true, but unfortunately some people are ignoring your views. There was a contract with women, which the new trans are sabotaging. The contract that thise like yourself it was about a medical condition that a request was made to be treated as. Not that you were. An adoption and legal fictions. So you could be comfortable. A lengthy medical process ending in surgery. I suppose you call yourself a transsexual and not transgender. A term now that has no meaning. Especialy to women. You used the shorthand of women and not transsexual women. Something that was bestowed on you by women. As you had done everything you could to be perceived as one. They're reasons you are the way you are. These have been routed in mainstream science for many decades. Nothing to do with the feminist Judith Butlers ideology. Live your best life and don't let the buggers get you down. From all sides.

[@alexander_sinclair]

@@MrNobody66 everybody thinks about "how this is impacting me" and tend to forget the world doesn't revolve around them. No offense. Maybe you're not suggesting "it is a problem" but just that it "is negatively affecting you".

[@stevenmyers6291]

I understand what you are saying. However, not all people who identify as trans can blend in. They should be treated well and respectful also.

[@honberg193]

@@stevenmyers6291 I appreciate your compassion. Gender dysphoria can be diferent to someone calling themselves Trans, or even Transgender . That is the problem, and the publics perception that also trans is one thing. The two main forms are unrelated in both males and females. Both are mis understood by many. Even those who have it. Often misinterpreted by some other ideologies. Transsexuals of both types have never been an issue. The ideological term transgender is the problem. Which encompasses even mild or no dysphoria. I could speak about upto 6 distinctly recognised types now just in males. With passing. It is the non homosexual, non early onset that have the non passing issues. They are who people notice. I'm infaviour of only those that will really benefit in reducing, or eliminating the dysphoria transitioning. The physicaly unmasculine, female typical who gay men won't want and they aren't attracted to. Aren't intested in their parts for what nature intended. And the non homosexual type who rarely pass. As a last resort after thorough co morbities. They in most cases can lead a normal life with coping strategies. Some can't if the inversion in complete. Any transition should be both for the right reasons, and importantly as any medical treatment benefit them. If they complete the real life test, and full transition. One should then treat them as if they are that sex. To not do so doesn't eliminated any dysphoria.

[@9ja9ite]

Thank you Michael. People like you and Peter Boghossian are keeping me from going totally crazy. I went through a religious deconstruction the last few years and learnt how to apply critical thinking and look for evidence to support my beliefs. When I apply those same tools to this new ideology I find it even less convincing than religion partly because religion will at least TRY to convince with apologetics while this trans ideology won’t even engage. It just yells at you until you bend the knee or get hammered down. The simple act of asking for evidence online gets met with waves of hate and attacks. Anyway. After deconverting I was having trouble with this belief and found myself going crazy as many of the online atheist activists who taught me critical thinking toward religion were also supporting this ideology that ultimately comes done to “it’s how people feel” as the only evidence. I can not square that circle and the inconsistency is short circuiting my brain. So thank you for helping me stay sane knowing I’m not the only atheist critical thinker that has issues with this belief system.

[@bettybray5366]

It’s astonishing that there are people commenting to say that Robert Sapolsky has a more informed stance on this subject. I’ve seen interviews with him about this and he just says that there may be regions in the brain that may be discernible as averaging out as masculine or feminine and there may be people who’s sex doesn’t correspond to how that may look in those regions of the brain. There’s nothing about what influence those regions of the brain may potentially have. He also talks about people with DSDs, which of course could have behavioural affects. That’s got very little to do with schools telling children they can change sex or that sex doesn’t matter in sport.

[@pamelaroyce5285]

When people go on and and on about there “may be” this or that (as in regions of the brain) and it “may” account for certain beliefs or behaviors, they do not strike me as credible experts clearly refuting an assertion based on evidence. Colin Wright bases his conclusions on reason, logic and evidence, the three components of critical thinking. I have not viewed or read Sapolsky, but if all he offers is speculation, I will continue to side with Colin Wright.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​​@@pamelaroyce5285 You're spot on. Sapolski just waffles. Unconvincingly tries to drag neurobiology into the discourse as a smokescreen.

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Dr. Sapolsky is stating what the current science is on this issue; therefore, he has not made a stance one way or the other. When talking about sex and gender, he brings facts where there is evidence and reports on trends. That is the correct response when we just don't know ALL of the answers yet.

[@stevenmyers6291]

Schools do not tell children they can change their sex. They can only support he decisions of parents. You can't use bad info to combat bad info.

@@KeithCooper-Albuquerque the 'current science' is unequivocal: mammals are secually dimorphic. All the 'nuero' stuff is speculation, not to mention in it's infancy. May as well argue if alien life is a thing or not.

[@iviewthetube]

For years we laughed at Creationists ... then gender ideology came along.

[@iviewthetube]

@@AngelRamirez-zv6qp That is why we need to watch out for people who say, "I am the science."

[@ThomasJDavis]

@@AngelRamirez-zv6qp In middle school, I was taught by a teacher that our tongue's taste buds detect different kinds of tastes on different areas of the tongue. I also remember hearing that we only use 10% of our brain. Just because science can be right doesn't mean it always is, especially when there are political ideological influences at play.

[@SeanTalksTooMuch]

​@ThomasJDavis it sounds like your middle school teacher was not aware of the scientific data at the time, and unknowingly teaching popular myths instead. You can't criticise the scientific process because a non-scientists told you we only use 10% of our brains. It's true that scientific understandings change as we learn more, but ever increasing precision is not the same as being wrong. Hope this helps

[@ThomasJDavis]

@@SeanTalksTooMuch I wasn't criticizing the scientific process. And yes, science can lead to wrong conclusions. Hope this helps.

[@IntelligentProbe]

@@iviewthetube if Science has taught us anything it is to be humble in the presence of our ignorance.

[@baconsarny-geddon8298]

I'm glad there's still SOME corners of atheist/"skeptic" KZbin, that haven't yet been bullied into compliance, by the authoritarian cult of evidence-free, sex-independent "genders". Respect to that small handful of prominent atheists, who use CONSISTENT standards of evidence, rejecting "but it FEELS true, to me", from BOTH traditional religions, AND the "gender" loons- Michael Shermer, Richard Dawkins, Peter Boghossian, Maria McLachlan, Doug Pinecreek.

[@MadnessSpeaks]

I doubt Wright's credibility as an unbiased party, his involvement with the Manhattan Institute and his role as a founding editor at Reality’s Last Stand, as well as his contributions to platforms like Quillette, position him within an ideological sphere that scrutinizes and criticizes progressive gender theories. It really does seem that his work is coming from, "But it FEELS true, to me," when the majority of scientific consensus is against him

[@disdoncable]

@@MadnessSpeaks So if Wright's involvement with the Manhattan Institute and blah blah is a sign of his ideological bias, what would you say about the gender 'experts' that you (I'm pretty sure) subscribe to that are avowedly, card-carrying far-left ideologues who are very open about their biases?

[@alexandrahinrichsen6772]

@@MadnessSpeaks nomen est omen

[@Minimmalmythicist]

That gender and sex are not the same has been known for several decades now

[@mljh11]

@@MadnessSpeaks So merely contributing to Quilette qualifies as wrongthink now? For once I'd love to see actual evidence that someone's essays / arguments are wrong, rather than snide suggestions of somebody being deplorable just because of they platform they write for. Every article that I've read on Quilette regarding this subject appears well written, researched and vetted. If you have counter examples that prove otherwise I'd be happy to look into them, otherwise tarring people like this is really antithetical to the ideals of free thought and enquiry.

[@michellelioness7577]

He's spot on about the way gender idealogues will separate and conflate the meanings of the words 'sex' and 'gender' to fit their particular point or narrative, and always in a way that's quite intellectually dishonest and disingenuous.

[@usr123yt]

I bet there are parallels to this in other contexts. Perhaps the exploitation of the word "energy" in homeopathy, "influence" in astrology, or the selective interpretation of the word "theory" in creationism.

[@DeconvertedMan]

If (X) idea has no logical and/or scientific underpinning we must be skeptical about (X) idea.

