Sascha Viktor  🐯

so what’s “sex”? basically, a cluster of reproductive organs, sexual hormones, chromosomes and secondary sex characteristics such as breast growth, body hair, etc. it’s more than just “do you have a penis or a vulva?”

according to a terf however, this can’t be “sex” if “sex is immutable” because I can actually change the majority of these things. that’s what transition is. I’m changing my hormones, which change my secondary sex characteristics, and surgery can take care of the rest.

to which a terf could perhaps reply “sex is the role you take in the reproductive act, which is something you can’t change” which opens up a rabbit hole of problems about the concept of sex. are all infertile people by this definition sexless?

and besides, we’re at a point in history where we’re closer than ever to changing this as well. only recently a cis man got a successful testicle transplant, an option that could help trans men as well. uterus transplants might become possible soon.

so yes, even which role we play in the reproductive process is changeable. science isn’t quite at a point where it’s reliable & safe for trans people, but it’s in reach. surgery can definitely change sexual organs, and these procedures are only getting better.

to be fair though, I’ve come across terfs who would argue that what really counts when it comes to sex are your chromosomes and your chromosomes only. which, fine, I can’t currently change those, but also... that would make putting emphasis on sex pretty pointless.

why pointless? because if only chromosomes count, that means only a marginal percentage of people even know what their sex actually is. when did you get your chromosomes checked the last time? for most people the answer to that is “never”

“but I know if I have XX or XY! it’s not that complicated!” yes it is, because there are so, so many more possibilities than just XX and XY. intersex people exist, and they aren’t as uncommon as you think. if you haven’t tested your chromosomes, you can only guess.