Are there instances of someone being born “female” but their reproductive system is not developed to produce ova?
Yes, there are instances where individuals are born with female external genitalia but do not have fully developed reproductive systems to produce ova. This condition is known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, or simply MRKH. In MRKH syndrome, individuals typically have a vagina and external female genitalia but may lack a functional uterus and, in some cases, may not have fully developed ovaries. As a result, they may not be able to conceive children naturally.
This condition highlights the complexity of human biology and serves as an example of how one’s biological sex may not always align with traditional expectations. It reinforces the importance of recognizing that individuals’ experiences of their own bodies can vary widely and that gender identity and biological sex are not always perfectly congruent.
Furthermore, there are several other medical conditions and intersex variations that challenge the idea that biology alone can definitively determine one’s gender identity. Here are a few examples:
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH): CAH is a group of genetic disorders that affect the adrenal glands, leading to variations in hormone production. In some cases, individuals with CAH may have external genitalia that do not align with typical male or female appearance.
Swyer Syndrome: Swyer syndrome is a condition where individuals are born with XY chromosomes but have non-functional testes and develop typically female external genitalia. This condition highlights the importance of chromosomes not being the sole determinant of gender identity.
5-alpha-reductase deficiency: This condition can result in individuals born with male chromosomes but ambiguous or female external genitalia due to a deficiency in the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into its active form.
Klinefelter Syndrome: Individuals with Klinefelter syndrome have an extra X chromosome (XXY), which can lead to variations in physical development, including less masculine secondary sexual characteristics.
These conditions, among others, demonstrate that biological sex is not always straightforward and that it doesn’t always align with an individual’s gender identity. They emphasize the importance of considering multiple factors, including an individual’s own understanding of their gender, when discussing matters related to gender and sex.
ChatGPT is not a knowledge source and should not be treated as one. It’s trained to be a creative, context sensitive writer. You can equally make it produce a text that denies that.
Headline is clickbait. The executive order does not define men as “bigger, stronger, and faster,” and the headline contains zero information about how the executive order actually does define “sex”. This shit really gets under my skin. Misinformation like this makes it more difficult to educate people about what is wrong with the system, why it needs to be changed, and the actions necessary to change it. It greatly reduces a person’s ability to advocate for a cause effectively.
The bigger, stronger, faster part is in the section of the order called the preamble, not part of the definition. The preamble is all the WHEREAS shit you see at the beginning of bills and explains the rationale for the bill, or executive order as is the case here.
A preamble may be inserted between the title and the enacting clause of a bill for multiple reasons: to explain the state of affairs that caused the bill to be introduced; to make clear the purpose of the bill; as a sales pitch to improve the chances of enactment; or to serve some other purpose of the sponsor. A preamble is not a part of the enacted bill.[source - pdf warning]
In this instance, the preamble is grandstanding, and the article even refers to it as such:
Nebraska governor Jim Pillen, a Republican not noted as a women’s rights supporter, yesterday issued an executive order “defining” males and females and the attributes thereof. The anti-transgender political grandstanding offers fusty explanations of the sexes–men are “bigger, stronger and faster” on average–in pursuit of Rowling-esque calls for sexual segregation (and even echoing her ostensibly feminist rationales) and not a lot else.
Here’s the preamble, which doesn’t mean shit:
WHEREAS, males and females possess unique and immutable biological differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty;
WHEREAS, biological differences between the sexes mean that males are, on average, bigger, stronger, and faster than females;
WHEREAS, women have achieved inspirational and significant accomplishments in education, athletics, and employment;
WHEREAS, biological differences between the sexes are enduring and may, in some circumstances, warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic, or other spaces in order to ensure safety and/or to allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive; and
WHEREAS, inconsistencies in court rulings and policy initiatives with respect to the definitions of “sex,” “male,” “female,” “man,” and “woman” have led to endangerment of single-sex spaces and resources, thereby necessitating clarification of certain terms.
This is the part that contains information about defining someone’s “sex”, and is actually enacted:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jim Pillen, Governor of the State of Nebraska, under and pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Nebraska, do hereby order and direct the following:
In the promulgation of administrative rules, enforcement of administrative decisions, and the adjudication of disputes by administrative agencies, boards, and commissions, all state agencies, boards, and commissions when using the following terms shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, define them as follows: a. a person’s “sex” is defined as his or her biological sex (either male or female) at birth; b. a “female” is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova; a “male” is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female; a. [sic] “woman” and “girl” refer to human females, and the terms “man” and “boy” refer to human males; b. [sic] the word “mother” is defined as a parent of the female sex and “father” is defined as a parent of the male sex;
There are legitimate reasons to distinguish between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms, and other areas where biology, safety, and/or privacy are implicated;
Any public school or school district and any state agency, department, or office that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with antidiscrimination laws or for the purpose. of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic, or other data shall identify each individual who is part of the collected data set as either male or female at birth.