[@5-Volt]

But being skeptical about _certain_ things makes you a bigot. You must accept it without evidence no questions asked.

[@pamelaroyce5285]

@@5-Volt your time of irony (which I get) is lost in text here. You’re right about the tendency of too many people to try to shut down discourse and dialog with labels like “bigot”.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@5-Volt Anyone can label you as anything they want, but what is the argument? Perhaps indeed the person is a bigot. That does not and can not negate the argument. Attack the ideas, not the person.

[@5-Volt]

@@pamelaroyce5285 Yeah.. that was badly worded sarcasm. The point I was trying to get at is that it's almost impossible to have conversations with people that are super wrapped up in gender ideology. There are several nuanced barriers of concepts to break through to even begin to have a rational conversation, but even asking questions or trying to get people to see other perspectives is usually met with hostility.

[@pamelaroyce5285]

@@5-Volt absolutely. I am avoiding the topic completely with two of my friends because they are committed genderists (allies of). We hit it off in most other things but they might drop me as a friend because I am a sex realist.

[@VictorDominocielo]

It is well past time for biologists, and especially evolutionary biologists, to weigh in on Matt's inciteful movie, "What is a Woman". Definition: "A woman is one half of a binary, dimorphic reproductive system, put together over two billion years by nature, evolution and natural selection to insure the passing of genes from one generation to the next. Binary Dimorphism, that is, life organized into two different DNA strands, two different genes, chromosomes, gametes/sex cells, hormone systems, neurotransmitters, different organs, brains and bodies, is used by 99% of all living organisms, trillions of plants and animals".

[@AussieObiWan]

100% they should show that movie in Schools

[@kentstevens5839]

It is fantastic to have someone discuss the science behind this issue.

[@Bronco541]

This social contaigon issue is totally true. Ive seen it myself, i know both actual trans people and people (teenagers) who are essentially just trying to fit in by calling themselves gender fluid or some other such nonsesne.

[@Bronco541]

Btw; terms like gender fluid are nonsesne, i assert, because they are totally unnecessary. We all have male and female qualities to varying degrees, some more than others etc. The ever expanding pantheon of terms today just unnecessarily complicats the whole issue. Im bisexual and i probably have slightly more feminine qualities than an average man but so what? I dont feel the need to call myself anything other than a man. This stuff just gives me a headache. And i dont think its helping heterosexual people to "understand" or be compassionate either....

[@ryanthomas9306]

My cousin just came out as a transman. Her “bf” is also a transman. Her sister is now non binary, and her bf (real man) is on the spectrum somewhere

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@ryanthomas9306 😂

[@ryanthomas9306]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cxforgot to add, both transmen were diagnosed on the spectrum …

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@ryanthomas9306 Naturally ! 😂😂

[@petitio_principii]

"Gender ideology" is itself an ideological term, it's not like gender ideology vs absence of ideology related to gender.

[@AnthonyBSusan]

Well, it is based on beliefs.

[@ryanthomas9306]

@@AnthonyBSusan😂

[@AnthonyBSusan]

@@ryanthomas9306 Well, it is.

[@ryanthomas9306]

@@AnthonyBSusan no I agree with you. It’s purely an ideology

[@AnthonyBSusan]

@@ryanthomas9306 Oh, ok.

[@74357175]

Until very recently, and in other languages, there is no distinction between sex and gender. Plenty of English literature refers to women by their "sex" not "gender". "Fairer sex" and all that.

[@crystalexarch217]

Yes, they used to be synonyms. Now the word gender has become bastardized.

[@74357175]

Yes , but it's worse than that. Until the 20tj century it wasn't even used as a synonym.

[@5-Volt]

Eh, gender as defined as the "social & cultural thematic aspects of the sexes" is worthy of being distinct from sex & is why it's considered a social construct. The problem is when you try to say gender _identity_ is a true concept & base your entire ideology on this unfalsifiable belief.

[@74357175]

@@5-Volt 1. If it is used that way today then we should not use it in everyday speech, since that's not the colloquial meaning. 2. It's absolutely unnecessary to have a word for this, as there is none in other languages. Just be clear when referring to the "cultural aspects of sex", and it's much better. As it is used today, it's used to obfuscate, not clarify, and therefore it does not deserve our support.

[@timmiestabrnak]

You are simply wrong, the fact that you have only recently stumbled across this, doesn’t mean that it is new.

[@sarral2008]

I love Colin and Christina Buttons.

[@milosmudrinic2016]

A breath of fresh air on the internet!

[@crystalexarch217]

Excellent video Dr. Schermer, speaking with an actual biologist to cut through the gender ideologist pseudoscience.

[@HekateSelini]

great interview - goes through most of the key points very succingtly & clearly. Good one to share!

[@nonseans]

If we are libertarians then we can perceive the other people how we want and not how they identify themselves.

[@ericdanielski4802]

Interesting interview.

[@GoddessTier]

I transitioned 25 years ago and married a man. Things have gotten weird in society but I for damned sure won't detransition for ANYONE, I'd sooner die. And I'd much sooner resist using violence than die, so do the math.

[@statickk14]

You only transitioned because the science is there to support it. If you were in the 1800s you would live with it. Plenty of people who transitioned are now regretting it, you can do your own research.

[@timothymulholland7905]

Lysenko returned with a vengeance.

[@dimitardimitrakov2841]

Inner thoughts and feelings are hard to science because scientific method is empirical. Thats why it is good to build our society based on empirical facts BUT the aim is this society to make us individually and subjectively happy. So a feminine man is man but must not be forced into sex with women if he feels attrracted to men. Yes, there is condition where one strongly hates the genitalia they were born with. It is a very complex issue. I havent experienced it, not an expert. But i have seen feminine men and masculine women who learned to live with what they are without medical amputations .

[@enisten]

Stopping stigmatizing people was one of the right things that we learned over the last few decades. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Though, I don't have much hope about this issue, because we as a society seem to love moving from one wrong to another, always skipping the right before our very eyes.

[@seanmellows1348]

I feel ya man.

[@KenAttenborough-d6y]

Yep, the effing pendulum never stops.

[@missylee3022]

Humans are so tribalistic and horrible with nuance. Throwing babies out with the bathwater unfortunately seems to be our forte 😢

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

AGP transvestites need to remain stigmatised. Destigmatising perverts is not healthy for society. It’s dangerous, primarily for the vulnerable: women and children.

[@MarleyWigston]

It’s what people with a platform do when their platform starts to diminish. Attack a group and create controversy. Regardless of the harm caused.

[@yinYangMountain]

I’ve accepted, and identify as, being a highly evolved primate - specifically a Homo sapiens sapiens. Those who have seen me eat when I’m hungry might question this, however.

[@versioncity1]

I'm with you, I'm a human, though I eat like a dog. Don't let them suppress you. - All the best. Fido.

[@yinYangMountain]

@@versioncity1 LOL

[@toddnickell6507]

Minus one sapian.

[@aroemaliuged4776]

A ‘newer’ Ideology Fascinates fascism

[@amyjones4240]

Christina Buttons is your girlfriend Colin? AWW AWW!!! *heart melts* 💗💗💗

[@gooddaysahead1]

Without xx and xy H. sapiens, we would not exist. We're animals too. Even though we want to deny it, i.e., heaven, God, resurrection... Get it? It's just one more denial strategy.

[@madebyhan]

Also "intersex" defines abnormalities in development of either sex, not a third sex. All 4 variations of sex chromosomes are still one or the other sex. Trans ideology is also sexist bc it is the belief that men and women are defined by outward appearance.

[@martifingers]

Interesting you say "trans ideology" - what is your ideology? In reality we all bring a variety of values and presuppositions to this complex issue I think. Your point about "outward appearance" seems odd. What does the word "define" mean in this context? The reality seems to be that some people suffer psychological distress (often profound) because of a mismatch between their physiology and their allocated gender. This may have some developmental causes - the evidence seems inconclusive. Why some people in this position want to change their outward appearance is also a complicated (and surely scientifically fascinating) question that I feel perhaps is hard to appreciate unless you have that lived experience. Are there difficult issue for social practice (eg sports) and social and health care policy? For sure. But disrespect and straw-manning offer no hope for progress.

