Colin Wright
@drcolinwright.bsky.social
Evolutionary Biology PhD | CEO/Editor-in-Chief Reality's Last Stand | Fellow at the Manhattan Institute | Advisor at Atheists for Liberty | Whiskey and cats.
Email: cwright1859 at gmail
Email: cwright1859 at gmail
...or binary compounds. Sex is binary in the sense that it is composed of two and only two parts. "Sex is binary" is a synonym for "there are only two sexes." It is totally compatible with organisms not having a sex or organisms like garden snails that are both sexes.
July 21, 2025 at 8:20 PM
...or binary compounds. Sex is binary in the sense that it is composed of two and only two parts. "Sex is binary" is a synonym for "there are only two sexes." It is totally compatible with organisms not having a sex or organisms like garden snails that are both sexes.
Gametes define the sexes. That is absolutely fundamental. And there is more than one definition of "binary." It's not like computer code where there is only 0s and 1s. Another definition is "composed of two parts." We use this definition when we refer to things like binary star systems...
July 21, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Gametes define the sexes. That is absolutely fundamental. And there is more than one definition of "binary." It's not like computer code where there is only 0s and 1s. Another definition is "composed of two parts." We use this definition when we refer to things like binary star systems...
Pretty typical response.
July 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Pretty typical response.
But sex ambiguity is not a third sex or evidence against the binary nature of sex. And most people, as I said, are clearly either male or female. The existence of ambiguous cases does not mean everyone is ambiguous or that sex is a social construct.
July 21, 2025 at 6:30 PM
But sex ambiguity is not a third sex or evidence against the binary nature of sex. And most people, as I said, are clearly either male or female. The existence of ambiguous cases does not mean everyone is ambiguous or that sex is a social construct.
But being sexless is not a new sex. And true hermaphrodites in other species are also not a new sex. They're both sexes.
Sex is binary because there are only two sexes. I never said bodies are binary. Most people are unambiguously male or female. A vanishingly rare minority may be ambiguous.
Sex is binary because there are only two sexes. I never said bodies are binary. Most people are unambiguously male or female. A vanishingly rare minority may be ambiguous.
July 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
But being sexless is not a new sex. And true hermaphrodites in other species are also not a new sex. They're both sexes.
Sex is binary because there are only two sexes. I never said bodies are binary. Most people are unambiguously male or female. A vanishingly rare minority may be ambiguous.
Sex is binary because there are only two sexes. I never said bodies are binary. Most people are unambiguously male or female. A vanishingly rare minority may be ambiguous.
There are only two sexes, because the differences between gametes—sperm and ova—is not continuous. It is discrete. My claim is not and has never been that "everyone is either male or female." Sex is a developmental outcome. It's totally conceivable that an individual fails to develop a sex.
July 21, 2025 at 6:27 PM
There are only two sexes, because the differences between gametes—sperm and ova—is not continuous. It is discrete. My claim is not and has never been that "everyone is either male or female." Sex is a developmental outcome. It's totally conceivable that an individual fails to develop a sex.
And no, humans cannot change their sex. They can change their physiology and secondary sexual characteristics, but these are just cosmetic changes that don't actually alter a person's sex. If you believe that it does, you have a very superficial understanding of what it means to be male or female.
July 18, 2025 at 1:03 AM
And no, humans cannot change their sex. They can change their physiology and secondary sexual characteristics, but these are just cosmetic changes that don't actually alter a person's sex. If you believe that it does, you have a very superficial understanding of what it means to be male or female.
Well, when I say "sex is binary because there are only two sexes," and you object to that statement by saying "but some animals can change sex," I have to assume you some believe that means changing sex is somehow a third sex. Otherwise your response makes no sense.
July 18, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Well, when I say "sex is binary because there are only two sexes," and you object to that statement by saying "but some animals can change sex," I have to assume you some believe that means changing sex is somehow a third sex. Otherwise your response makes no sense.
Some animals can change sex, but humans cannot. Still, in the animals that can change sex, there are only 2 sexes.
July 18, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Some animals can change sex, but humans cannot. Still, in the animals that can change sex, there are only 2 sexes.
None of those things are a 3rd sex. Try again.
July 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
None of those things are a 3rd sex. Try again.
But is there also a women-only restroom?
July 13, 2025 at 5:31 PM
But is there also a women-only restroom?