Hi friends! Today I’m debunking my least favorite bullshit argument against trans* people; “there’s only male and female, humans don’t exist on a spectrum.” This is where I’d happy to chime in that statement is inherently false. I’d like to introduce the existence of intersex people aka people that are born with a combination of hormones, primary, and secondary sex characteristics, or other chromosomal variations. Being intersex is also not an entirely rare phenomenon, as stated in the link above, approximately 1 in 100 people are born intersex. That’s millions of people, that do not fit into the idea of a biological binary.
Intersex flag via.
I’d like to emphasize that this is completely naturally occurring and the only harmful consequences an intersex person experiences are the societal burdens of being pushed into either a male or female category. Especially with the occurrence of forced sex assignment of infants. In cases of intersex children with variations of genitalia, many underwent unnecessary gender assignment surgery where a desired gender was decided by doctors and parents (usually based on what genitalia was more present), it was never proven to be beneficial for the child and many struggled later on as they rejected the gender they were prescribed. This practice has been reduced in recent years as more understanding and research took place but there is no record of it being entirely eradicated as a practice.
Leading back into my argument, humans exist in fluid variations, sometimes that translates biologically, and sometimes that translates emotionally or sexually. The only true harm is forcing subscriptions of binary thought onto others because of lack of understanding. I’d like to encourage others to educate themselves and listen when Trans* and other sexual or gender minorities say their piece. It will never take something away from you personally to expand your understanding and tolerance of others.
If you are searching for more information and don’t know where to look, I would recommend contacting JMU’s LGBTQ+ and Ally Education Program. They are located in the Student Success Center first floor, room 1310 (the glass paneled room across from Dunkin’ Donuts) or you can email for more info at lgbta@jmu.edu. It may open a whole new world of understanding but you won’t know until you explore for yourself.
Well friends, I hope you learned something today and until next time, stay furious!
Header image via.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
Love this! Do you think religion plays a big part in the stigma against trans people?
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Without getting into any religion bashing I think it does have a certain role to play. Most religious texts (especially Christianity based) teach on “one man, one woman” which neglects an entire subset of diverse types of people. Most of these texts were also written in times where people did not have a true scientific understanding of the matter so while numerous people would have existed in the spectrum there is no documentation. These archaic teachings continue into modern day and it is up to the general public to educate themselves and adjust their understanding accordingly.
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I completely agree. I wanted to see where you stood on religion and trans people. I think this would be something really interesting to write about.
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This is great. I especially love that you pointed out resources for JMU students to use. The student success center is great to go outside of your comfort zone and learn more about the people around us through not only the LGBTQ+ and Ally Education program, but also the multicultural office. Love this article, keep being furious!
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