[@ThomasJDavis]

@@martifingers There are a lot of people who suffer psychological distress over many issues. Some are inherent to the person, some are socially imposed. There are groups of climate activists who become fanatical about the issue to the point of blocking major roadways and get arrested all for the sake of awareness. Some vegans become fanatics and want to shock the public into agreeing with them by showing the disturbing things that happen in a meat packing factory. In the 20th century, many Christians would obsess over "worldly" cultural influences on their kids, calling them "satanic". It's not enough to say "these people experience distress" and proceed to be completely affirming to that distress. You have to identify the root cause of that distress and determine whether or not it's rationally warranted.

[@ambientjohnny]

@@martifingers What specific standards are “trans” people measuring themselves against to determine that there is a "mismatch"? How are males or females "supposed to" think or feel, want to dress like or act? You must be able to provide specific standards for each sex for what you are contending to make any sense whatsoever. If there is no correct way of being a man or a woman, then how can there be a "mismatch" between what sex a person is and how they feel? If neither term has any specific meaning then why would you need two distinct terms? Why would it matter to any “trans” person which one they are referred to by if there is no actual definition to either term?

[@martifingers]

@@ambientjohnny That's a very interesting way to approach the issue but I think our paths might then diverge! Here's my take FWIW. Gender identity is probably influenced by biological make-up and the experience the child has of parenting and the wider world outside the family. The process of acquiring gender is a complex one for all people as we individuate and this complexity will be exacerbated as we enter puberty when sexual attraction and desire are added to the task of working out who we are and what is our place in the world. If we really listen to trans people, your question about what people's actual lived experience of this process may well get some very interesting answers that may well illuminate how we all construct our identities. I don't think it will be on the basis of the strict logical criteria you demand however. My guess is the answers will be messy, fluid and ambiguous but as I am not an expert in this area this is just an assumption. Nature/nurture is not a dichotomy but an inevitable reality.

[@BushidoVXX]

@@martifingersThere’s trans ideology and then there’s reality.

[@vitis6252]

The colours are very optically pleasing 😊

[@FaerieQueenCaelia]

Trivializing non-conforming identities is a method of affirming conventional identities. It says, cis-het people are normal, they're real, regular, natural, the way people are supposed to be. Telling people that their identity, way of being, self-expression is a phase, doesn't just gaslight people with non-conventioal identities, it reaffirms the normativity of everyone else. That is, it's a method of social control. It's the classic crab-bucket thought experiment, whereby we all reaffirm own own social identity by making sure nobody else is allowed to deviate from our own normative identity. It's such a basic instinct, in psychology, philosophy and sociology that there's even a whole field of study in it, self-affirmation. That is, we will do anything to avoid the stress that comes with having to cope with the reality that other people are different to us, hold different values, see the world differently, have different experiences. Instead, we will rather invalidate other people by describing them in the negative of our values, our experiences. This effect is universal in sociology, it's certainly not confined to gender, it's found in any social category where we create classes of people.

[@TheBasicTruth]

A very well thought out description here. Well thought out but flawed. The majority of people who are so-called cis and heterosexual do not go around bullying those who are different from them. They didn't design their cis and hetro emblems and campaign for councils to paint their emblems on public rubbish bins and in public places. They don't congregate in their thousands waving their emblems and emblematic flags and banners at rallys where queers or transgender people are gathering. These cis-hetero people who, incidentally and through no fault of their own are in the majority just want their identities to be recognised and not frowned upon, not devalued and sneered at and not used as a reason to be blamed for all this just because it so happens that they were born that way and are in the majority.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

@Faerie..... If you want to be non conventional....go for it! However being non conventional doesn't stretch to non conventional men acquiring the right of access to female-only facilities and sports. Nor does it compel society to budge up and change fundamental conventional language usage. Otherwise...no problem. Comments?

[@Adriana-uz3wi]

Are all biologists this dreamy?

[@pursaveer9027]

He's a very attractive biologist with good fashion sense :)

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

He says the 95% number of people’s suicidality going down is wrong then says adults should make informed decisions about wether they wanna transition, the ladder is happening which is what the 95% number is showing but he’s saying that number is false. This guy is out of it.

[@IntelligentProbe]

But there are other biologists who would disagree with what is said here. Further these simple answers do nothing to satisfy my questions nor to explain the complexities we see. I've always said people who give simple answers aren't worth listening to as it is almost certain they aren't being thorough but agenda driven.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

And some of these questions and complexities would be ?

[@IntelligentProbe]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx Explaining something in a clear way isn't equivalent to simple answers. Being able to simplfy an answer isn't the same thing as an easy simpistic answer and that's what I often here from this side of the disagreement. Here are a number of complexities... Gonadal dysgenesis Congenital adrenal hyperplasia Intersexed Monoecy Klinefelter syndrome Biology can only tell you certain facts but the complexities of who people are can't be summed up by a certain fact or two. What makes my brother super girly and me the exact opposite? Why did he like playing with dolls and I didn't? He's never desired sex and I do. He's clearly male biologically, but he is so far from "manly" that girls use to beat him up at school. What I find offensive isn't the discussion it's the lack of actual real discussion or having someone with expertise with an alternative view (from an expert) on the show. Comes off very agenda driven. Now don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not in support of trans-women competing in women's sports currently IMO the evidence suggests that they have an extreme advantage (generally speaking).

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@IntelligentProbe So fundamentaly straightforward male/female for the vast majority with very small number of anomalies which modern medicine can treat successfully in the main. Agreed on trans women in female sports. Can't see it ever working in elite professional sports. Could result in Sponsors, media etc pulling funding. In recreational sports, hard to imagine a scenario where women would be enthusiastic.

[@IntelligentProbe]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx Not sure how "small number of anomalies which modern medicine can treat successfully" successful it is that "modern medicine" told parents to raise a person as a boy and the person feels like a girl and the biology isn't clear. Again simple answers aren't going to suite me on this issue.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@IntelligentProbe Understood.

[@aroemaliuged4776]

We needed a so………., Between Sentences

[@charlie-qh2ll]

Transition is a synonym of Conversion.

[@bryanutility9609]

Euthanasia would help

[@eximusic]

Funny that Michael mentions goth as an analogy, and the younger Colin adds the more recent emo.

[@seanmellows1348]

Nicely done.

[@mistyhaney5565]

Gender is a social construct because different societies have different standards regarding acceptable behavior for genders. Just like they have different standards regarding what is acceptable behavior in regards to social interaction, class division, acceptable culinary practices, etc.

[@josephmiller954]

If different societies have different ideas about how humans should behave does that make human a social construct?

[@ThomasJDavis]

You didn't actually explain how gender is a social construct. You didn't even define gender. What is "gender"? And even if I were to agree that it's a social construct, that doesn't make it a _personal_ construct. Yes there's a difference.

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

“Gender is a social construct” is not supported by research in the social sciences. In fact, we’ve repeatedly seen that gender and sex cannot be divorced.

[@tomwright9904]

@@josephmiller954 unfortunately yes... there is a social construct of being huma that has differed between countries and various people have been called nonhuman and abused becaise of it. E.g. bushmen in parts of Africa

[@tomwright9904]

@@ThomasJDavis gender is a set of rules and values in a society that apply to sex

[@madebyhan]

Ideology < facts

[@corwin8558]

Over 110 vertebrate species have been shown to have a consistent percentage of homosexuality in their population.

Ok. What's ur point?

[@LonelyCinderella123]

And a homosexual man is still a man. A homosexual woman is also still a woman.

[@riobishop5451]

how about having a psychologist answer these questions.

Why? The parameters won't change; the ideology won't change. If we gave 2 sh*ts about the psychology of all this, we would've put that at the forefront of 'care' etc. This has ZERO to do with psychological health, mental health, nor physical health. Nor well-being,. It's ALL a proxy war for our sanity, what constitutes psychological health, how we consider reality, and power. That's it.

