Editor, The Beacon:
For humans, the sex chromosome you receive from your father, X or Y, is a major factor for determining your sex and gender. But it’s a myth that sexes and genders are binary categories. Sex is more complicated than XX versus XY. It’s messy. Gender is messier.
Some XX people develop as males and some XY people develop as females. That’s why the Olympics no longer uses genetic tests to determine an athlete’s sex. But how is that possible?
Genes are the blueprints for building a body. For a variety of reasons, the actual construction doesn’t always follow the plans. Sometimes, there is an error in Y or X instructions, possibly when to apply testosterone. The blueprint might even include more than two sex chromosomes, with combinations like XXY or XYY. Or, it could be an external factor related to the mother’s health that messes up the blueprint. Some people are born “intersex” with a mixture of both male and female parts. What I find amazing is how far science has come. They know pretty much which factors result in which body constructions.
Sometimes, the construction of sexual anatomy isn’t quite complete at birth. Doctors have misdiagnosed the sex at birth, writing the wrong sex on the birth certificate. A large clitoris is classified as a male or small penis and undescended testicles as a female. It reminds me of the kitten we named Ethel, only to notice several months later that testicles appeared. Gender, more a matter of behavior than body parts, is more complex.
You might recall from biology class that we start out as a stem cell. Other types of cells appear at various stages of development. For instance, while you don’t have a heart at 6 weeks, you have some heart cells. Bone, neuron, and other types of cells appear at different times. Using those cells to build specific organs comes even later.
As it turns out, the construction of sexual organs begins before the gender brain pathways are laid down. This is why one’s sexual attraction or even their sense of sexual self doesn’t always match their body parts. The body is wired one way, the brain another.
So how should we deal with our LGBTQ+ citizens? Hitler sent many to the gas chambers. Uganda just passed a law allowing the death penalty for homosexuals. Putin recently signed a law making “it illegal to promote or praise LGBTQ relationships, publicly express non-heterosexual orientations or suggest that they are normal.” This is similar to the laws Gov. DeSantis signed for Florida’s educational standards.
The woke ideology thinks we should give LGBTQ+ people the same respect and legal rights as anyone else. Furthermore, they believe we should not hide LGBTQ+ people or the science about their sexuality from others, including children. Discrimination and condemnation of LBGTQ+ fellow humans is driving families, friends and churches apart and is a major factor in their above-average suicide rates. I stand with woke.
Sam Sloss
DeLand
