There are only two genders and it’s supported by science, regardless of what the modern left says. Suddenly in the past few years, the claim that gender is a spectrum has become increasingly popular, regardless of how absurd it sounds.
This article will cover the conservative argument against the liberal claim that gender and sex are different, gender is a social construct and a spectrum, and there are more than two genders.
In This Argument…
- Why gender and sex are not different
- How we know that there are only two genders, and why it is not a spectrum
- What is a woman, and what is a man
- What about non-binary or intersex people?
Table of Contents
Is Gender and Sex Different?
Leftists who peddle the lie that there are more than two genders often back it up by claiming that gender and sex are different. They claim that sex is biological and gender is a social construct or a spectrum.
They often assert that if one feels a certain way or sees themselves a certain way, then it means that they are that thing. So if one feels that they are a woman, then they are one, because they have separated gender and sex. This is false and circular, but to get to the bottom of this, we need to answer what should be a very simple question.
What Is a Woman (Or Man)?
There needs to be concrete definitions of what a woman is or what a man is. Without it, the line of thinking that separates gender and sex can quickly descend into chaos.
Leftists often claim that a woman or a man is someone that identifies as a woman or a man, regardless of their biological sex. This explanation is inconsistent and a circular definition because it still doesn’t define what a woman or a man is.
The trick is to not use the word one is trying to define in the definition. So here’s how one can simply and consistently define man and woman:
Man: An adult human male
Woman: An adult human female
Not only does this give us concrete definitions, but it ties gender and sex as being very closely related. Now that we have definitions in place, we can examine whether gender and sex are truly different.
Why Gender and Sex Are NOT Different
Gender represents the biological categories that are not alterable by feeling or perception. What the confused individual is really saying is that they have a feeling or trait associated womanhood or manhood. But here’s the catch: womanhood or manhood is directly associated with sex.
You can’t just say “I’m a bird” because being a bird is directly related to the biology of a bird, just like sex and gender are directly related. The point is that identity claims do not override biological categories, just as one can’t claim to be a different species, one can’t claim to be a different biological sex.
So in order to identify as the other gender, one must separate gender from sex and admit that simply identifying doesn’t make someone biologically male or female. And in doing so, they’re either acknowledging a psychological disconnect, such as gender dysphoria, or at the very least, embracing a subjective identity that contradicts physical reality. The point is: gender should be rooted in sex, or else it becomes meaningless.
Gender Dysphoria is a clinical term used to describe the clinically significant distress or impairment a person feels when their biological sex (male or female) does not align with their gender identity (thow they feel or see themselves).
Some contend that people who identify as the opposite sex yet feel no distress do not meet the criteria for gender dysphoria. Nonetheless, they are still adopting a self-conception that contradicts biological reality, an objectively mistaken identity, however certain they may feel.
Some may argue that not everyone who identifies as the opposite sex experiences distress, and therefore doesn’t have gender dysphoria. But even in those cases, they are still embracing a self-identity that contradicts biological reality, which, at the very least, is confusion.
Ultimately, if someone identifies as the opposite sex, they’re experiencing gender dysphoria or confusion, because their internal sense of identity directly contradicts their biological reality.
What About Non-Binary?
This also is confusion because one is denying the reality that life has placed them in, either male or female. By rejecting reality, they are by definition having an inner conflict.
This matters because it replaces truth with confusion. If people can deny the most basic and observable fact (that humans are male or female), then truth becomes subjective.
Why There Are Only Two Genders
Now that we understand why and how gender and sex are directly related, how many genders are there? We’ve learned that there is male and female, but why can’t there be male, female, and female 2.0?
It’s simple. Sex isn’t defined by personality or identity, it is solely based on reproductive function. Everything else, such as anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, supports that binary system.
If you need some high-quality sources to support this definition, here they are:
- Male or Female: There’s Nothing In Between: “Male and female are not a mix of traits, but rather two distinct phenotypes that produce two different gamete types.”
- Oxford Reference – Definition of Female: “Denoting the gamete (sex cell) that, during sexual reproduction, fuses with a male gamete in the process of fertilization.”
In short, biological sex is defined by the reproductive function, whether the body is organized to produce sperm or eggs. That’s not an opinion; it’s the consensus across biology, medicine, and evolutionary science.
What About Intersex?
Those who are classified as ‘intersex’ have a rare medical condition. They are not a third sex or gender. Intersex people are born with biological anomalies in their chromosomes, hormones, or genitalia that make it difficult to classify them strictly as male or female at birth.
We know that there are still only two genders because those who are intersex have a body that is still fundamentally oriented toward one of those two functions, even if impaired. Intersex individuals do not form a third reproductive category, so they also do not form a third gender category.
Here’s an analogy: We are taught in school that people have 5 fingers on one hand. That is normal. With this being said, some people are born with four or six fingers on one hand. This doesn’t change the definition that humans only have 5 fingers, or that there is a different species of human, it shows that there are biological anomalies.
Overall, just because some people are born with physical abnormalities does not mean the categories don’t exist, and intersex individuals deserve compassion, not exploitation.
Gender isn’t a spectrum, it has two distinct categories that are directly related to biological sex.
The Bottom Line
- There are only two genders, because sex and gender are directly related.
- A man is an adult human male. A woman is an adult human female.
- Sex is defined by reproductive function, which is how we know that there are only two sexes and genders.
- Confusions like non-binary or exceptions like intersex do not change categories or state that gender is a spectrum.