[@xmaseveeve5259]

Cite your source on digit ratios.

[@jenniferdawes9975]

Finally a clear definition - based not on "feelings" but on fact - your sex is not what you are but what kind of gamete you produce, X or Y. Hooray.

[@teacherrussell5206]

Ah, the old sex and gender blender😂

[@281992pdr]

@@AngelRamirez-zv6qp Here's your chance to enlighten us all. Define gender.

[@djarm67]

Next week on Skeptic, we'll have a plumber give their opinion on your root canal surgery.

[@ExkupidsMom]

Love having cis ppl wax eloquent on trans issues. I can't imagine why you would have a problem with this. /sarcasm

[@randalllampe6576]

They should maybe re-title this. It seems pretty one-sided for a supposed discussion on a debate.

[@fktygglbtchbtch1384]

It's "the science behind the debate" not an actual debate

[@randalllampe6576]

A discussion reflecting one side of an actual debate. And much of the discussion has nothing to do with the science.

[@fktygglbtchbtch1384]

@@randalllampe6576 wtf the fck don't you understand...it's not a debate...it's the science behind the debate. Jesus fcking christ

[@crystalexarch217]

The gender constructivist side is pseudoscience.

[@JuntaOne]

@@randalllampe6576 what's the other side? What did he say in this thY warrants a debate? Genuinely asking. Not provoking

[@denissavgir2881]

What is a woman? Its a word thats used to refer either to the female sex or the female gender, which is a bad idea because it will cause confusion. The truth and potential solution to the gender debate: The gender debate is pretty pointless because it’s really just about vocabulary. "Gender", first used in the 1400s, originally referred to grammatical categories, like in languages where nouns are male, female, or neuter (e.g., in Russian, tables are male, cars are female, windows are neuter). It wasn’t until the 1950s that "gender" started being used for humans, but it was never meant to describe biological sex. It referred to roles, behaviors, and identities, separate from biology. This isn't a new concept though, as even some ancient cultures had more than 2 genders, each with their own gender roles. Over time, people started confusing gender and sex, thinking they’re the same thing, but they’re not. The confusion comes from namespace collision: using terms like "male" and "female" for both, which causes people to argue that a trans woman is "really" a man. But that’s missing the point-gender is how a person feels, looks, and identifies, while sex is biological. So, saying a trans woman isn’t "real" because of her biological sex mixes up the definitions of sex and gender. Both terms have existed separately from the start. Whether or not being transgender is a mental illness is irrelevant. I propose that the namespaces are separated so that gender pronouns are separated from sex pronouns. Since the biological namespace used the words "male" and "female" first, it should get to keep the terms, and the gender namespace needs its own words. One way to do it is suffices. Potential suffices to use: -ish, -like, -esque, -oid, -leaning, -aligned, -presenting Examples: maleish, female-like, male-esque, femaleoid, male-leaning, female-aligned, male-presenting. Or perhaps even a brand new suffix purpose-built for gender.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Unnecessary and useless complications and confusion. If an individual wants to call themselves whatever..go for it! But don't try and enforce it on society. People will just tell you where to stick it.

[@toddcrosby2783]

This “scientific discussion” ignores the facts the man himself is mentioning. Shame to confuse skepticism with politically motivated conversation.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

What facts ?

[@AnthonyBSusan]

Well, do you have proof that he is politically motivated?

[@BushidoVXX]

A disgruntled Troon activist is voicing his displeasure at reality.

Isn't gender freedom the same as religious freedom? Isn't this all a soul issue? Sex is physiological and gender is psychological. Psyche is simply the Greek word for soul. So aren't religious freedom and gender freedom almost the same thing? Just because you were born into one religion doesn't mean you can't transition to another religion. It happens all the time in the religious community. Especially on KZbin. And Mother Nature has never been heterosexual or binary as she has always been LGBT. Just like her Natural World of which we are all apart. Of course, Trans Folk do not transition from one gender to another. They simply reveal the true gender which they were born with. The one which is different from the sex that they were born with. See the recent brilliant and amusing Peacock science documentary titled QUEER PLANET. Which will explain everything you need to know about the sexual reality of life on Earth. Which has nothing at all to do with the ignorant patriarchal sexual teachings of the Abrahamic religions. Which are currently just as wrong about human sexuality as their teachings on human slavery used to be until rather recently.💙

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

No man should have the right to identify into the oppressed groups demographic.

[@vijapefi]

Besides gender ideology , what other religion is forced into kids at public schools?

@@vijapefi Science is not religion. And that is the entire problem with religion.💙

[@ambientjohnny]

What specific standards are “trans” people measuring themselves against to determine that there is a "mismatch"? How are males or females "supposed to" think or feel, want to dress like or act? You must be able to provide specific standards for each sex for what you are contending to make any sense whatsoever. If there is no correct way of being a man or a woman, then how can there be a "mismatch" between what sex a person is and how they feel? If neither term has any specific meaning then why would you need two distinct terms? Why would it matter to any “trans” person which one they are referred to by if there is no actual definition to either term?

@@vijapefi No one is forcing kids to be LGBT. You cannot force anyone to be LGBT any more than you can force anyone to be Heterosexual. It isn't possible. Information is not indoctrination. Leaning about Black folks in school does not turn anyone Black. Not even Kamala. It all depends on how you were born. 💙

[@hueyiroquois3839]

8:42 It's ironic that there seems to be an inverse correlation between strong beliefs about souls, and a belief that people are often born in the wrong body.

[@ThomasJDavis]

Because the belief about souls is coupled with other beliefs, namely that those souls are created and housed by a perfect being that doesn't make mistakes.

[@janebennetto5655]

❤🇬🇧❌❌

[@mistyhaney5565]

Being skeptical is an admirable trait, refusing to honestly engage with the available information on a topic and then state that the topic isn't a real thing is pseudo skepticism.

[@lornocford6482]

Large gamete + small gamete. No other way.

[@BushidoVXX]

You’ve been lied to. Troon ideology is nonsense.

[@vmccall399]

Now bring on Dr. Robert Sapolsky and let him explain the truth to you

[@NormLCohen]

Sapolsky is ideological and politically motivated.

[@vmccall399]

@@NormLCohen He is a neurologist with many facts about the pathway of the neurons and how they perform.

[@tulpas93]

... and there's someone who isn't? If there is, they certainly wouldn't be even remotely interesting to listen to. I'm not suggesting your position on this video's topic (or Sapolsky, for that matter) is wrong, just that you're point does nothing to support it. It's weak.

[@ambientjohnny]

@@vmccall399 Sapolsky admits there are no "sexed brains"... and then goes on to talked about supposedly sexed brains... Guess you missed that little contradiction.

[@FaerieQueenCaelia]

Sigh, sex is not what gamete an organism produces. That a sociological description of sexed bodies (created by the right with Women's Liberation Front, not biologists). Many organisms produce identical gametes, and some organisms do not produce gametes at all. Sex is simply defined as the recombination of the entire genetic material from distinct, multiploid (having multiple copies of the same chromosome) organisms. Many organisms are able to self-fertilize, but still undergo the process of sex. Some organisms undergo parthenogenesis, in which no exchange of genetic material occurs, while other organisms are classified as asexual because they have no know way to exchange all their genetic material. Male and female, may be defined in biology by the inheritance of the mitochondrial DNA, which is defined as being female, although plenty of examples exist where mitochondrial DNA is inherited from both parents, so again, it's a social construct rather an any meaningful underlying reality,

[@BookishTexan]

What you should know is that they chose this biologist because he agrees with their position. There are others who don’t stop at biology 101 understanding of sex.

[@XKenny77]

There is no other meaning of sex. There are only two sexes: male and female. A biologist who claims otherwise is not worthy of the title "scientist," as they resolutely refuse to define clearly what they're actually talking about.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

@BookishTexan And what does " Advanced biology " have to add to the discourse? Let me guess...." it's complicated " Go on then " complicate" away!