This Executive Order shall become effective immediately and shall expire upon the effective date of state law governing participation of biological males in female athletics and prescribing environments where single-sex dedicated services and/or facilities should be provided.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and cause the Seal of the State of Nebraska to be affixed this 30^th^ day of August, 2023.
I honestly think that’s semantics. If the preamble doesn’t matter, then why is it there? Why have it if it doesn’t mean anything? Just because one is called a preamble and one a definition doesn’t mean that people won’t use either as the “real” definition. Maybe you could have argued that several years ago, but you certainly can’t now.
I may be incorrect, but I do not believe this is sematic.
If the preamble doesn’t matter, then why is it there? Why have it if it doesn’t mean anything?
I had a short explanation in my comment: A preamble may be inserted between the title and the enacting clause of a bill for multiple reasons: to explain the state of affairs that caused the bill to be introduced; to make clear the purpose of the bill; as a sales pitch to improve the chances of enactment; or to serve some other purpose of the sponsor.
Just because one is called a preamble and one a definition doesn’t mean that people won’t use either as the “real” definition.
The actions the government are to take to enact this order are described after this portion of the order:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jim Pillen, Governor of the State of Nebraska, under and pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and the laws of the State of Nebraska, do hereby order and direct the following:
IANAL but isn’t there an issue with “if any data is collected it must define someone as a man or a woman” doesn’t allow there to be an “unknown.” Therefore you could potentially skew things like crime or Healthcare statistics by counting all unknowns as one gender or the other.
Secondly, the definition “shall identify each individual… as male or female at birth” also provides a problem as one presumably can now kick back a whole bunch of stuff with the message “yes but this data doesn’t contain their sex at birth, please provide birth certificates for all 128,323 members of this list”
They kinda are, aren’t they? Pretend like you are working while getting re-elected and enabling and covering up what your rich friends are doing behind the curtain. The goal is usually not to fix anything. Rather break it further while looking like you are fixing something. Something they don’t care about or matter to their personal bottom line.
Serena Williams or Brittney Greiner or Simone Biles could kick my fat ass three ways from Sunday. I’m definitely not bigger than Brittney, and there’s no way I’m stronger or faster than any of them.
Did you even read the article? He defined men as being on average bigger stronger and faster. I don’t know if this is exactly the case. You also named women who aren’t exactly in the middle of the bell curve.
You can also tell how predictably people can be in a situation. Individuals tend to have a repertoire; that’s how boxing, football and any competitive sports coaches train their charges. Groups seem to have them too. Most would-be bullies wing it when sheer size is the differential, beyond a few well-rehearsed moves because that’s all it usually takes. Observe most bullies online or irl, better yet, be bullied. You learn how to move. Eg, a lot of people spoiling for a fight leave their person wide open and unprotected, simply because they think the person seeing them come for a fight is going to let them hit first. Some people still think the other person isn’t going to a sucker punch because it’sa bitch move (and it is); but better to use that bitch move before your bully does. Fighting with honor may or not matter till animal survival instinct kicks in. One can and probably should let it kick in sooner because bullies aren’t really looking for a good excuse or honor and there’s no shame in recognizing that. Just don’t carry it over to every other life aspect.
Damn, this turned into a therapy session for you. Didn’t bother reading it, because if someone that much smaller comes at you, just kick em in the face and keep walking.
He’s an asshole, but it is absolutely true that men are, on average, bigger, stronger, and faster than women, so picking 3 women who are notable for being in the top billionth of prowess in their particular sports isn’t exactly a repudiation of that point.
I was just thinking the same about my husband. At 5’7" and 137 lbs, and working an office job with no workouts so no real muscle tone, he might have to be defined as a woman. Good thing we’ll never go to Nebraska.
I would like to see him go up against any of these ladies in literally any sport at all- they’d kick his ass so hard. And that’s fine- he’s not less “manly” because of it. He is my husband and the father of my children and I love him always and thankfully small minded people like this are only a minor hindrance in the progress we are making.
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