13 Comments
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Janice Airhart's avatar

I'm also a science geek. Thanks for an interesting post!

ev nichols, phd (she/they)'s avatar

i'm so glad that you enjoyed it!

Wild Lion*esses Pride by Jay's avatar

Ev, your writing is both brilliant and necessary—thank you for breaking down the origins and implications of the term “biological sex” with such clarity and precision. The connection you’ve made between the legal, scientific, and sociopolitical weaponization of this phrase is eye-opening and deeply impactful.

Your emphasis on community-based solutions, inspired by Laverne Cox’s wisdom, resonates profoundly. It’s a reminder that resilience and connection are our strongest tools in the face of systemic oppression. The history of our survival speaks volumes, and as you so beautifully articulated, we have models for moving forward.

This is the kind of truth-telling that educates, inspires, and equips us to take action. Sharing this far and wide—voices like yours need to be heard. 💙

ev nichols, phd (she/they)'s avatar

thank you so much for these very kind words. i'm so glad that these ideas resonated with you and brought hope. sending lots of love!! 💜

Bruce Landay's avatar

It’s sad in our society how one group or another is always “The Other” those who are different from me and somehow responsible for all of my problems. Too many wrap themselves in their bibles or religious book of their choice declaring “ The Other” as the root of evil and need to be stamped out of society.

If we spent more time just being accepting that others are different from us and that’s OK we’d be better off as as a society. We could then spend our time and energy focusing on real problems like poverty and hunger. Let people use whatever bathroom they feel most comfortable in and the rest of us can mind our own damn business. There’s always room for more kindness in the world.

ev nichols, phd (she/they)'s avatar

well put! more kindness is such a great goal to work toward

Jacqui Taylor (she/her)'s avatar

This was so interesting. The term biological sex has often puzzled me.

Michelle Spencer (she/her)'s avatar

I read Thomas Lacqueur’s Making Sex as part of a university course “The Body East & West” way back in the early 90s. It was clear then that ‘biological sex’ was a mirage that scientists and society kept chasing rather reflect on the sexism in society. While language goes in and out of fashion, I hadn’t understood that this particular phrase was so specifically political. Thank you Ev for you clear explanation.

ev nichols, phd (she/they)'s avatar

you're welcome! that sounds like an interesting class and a good read!

Michelle Spencer (she/her)'s avatar

It was one of my favourite most assumption challenging classes. The book is a good read, even if New Historicism is old hat and likely suspect by now. I’m so grateful for my state subsidized education (Australia), and regret our governments since are heading down the path of user pays, and destroying arts and humanities as ‘frivolous’ as fast as they can.

ev nichols, phd (she/they)'s avatar

yes i agree completely. i took a lot of "hard science" classes but i always felt that my humanities classes added a depth that science classes could not provide.

AnaCSW's avatar

thank you