[@5driedgrams]

In other words, what this biologist is doing is gender ideology.

[@HugoNewman]

You seem to be insinuating that more advanced biology refutes biology 101. Which is, of course, nonsense. In any domain, “101” is a shorthand for the fundamentals that constitute the basic consensus of that subject. He’s restating some of those fundamentals; but it doesn’t follow that (1) he is unfamiliar with or dismissive of more advanced biological ideas nor (2) that that more advanced work fundamentally refutes any of the key claims he makes here. There may be enduring controversies pertaining to the specifics of dimorphic sexual development in terms of the chromosomal determinants and how exactly they interact; but none of that undermines what he says here.

[@BookishTexan]

@@HugoNewman I can only judge his knowledge based on what he says. As biology 101 is an introductory class it doesn’t delve into the subtleties and nuances of the subject. It deals with what is generally true. But if the subject is what is not generally true, what is true say 1-5% of the time, like the trans experience, applying the generalities of Biology 101 is useless. Even in terms of just Chromosomes not every person is XY or XX but introductory classes don’t spend time on those who aren’t. And chromosomes are just one aspect of biological sex. The more in depth the research the more it proves that there is no absolute sex binary. The maker of this video and the biologist they interview gloss over that because it doesn’t fit their agenda. Which is the point I was making.

[@bendybruce]

It's really disappointing to see a generally intelligent channel Diving so deeply into the culture wars and doing such an appallingly bad job of it. When you asked him to describe the difference between sex and gender he did no such thing. He talked about sex and then straw man the opposing position as if it was making a claim about biological sex. I realize if anyone in this particular channel is going to read this comment then they are immediately likely to get real mad at me but the reality is I've seen precious little intelligent conversation on this topic from either side of the equation. The interesting thing about words is that they do evolve as culture and society evolves. For most people of a certain age sex and gender were seen to describe the same thing but the reality is gender became a useful way to acknowledge that some people do not feel aligned with their biological sex in relation to their role within society. Not all boys want to play with toy fire engines and not all girls want to play with Barbie dolls. It is genuinely useful to have a word that might help us describe some one's personal sense of gender identity not as Binary but as a spectrum. I would agree entirely that a biological male should not be allowed to compete in sports where their physical attributes give them a clear advantage over women so don't want anyone's straw manning me on issues like that, But it's equally disingenuous to act as if these specific outlying examples represent the core issue of what's actually being discussed here. Does someone who identifies with female role models despite being biologically male or vice versa have any rights in our society or are we to just continue to marginalize them and deny their condition?

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Trans identifying men are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. Why wouldn't they be? However they have no extra rights entitling them access to female-only facilities and sports, no matter how "feminine " their condition causes them to feel. By the way I'm sure none of the other commenters would have any reason to be "mad" at you. Call yourself whatever you want !

[@usr123yt]

I wonder who actually claims that masculine women or feminine men have no rights in society. Wherever marginalization is happening, is it truly about sex and gender, or is it more about eccentricity - not being as accepted as those who fit the average mold? Deviating from typical gender behavior isn't a pathology - it's individuality. What’s the reasoning behind adding additional genders or abolishing gender altogether? Biological sex has significant effects on both body and mind, making it a relevant category for broad generalizations. Have we forgotten the limits of this grouping, or are we mistakenly believing we live in a world dominated by hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity? That's not what I observe. If we create more genders detached from biological sex, are we just describing personality traits? A point that’s often overlooked in these discussions is that even personality, while not exactly binary, is significantly influenced by sex. The odds of someone having multiple extreme traits of the opposite sex are impossibly small. Anecdotally, the trans women I've met still exhibited clear male personality traits, even if they didn’t recognize it. And I believe no one is truly fooled - not by physicality nor by personality. People are, at their core, one biological sex, and that’s okay. I think this is what many of these critical talks are often about, that we can not change reality, and that we should not forget the reality, by changing the meaning of the words we use, because it matters in certain contexts.

[@bendybruce]

@@usr123yt Just to be clear what I didn't like about this interview was its extremely performative nature. Michael came across like an actor delivering lines in a set piece That then allowed his guest to deliver a narrative monolog without any discernible challenge. To be clear I have had people on the other end of the spectrum who have got real mad at me for suggesting a trans woman with clear physical advantages due to her biological sex should not be allowed to compete with other women. It just seems to me the majority of society is simply incapable of having a mature adult conversation on this subject and that's very disappointing to me. When we have people like JK Rowling donald Trump and Elon Musk posting pictures of a female boxer and claiming this as evidence of a man beating up a woman we cannot pretend that is not a serious societal issue that needs addressing.

[@usr123yt]

I get that. It's kinda like preaching to the choir. And I don't remember much depth or structure in the interview either. Maybe it's a mix of ignorance, emotional reactions, and a lack of mutual understanding (or the way social media works) that fuels online polarization, turning complex issues into oversimplified, sensationalized examples. As for that boxer, I see posts from both sides where people aren't being honest about the evidence we do - or don't - have.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​​@@bendybruce What is it that the majority of society are unable to have a mature adult conversation about? What's the serious societal issue that needs to be addressed ?

[@bryanutility9609]

“There’s only one gender the human gender”. But we’re one race lol.

[@FaerieQueenCaelia]

OMG, please put this question to rest. "What is a woman?" "Woman" is a word. We use it to refer to something. Most often, we use it to refer to a social category of people. We place people in that social category based on their physiognomy, gender expression and self-identification. To continue, we need to be clear about some assumptions. We assume that somebody with a feminine face, also has a female body (by which I mean, a vulva), we assume somebody with a feminine gender expression has a female body, and we might assume that somebody that tells us they are female (for example on the phone) also has a female body. We have no way of confirming this. We don't require people to strip, it order to assign the word female to them, we do it naturally. Sometimes, we might misgender somebody with a vulva, for example if they dress in a masculine way, or have a masculine sounding voice. This happens and society is used to correcting itself. A woman is a person assigned to the social category of 'woman'. That's it. It says nothing about the construction of their body, their birth certificate, their genitals, their sex. Nothing at all. All of those are assumptions. You might assume that every woman you ever met had a vulva, but you have no way of knowing that. None at all. Even if it were true, it's still an assumption, because "woman" refers to a social class, not a biological reality. "Adult human female" uses three terms to define a woman. Adult, so of a certain age, presuming post-menarche (although, not all people assumed to be women experience menarche, so then what?). Human (okay). Female (meaning what, has a vulva? has a uterus? has ovaries? has breasts? was assigned female at birth? has XX chromosomes and no other possible configuration?) The definition is way more vague than it's proponents assume it to be. It's based on the heteronormative assumption of, "This is what most humans are like, so this is what everyone should be like", which is absurd, discriminatory, and just flat out, wrong.

[@stevenmyers6291]

My take is that being transgender isn't the same as being cisgender. That is, being a transgender woman is not exactly the same as being a cisgender woman. AND that there's nothing wrong with that! Just because the two are not the same does not mean transgenderism is not real. It is very real and you only have to look at history and science to see that it is real. And to sound libertarian, I think the government should stay out of the way and let people (and families) and doctors make their own decisions when possible. For example, it should be up to the sports how they treat trans athletes, but it should be up to the government to handle prisons. The podcast is okay, but way too limited!

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

You mention differences between trans identifying men and biological women. For the benefit of the uninitiated, what are the differences to look out for?

[@stevenmyers6291]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx I do not understand the question. Transgender means you identify as the gender other than your birth. It may or may not include changing one's name, dressing a certain way, having a certain hairstyle, taking certain medications, or having surgery.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@stevenmyers6291 Ok so a trans woman is a man who sees himself as a woman whereas a woman is someone who actually is a woman and sees herself as a woman?

[@stevenmyers6291]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx No. A transgender woman is a woman. They are not cisgender, but they are a woman.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@stevenmyers6291 That brings me back to my original question of what exactly is the difference between the two?

