Meynell, Letitia (2024) Are There Two Sexes? Yes and No, But Mostly No (and Gender is Something Else Anyway—More or Less). [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper brings a species-inclusive, biologically grounded lens to the question, are there two and only two sexes? Insofar as the terms associated with sex are used to pick out taxa where reproduction is typically achieved through the fusion of two gametes of different sizes, the answer is yes. Insofar as the terms associated with sex are used to pick out morphs within a species the answer is often no, though the question is an empircal one and must be addressed species by species. Within our own species, where we have species-typical primary and secondary sex characteristics that typically align with gametic differences, there are many naturally occuring developmental differences that do not so align. Gender, though often confused with sex, is something else altogether, being a socio-cultural kind rather than a biological one. However, because the social roles and norms associated with a particular gender are imposed, typically, on the basis of a sex ascription, gender is frequently experienced as inextricably entwined with sex. Moreover, in cultural animals, the traits are frequently the result of the interactions between biological and social causes. I conclude that the idea that there are two and only two sexes in our own species and gender can be reduced to secondary sex characteristics is clearly false.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Meynell, Letitia Letitia.Meynell@dal.ca 0000-0001-8467-5598
Keywords:	sex; gender; gender/sex
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics
Depositing User:	Dr. Letitia Meynell
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2025 13:17
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2025 13:17
Item ID:	26012
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology/Genetics
Date:	2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26012

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