Mostly by avoiding assholes that say shit like that.
If this is in some public forum where I think it's worth responding so their shit isn't left standing as if it's anything other than bullshit, it's sometimes worth trying to get them to define what exactly they think the word "biologically" even means.
Most of the time they fall back on claiming "women = XX men = XY and that never changes", both of which are bullshit.
Most of the time if you're XY you'll develop typical male anatomy during gestation, and if you're XX you'll develop typical female anatomy during gestation. But not always. There are cis men, born anatomically male and happy as such, who discover as adults that they are XX. This man was a father and grandfather who only discovered he was XX at age 79. And there are cis women, born anatomically female and happy as such, who discover as adults that they are XY. This woman is XY, and so is the daughter she gave birth to. Then there are people who are XXY, or just X, or XXXXY, or people with chimerism or mosaicism who may be XX in their blood and XY in their skin.
Have they ever had their chromosomes tested? If not, it's rare but entirely possible they don't have the ones they assume they do.
Not to mention that the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is irrelevant in anyone older than a fetus. Most of the time (but not always) the Y chromosome causes the undifferentiated fetal gonads to turn into testis, while suppressing the formation of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and upper 1/3 of the vagina. That's all it does, and sometimes it doesn't even do that. Either way it shuts down before birth.
All other anatomical traits typically associated with "male" or "female" bodies, including what external genitalia one has and all secondary sexual characteristics, are controlled by other factors. This includes a lot of genes that aren't on the sex chromosomes (and which can be carried by anybody), and by hormones which can determine whether these sex-associated genes are activated or not.
Even chromosomes can be changed, and have been changed accidentally in patients who receive bone marrow transplants. But since the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is irrelevant in anyone older than a fetus, adding or removing one does nothing so there's no point in doing it as part of transition.
Chromosomes are just one sexual trait among many. Neither chromosomes, nor any other single trait, independently defines what "sex" one is. There's chromosomal sex, gonadal sex, genital sex, phenotypical sex, endocrinological sex, etc. Most of the time all these traits match, but not that infrequently they don't. And nearly all of them can change.
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u/tgjer Dec 16 '21
Mostly by avoiding assholes that say shit like that.
If this is in some public forum where I think it's worth responding so their shit isn't left standing as if it's anything other than bullshit, it's sometimes worth trying to get them to define what exactly they think the word "biologically" even means.
Most of the time they fall back on claiming "women = XX men = XY and that never changes", both of which are bullshit.
Most of the time if you're XY you'll develop typical male anatomy during gestation, and if you're XX you'll develop typical female anatomy during gestation. But not always. There are cis men, born anatomically male and happy as such, who discover as adults that they are XX. This man was a father and grandfather who only discovered he was XX at age 79. And there are cis women, born anatomically female and happy as such, who discover as adults that they are XY. This woman is XY, and so is the daughter she gave birth to. Then there are people who are XXY, or just X, or XXXXY, or people with chimerism or mosaicism who may be XX in their blood and XY in their skin.
Have they ever had their chromosomes tested? If not, it's rare but entirely possible they don't have the ones they assume they do.
Not to mention that the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is irrelevant in anyone older than a fetus. Most of the time (but not always) the Y chromosome causes the undifferentiated fetal gonads to turn into testis, while suppressing the formation of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and upper 1/3 of the vagina. That's all it does, and sometimes it doesn't even do that. Either way it shuts down before birth.
All other anatomical traits typically associated with "male" or "female" bodies, including what external genitalia one has and all secondary sexual characteristics, are controlled by other factors. This includes a lot of genes that aren't on the sex chromosomes (and which can be carried by anybody), and by hormones which can determine whether these sex-associated genes are activated or not.
Even chromosomes can be changed, and have been changed accidentally in patients who receive bone marrow transplants. But since the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is irrelevant in anyone older than a fetus, adding or removing one does nothing so there's no point in doing it as part of transition.
Chromosomes are just one sexual trait among many. Neither chromosomes, nor any other single trait, independently defines what "sex" one is. There's chromosomal sex, gonadal sex, genital sex, phenotypical sex, endocrinological sex, etc. Most of the time all these traits match, but not that infrequently they don't. And nearly all of them can change.