[@rickkrzewski]

This was a very disappointing segment! I have come to expect more from this broadcast. To compare the trauma a youth must feel in the decision to transition with a fad like dressing goth is just callus. Throughout history, a non-heterosexual have been killed, beaten, been outlawed and even burned at the stake. If in the 21st century, hormone therapies or surgeries can make a human feel better as the correct person...how can anyone think it's a bad thing? If a man wants a set of boobs to make herself feel better, more pretty and more feminine; who cares! People born with less than 20/20 vision use corrective lenses to allow to them function in the world - some use contact lens for vanity sake. If that same person was not given glasses, they would be helpless and depressed. But we as a society call see the physical difference and can understand and even empathize. If the difference is hidden deep inside the brain and manifests itself in opposition to the norm...then it is just a fad.

[@DeconvertedMan]

"compare the trauma a youth must feel in the decision to transition with a fad like dressing goth is just callus." This assumes there is trauma. Also where is the decision coming from, is it really the youth? How can we know?

[@SkepticalSpectrum]

@rickkrzewski Great post. I'm assuming you're saying naysayers CALL IT "just a fad."

[@SkepticalSpectrum]

​@@DeconvertedMan With gender dysphoria, there is commonly real trauma resulting from people telling them they're feeling of being their felt gender is wrong. That's a medically established fact. You can learn a lot about this by reading about it. I recommend you try to find scientific summaries or abstracts on gender dysphoria. Trying to help them change their biologically dictated thoughts, kills them via suicide. Transitioning them prevents that.

[@rickkrzewski]

@@DeconvertedMan Thank you for reading and commenting on my response to this presentation. Yes I do assume trauma because of the discussion these two gentlemen had and that is the accepted narrative. The youth is not oblivious to this diatribe; there is the peer pressure they hear from their friends, from churches and from gentlemen such as these. Could there be pressure from alternative voices to make a transition...sure. But that's unlikely because of massive identity and bodily changes, nobody is going to do this on a whim. it is an incredibly difficult decision and could never be taken lightly. So I get pissed when someone so callously calls if a fad...like wearing Doc Martins to look cool.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@rickkrzewski Did you read Irreversible Damage? If so, what do you make of those stories? How can a child "know" what they are? Why this and not other choices, ie voting, sex etc?

[@NM92846]

Imagine thinking a guy who targeted CHILDREN with his girlfriend to cyber stalk, harass, and doxx is reasonable or the right choice to put on a stage anywhere.

[@rfora540]

They are mostly right but check out Rationality Rules discussion with Colin. He and Michael are both missing some real nuances, which makes their definitions less scientifically useful.

[@mljh11]

I think Colin is absolutely right, sex based on the type of gamete your biology is supposed to produce is a completely binary system. Even for various chromosomal disorders you can still group each condition under one category or the other based on the definition Colin uses, there is no true middle option or "spectrum". As for Rationality Rules, unfortunately I think he is ideologically compromised on this topic. Watching him address Dawkins' point about how trans identity has parallels to Catholicism's ideas about transubstantiation was a real eye opener. RR was using the most uncharitable, tortured interpretations of Dawkins' argument to discredit and even mock him.

[@theunknownatheist3815]

“Rationality rules” is full of 💩. He put out a video a few years ago where he said “trans women don’t belong in womens sports”, and a big segment of the atheist online world threatened to cancel him, and he caved and recanted what he said so he wouldn’t be canceled. He went from looking like a cool frontman from an English rock band, to looking like a homeless Antifa protester from Portland. 😂

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

@rfora What " nuances " ? What more " scientifically useful " definitions are you referring to? If you have a point to make.. ...make it!

[@ransakreject5221]

Rationality rules in s not rational on gender. He’s very worried about getting cancelled on labeled rightwing

[@paulkossak7761]

This dude works for the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. He has an agenda beyond science

[@martifingers]

Yes - his attribution of "ideology" to everyone else is a dead giveaway as is the rather garbled straw-manning rant at the start. Sad to see Michael Shermer's critical thinking seeming to depart on this issue. A shame because there are other better scientists he could have interviewed on this such Prof Robert Sapolsky.

[@ThomasJDavis]

The scientific method often leverages human bias against itself in order to weed it out. Being a part of an opposing side doesn't make someone wrong. It would actually allow them to be more apt to cut through the cloud of bias that the other side may be operating under.

[@maanvis81]

That doesn' tmake what he says about the scientific debate wrong

[@Gcarse]

I'm sure he would work with a Liberal think tank if they let him. But as we all know, it's the far-left where the gender ideology lies.

[@mljh11]

He's said in several interviews and podcasts that he holds to liberal values, and that he lost employment opportunities because progressive colleagues tried to cancel him. Unless you've actually heard of him supporting conservative policy or agenda, be mindful that associating someone with certain positions without actual proof is something only irrational people do.

[@tomwright9904]

That sex is a social construct or at least what men and women do is pretty indisputable. Just compare countries.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Any examples?

[@nonseans]

Ask then how many of those countries invented the Internet, smarphones etc.

[@ApacheMagic]

Two different things. Noun vs verb. Being a sex is not a performance.

[@lornocford6482]

People in other countries reproduce in exactly the same way as wherever you're from. Do you think foreigners have different gametes?

[@AnthonyBSusan]

If you mean indisputably false, then I agree.

[@homewall744]

If you feel it or think it, it's 100% real. There are no delusions, no errors, no fads, no ignorance, no hatred, no fear, no preening, no bragging.

[@sarral2008]

Yes, but it is only real and true to you. Not other people.

[@dai19721]

thats called an inner fantasy ...

[@Muonium1]

Convince yourself that gravity don't real and find the nearest multi-storey high jumping window then.

[@archaicsage4803]

​@@sarral2008Not even then.

[@archaicsage4803]

Delusions are not reality, gender disphoria is a type of body dysmorphic disorder. It is not "real" at all, you are genuinely sick however.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

This interview is pathetic I expected more from Skeptic Skeptic is supposed to be the voice of reason, how much did the GOP pay you to say this stuff.😒

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Go on then give us the truth !

[@AnthonyBSusan]

The only reason for people to disagree with you is they're paid? I'm a Democrat and I agree with what they said in the video.

[@ambientjohnny]

What specific standards are “trans” people measuring themselves against to determine that there is a "mismatch"? How are males or females "supposed to" think or feel, want to dress like or act? You must be able to provide specific standards for each sex for what you are contending to make any sense whatsoever. If there is no correct way of being a man or a woman, then how can there be a "mismatch" between what sex a person is and how they feel? If neither term has any specific meaning then why would you need two distinct terms? Why would it matter to any “trans” person which one they are referred to by if there is no actual definition to either term?

[@alexander_sinclair]

"Libertarians" say you can't play in specific sports because of the law. Wow. Very libertarian.

[@lornocford6482]

It doesn't say that at all. No one is stopping T from competing in sports.

[@alexander_sinclair]

@@lornocford6482 they were alluding to the idea that biological men shouldn't play in women's sports. If a person is a libertarian they shouldn't be concerning themselves with sports divisions.

[@lornocford6482]

@@alexander_sinclair why wouldn't a libertarian be concerned with sports devisions?

[@alexander_sinclair]

@@lornocford6482 libertarians usually preach freedom. If a person promotes arbitrary restrictions, can they really consider themselves libertarians? Isn't the ultimate negative freedom when there are no divisions and everyone competes against each other regardless of any differing factors?

[@lornocford6482]

@@alexander_sinclair sex based rights are not arbitrarily restrictions. They don't go against libertarianism at all.

[@TheTroiani]

Why should we be concerned about how some people feel? It's a small percentage of the world population. let people be what they want to be and mind your own business.

[@DeconvertedMan]

Feelings are not relevant. Only facts.

[@theunknownatheist3815]

This has nothing to do with feelings. This has to do with children being experimented on medically for no real reason. You either don’t understand the issues, or you are a propagandist.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@theunknownatheist3815 I agree that is, at least, in part of what this (issue) is about broadly speaking. I'm being skeptical about a number of comments here, and my over jadedness might be getting the best of me... :D But I know you sort of from my comment stuff so I will ask you what do you think is going on. Are we being asked to believe that the "only" treatment that can help (anyone) is to change the body itself, rather then any other type of therapy? (or) that the best treatment is to change the body? In either case, this requires a lot of evidence to support it, and it seems to me that the public is not being given this data if there is in fact any data to give to us. Is it that we being asked to believe that kids somehow "know" that they are in fact (X) and able to figure that out when the same kid would not be trusted to figure out other complex ideas that effect our life's? If so - then wouldn't that idea have to be shown to be true? ..... I'm not sure what is "going on" other then it seems to be that people are not being skeptical about this subject in the same way as any other subject... and they are doing so due to emotions and/or projected emotions of others. That someone's feelings might indeed be hurt or that someone somewhere might suffer can not, must not prevent us from looking for the truth, whatever it is. We humans are indeed complex creatures and I can understand that our brain might indeed tell us things about our body that does not align. Clearly there are times that a child must be taken to a doctor to receive what will be a life altering surgery. I do not know if transition from one sex to the other is one of those times. ~~~~ Have I got this right, wrong or other? What do you make of anything I wrote?

​@@theunknownatheist3815 Additionally, this is a proxy assault on how we determine reality, how that plays into Society writ large, and sanity.

[@StormBringer5]

It’s easy to say this until you are personally affected by it. I was a victim of a trans woman’s auto gyne philia. It is absolutely cruel to subject women to the paraphilias of men and tell women they’re “unkind” if they don’t. I was se xually assaulted because of attitudes like this.

[@vmccall399]

What about someone with xxy or xxx chromosomes? This disappoints me from Skeptic.

[@franrobertson9024]

Still either male or female.

[@ThomasJDavis]

2:21 Time Stamp. Your sex is define by the type of gamete (sperm or ovum) that you have the function to produce.

[@5-Volt]

If you're going to ask what sex someone with xxx chromosomes is then you obviously don't know how chromosomes work in sex determination.

[@lornocford6482]

Basically birth defects, not any other sex. They still have eggs or sperm.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

Does this guy know that estrogen lowers the strength of the body down to the level of cis women?

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

How would that be determined chemically and validated physically? Why would any man choose to become a weakling, too frail to even beat women? Very demoralising surely.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx it’s not about becoming a weakling or competing in women’s sports for the sake of winning against other women, it’s about being a woman, passing as one and being recognized as one.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​​@@CamelxRavenNova2 Thanks. However my question was how would this transition be validated both chemically and physically.? It surely can't just be based on subjective judgment that the individual concerned " looks the part" What would be the role and requirements of female sports federations in the process?

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx what is done in the Olympics is blood testing cis women to monitors their hormone levels to see if they have higher testosterone levels to determine if they have to go on testosterone blockers, I’m talking about cis women not trans women.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​​@@CamelxRavenNova2 Sorry I'm confused In your original comment you said that" estrogen lowers the strength of the body down to that of a cis woman". Whose body is being referred to?

[@mistyhaney5565]

Skeptic = trust me bro

[@BobKatLife]

The social contagion is people responding to the bigots and bullies attacking their gay and trans friends.

[@ebogar42]

Nobody is attacking gays. We all know gays is a thing and makes sense in a scientific way. Even animals in nature are gay. How many animals are trans??? You think a male cat wakes up thinking he's a female cat? 😂😂

[@MadnessSpeaks]

Wright is undoubtedly educated and experienced in his field, but controversies about his personal opinions and retractions over fabricated data connected to his work negatively affect his credibility regarding sex and gender

What? Say more about this pls.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

@MadnessSpeaks We're talking here about the basics of binary sexuality in the mammalian species. It's hardly rocket science nor is it an obvious source of controversial thinking.

[@jimkoss3318]

Wright is advertised as a biologist, but most of the discussion is psychological. Does he have psychological or neurological bona fides?

[@timmiestabrnak]

These goons show how grossly ignorant they are. They’re bullying other people just because they are uninformed on history and biology and psychology and sociology.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Who's doing the " bullying " to whom ?

[@nonseans]

Are you denying my freedom to perceive people by a lens of biology and not their personal beliefs?

[@ambientjohnny]

What specific standards are “trans” people measuring themselves against to determine that there is a "mismatch"? How are males or females "supposed to" think or feel, want to dress like or act? You must be able to provide specific standards for each sex for what you are contending to make any sense whatsoever. If there is no correct way of being a man or a woman, then how can there be a "mismatch" between what sex a person is and how they feel? If neither term has any specific meaning then why would you need two distinct terms? Why would it matter to any “trans” person which one they are referred to by if there is no actual definition to either term?

[@ebogar42]

Social constructs aren't facts. Those fall under sociology, but sociology isn't fact based either. It's just something that studies what society thinks and how they act during different time periods. That doesn't make what people think facts. Is it a fact slavery is cool since most people thought that back in the day? Is it a fact that only men can wear jeans or hunt, because back in the day that's what society thought? None of that has anything to do with biology or any real science. This is just another one of those things society makes up in their heads and want me to conform to. Just like laws, morals, etc. It's as scientific as religion is. Another social construct people make up and then try to act like there is science behind Jesus doing magic and a God that does magic. No there isn't.

[@ryanthomas9306]

Bro you’re literally advocating for John moneys theory …

[@MrKento1234]

Thumbs up for @martifingers , listen to Robert Sapolsky. He gives a far more comprehensive , scientific and empathetic discussion on this issue. Shame on Sceptic for this lopsided "debate".

[@ExkupidsMom]

100% agree. This is disgusting, and tons of uncited claims.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

“Sex isn’t really a thing, there’s more than two of them” no, there are two sexes yes, gender varies between the two. Gender is a social construct, not sex. This guy is already getting it wrong.

[@theunknownatheist3815]

🙄 you have no idea what you’re talking about.

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

He’s quoting the ideologues, fool. Keep listening.

[@ebogar42]

Social constructs aren't facts though. Why do so many of you think social constructs are facts when it's just people making up things in their head based on what they're feeling? 😂😂

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

@@ebogar42 what your saying is gender and the roles that come with it aren’t real

[@ebogar42]

@@CamelxRavenNova2 They're not. I've lived my entire life doing what I want and not accepting many laws, rules, morals or gender roles because a lot of it is bs social constructs. You don't have to agree with any of them if you don't want to, and you're just as right as anyone who made those morals, laws, rules, or gender roles. It's all subjective, and something that is subjective isn't fact. Just like saying God and magic is real. Nobody has any real evidence of that and it's a social construct. Social constructs aren't facts. Religion is real, and the idea is real, but that means nothing to me. I straight up tell religious people as soon as they start talking about God that I don't believe it. That doesn't make me a hater or phobic of anyone like people try to say when I don't agree with the trans thing. I don't care if people feel they're the opposite sex, or would I ever harm them, bully them for it, or hate them. I'm not going to tell you I believe it though. I have my own ideas on what it means to be a man or woman just like I have my own ideas on morality and how I live my life as a human.

[@mistyhaney5565]

There are at the very least three biological sexes within our species. I am very curious as to what area of specialization your biologist is an expert in, it's obviously not human anatomy or genetics.

Lol. What color is the sky in your world?

[@lourdeszurita9244]

😂😂😂

[@5-Volt]

What's the third sex called & what kind of gamete do they produce?

[@lornocford6482]

I know about the egg carrier one and the sperm carrier one. What is the third one please? Does it combine with an egg or a sperm? Are the offspring the same as egg and sperm offspring? I've never heard of this for any other living thing on the planet.

[@lourdeszurita9244]

@@lornocford6482 Maybe in another planet?

[@mistyhaney5565]

I wasn't really expecting much when you decided a biologist was who should explain gender disphoria, but I did think he would be able to explain what sex is. I have one question for him, as there are only two biological sexes, what sex is an individual who is born genetically incapable of producing either gamete necessary for reproduction? Just because people fall outside the norm biologically, or psychologically, or both doesn't mean they don't exist. Biological sex in humans isn't a spectrum, but it isn't a dicotomy either. Complex human conditions don't cease to exist just because people refuse to address the complexity. We are complex organisms, and if you want to honestly discuss issues that most of us will never have to deal with then I would recommend interacting with actual experts on those issues. Or you can simply say I fall within the norm in both my genetic sex, and my gender identity therefore everyone does. There is an antiquated word "hermaphrodite", what sex does your biologist consider someone with that condition?

[@crystalexarch217]

Hermaphroditism occurs in less than 1% of the population, now called intersex. They are the exception that proves the rule. For 99.5% of the population, sex is a binary.

[@usr123yt]

Human sexuality is indeed a complex phenomenon. As Mr. Wright pointed out, though incompletely, sex is typically defined by the type of gametes a body -is organized to produce-. Because sex affects the body in multiple ways, it can be defined by various characteristics, each of which can present rare ambiguities. However, this gamete definition tends to be the most reliable. Ultimately, a body can develop into one of two reproductive roles: male or female. In cases of DSDs (disorders of sex development / intersex), a role may not be fully expressed, but it isn't considered a new sex. Biological sex is generally a classification that applies to all sexually reproducing organisms and is tied to their reproductive roles and anatomy. From an evolutionary perspective, having at most two sexes is the most efficient strategy for various reasons, making the survival of any real additional sex highly unlikely. As far as psychology/personality, there is significant variation and overlap between the sexes - more feminine men, more masculine women, etc. However, sex does affect personality, which is why the odds of someone having multiple extreme traits of the opposite sex are impossibly small. That is why I would argue that we probably wont find "a brain in the wrong body" apart from gender dysphoria.

[@ambientjohnny]

Whether or not someone produces any gametes, their physiology/anatomy is still geared towards facilitating the production of small or large gametes. Infants and children do not produce gametes, and we can still easily categorise them as either male or female. There are no human hermaphrodites, and there have never been any.

[@AnthonyBSusan]

To answer your first question: it depends on how that person's body has developed. To answer your last question: "hermaphrodite" is not a sex and no human is one.

[@ebogar42]

Deformities have nothing to do with anything. We aren't all that complex. Men have penises and women have vaginas, but there are times where people are born deformed and not NORMAL. Hermaphrodites are born with a deformity. Doctors can easily tell which sex they are with dna testing and even looking at the deformity. A male will have a very small vagina that doesn't even work correctly like it does with women. They will never give birth. A female will be born with a micropenis that doesn't work correctly, and they don't make sperm. They will have a vagina that works though and can have kids.

[@WestCoastProf]

Colin Wright's views on this topic contradict those of a majority of scientists on the subject. He left academia because his research was constantly being challenged, which he characterized as "cancel culture".

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Interesting. What are the views of a majority of scientists that contradict Colin Wright's ?

[@lourdeszurita9244]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cxI don't think you're going to get a reply 😂

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@lourdeszurita9244 You may well be right ! Shame, because it would make fascinating reading. 😊

[@lourdeszurita9244]

@@GrahamBorland-cz8cx Yes. If you like fantasy :)

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@lourdeszurita9244 Indeed 😊😅

[@babaganoug]

As a physician I find this video extremely disappointing. Do better

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

You do better, Mengele

[@lornocford6482]

I'm glad you're not my physician!

[@Twonicus80]

That was sad. Very disappointing. Neither speaker appears capable of honestly engaging the issue or basic empathy. Very limited in its scientific scope as well. Clearly cherry-picked and biased. Also, their smugness is really off-putting. Really bad job by all.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

Empathy where empathy is due. However this discussion was about the binary reality of biological sex in all mammals, including homo sapiens. Straight forward stuff with no advanced biology or wide scientific scope required.

[@Twonicus80]

@GrahamBorland-cz8cx there is if you want to have an honest discussion. But they weren't. They openly admitted it on multiple occasions, dismissing anything that would call into question the rigid "biological binary". Total small mindedness and over simplification. And dismissing the experiences of humans that are beyond their understanding is just intellectually weak. Their argument doesn't even deserve respect. It's like looking at a room through a key hole and claiming to see the whole world.

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

​@@Twonicus80 What would call into question the sex binary? A third sex? They " admitted to having a dishonest discussion "? If you think they're " intellectually weak" why not weigh in with your own intellectually strong points to put them straight because I couldn't detect any in your comments?

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

The issue is you’re ignorant

[@AnthonyBSusan]

Why did you mention empathy?

It would be helpful in this video to hear from Trans people rather than just talking about Trans people. Or even an Endocrinologist? As this video is filled with stereotypes and bias and subjectivity. If there were someone who could correct the misinformation it would be a better video. Unless bias is the intention.💙

[@DeconvertedMan]

Yes, I agree, and next time anyone speaks on evolution we should have creationists there to tell the other side of the story think of the feelings of the creationists who we are hurting by not doing that!

[@theunknownatheist3815]

Nice try, propagandist. 🙄

@@DeconvertedMan I just think it's better to talk with people rather than just about them. Unless you fear them? 💙

@@theunknownatheist3815 Propaganda rather than insight? 💙

[@DeconvertedMan]

I have no issue with talking to anyone, however when looking to what experts say, I do not see why we would want any person there that is not themselves an expert in the relevant field. That is my point.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

5:25 he called it a social contagion, bro is biased af

[@5-Volt]

He was explaining the difference between true gender dysphoria & ROGD. ROGD is a newer phenomenon that has only occurred with the progression of social media.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

@@5-Volt 👍🏻 people should do their due diligence with themselves and research to really figure out if they are trans and what they truly want and don’t want to make the best decision for themselves

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

It is a social contagion There’s a mountain of evidence

[@lornocford6482]

​@@CamelxRavenNova2I hope, by "people", you mean adults.

[@aosidh]

Rapid onset left handedness. Trans care is health care. Mind your own business.

[@aprilelizabeth9967]

Sicko

[@StormBringer5]

The difference is there wasn’t a shift in who identified as left-handed when we allowed people to write with their left hand. However gender dysphoria was something that traditionally happened in prepub escent boys. The demographics have had a HUGE shift, a 4,000% increase in adolescent girls. If you look at graphs, this demographic has soared way beyond any other. Coincidentally, we have ample data showing this demographic is also the most susceptible to social contagion. This demographic also comprises most detra nsitioners. It is concerning and worth studying.

[@aosidh]

@@StormBringer5 there literally was a rise in people who identified as left handed as it became less stigmatized

[@StormBringer5]

@@aosidh there was not a *change in demographics* of who identified as left handed. That’s the difference.

[@CamelxRavenNova2]

This guy doesn’t even know what he’s talking about Bro how the hell did he get into Skeptic magazine this is a joke

[@aminam9201]

This a short video on the dervish KZbin channel:“Rupert Spira: Non-Dualism,... Rupert Spira on the Nature”, this irrational senile is one of the first thieves who found human thoughts on closer to truth KZbin channel, I wrote that on other KZbin channels too,

[@nickyd922]

Why do people care so much about this? The numbers involved are less than 1 per 100

[@GrahamBorland-cz8cx]

People care because trans rights activists want to restructure society's norms and word usage. Among the more egregious examples is trans identifying men claiming entry into female only facilities and sports. In the past trans people have kept to themselves. This new politicised version has no intention of continuing in that vein.

[@AnthonyBSusan]

Because activists are trying to force the rest of society alter science, language, and the education of both based on this ideology.

[@ebogar42]

They care because they want me to conform to nonsense. It's about as oppressing as wanting me to conform to religion that I don't believe in. It's not right to do to people. I shouldn't have to change what I think to please a few crazies out there who aren't comfortable being themselves and need something fake to believe in.

[@ryanthomas9306]

When you brain can comprehend why, then we can talk

[@AndrewBawitlung]

[@knoxust8558]

When I clicked this video I was EXTREMELY nervous because I’ve watched so much content from Skeptic in the past but not lately and I feared that maybe you guys drank the koolaide of gender ideology like so many other atheist/science organizations i used to trust have. I feel like I lost my online communities because I refuse to deny reality. It was so refreshing to see a sex realist platformed!🥲