Testosterone does not make the man.

(A long and winding thread about sex differences and gender norms, and how name calling by activists is cheap for them, but has devastating effects on the conversation. 1/28)

If working for a world that MLK would have embraced makes me a racist, and demanding that women’s rights not fall prey to #TransIdeology makes me a transphobe, then those words no longer have useful meanings.

So: 2/

Testosterone does not make the man.

T does contribute to making the man—both activationally (in the moment) and organizationally (masculinizing anatomy and physiology from an early age, in a non-reversible way). Organizational effects cannot be reversed with hormone blockers. 3/

Definitions of activational and organizational effects of hormones, from “Sex Differences in the Age of Genetics” (Arnold 2017. Hormones, Brain, and Behavior 3rd ed, vol 5): 4/

In intact individuals, sex steroid hormones (testosterone & other androgens, estrogens, progestogens) vary predictably by sex.

But sex differences develop even when hormone levels are controlled for during development. Sex differences exist even without hormonal differences. 5/

In mammals, the Y chromosome initiates not just hormonal cascades, but other developmental cascades as well, which create sex differences.

And having two X chromosomes, vs one X chromosome, has effects on development. 6/

We know a lot, and have also barely begun to scratch the surface of all the mechanisms by which sex differences manifest. 7/

In mammals, sex differences exist at the chromosomal, genetic, hormonal, anatomical (both body and brain), physiological, and behavioral levels. Some of these differences are discrete and binary (e.g. production of eggs v sperm). Others have borders that are far fuzzier. 8/

This table summarizes some sex differences, but does not address mechanism (“how did it happen?” - proximate level explanation) or “why is there a difference in the first place?” (ultimate level explanation). 9/ https://twitter.com/WelhamOfficial/status/1076408138880946177?s=20

Some of the differences between the sexes are average differences. On average, men are taller, more susceptible to ADHD, and their brains have more white matter, than women. On average, women are shorter, more susceptible to anxiety disorders, and have more grey matter. 10/

Some of the differences between the sexes are differences of variance—average values of men and women may be the same, but the spread is different. In many traits,, men have greater variance, and so are “over-represented” at both the top and bottom. 11/

Men and women are distinct categories.

Again—*again*—it is the responsibility of a compassionate, democratic society to respect and protect the rights of trans people. But trans people are rare. Very rare. 12/

Also, the trans people I know hold no truck with denial of reality. #TransIdeology, which denies biology, is bad for them, just like it’s bad for the rest of us. 13/

Also, sex and gender are not identical concepts, but are obviously and forever linked. Here is my short explanation from earlier: 14/

Much of #TransIdeology is patently regressive, producing as evidence of trans-identity, e.g., a girl child who doesn’t like to play with dolls, or dress in ribbons & frills.

That girl child isn’t a boy. That girl child is a modern girl. (That girl child was me.) 15/

Is rejecting traditional gender norms the only way to be a modern child? Of course not. But it’s one way.

Many of us genXers grew up reveling in freedom from restrictive gender norms. It is thus particularly appalling to see them reappear under a phony progressive banner. 16/

And now come the attacks on the very concept of sex. @MForstater lost her job for taking a position on this issue. Among other radical positions, she holds that “Womanhood does not depend on dressing, acting or thinking in a feminine way.” 17/
https://medium.com/@MForstater/i-lost-my-job-for-speaking-up-about-womens-rights-2af2186ae84

Yesterday, preliminary hearings were had in her case, well documented in this thread by @legalfeminist: 18/ https://twitter.com/legalfeminist/status/1196746253050286080?s=20

Among other contributions, she reports this nonsense being spouted in a court of law: 19/
https://twitter.com/legalfeminist/status/1196751747336851456?s=20

Fact is, biological systems are complex, with myriad inputs, and a lot of fuzziness at the borders. Most people know, accurately, in their guts, that male and female are more than a social construct. 20/

But most people can’t withstand the pseudo-philosophical onslaught that comes at them if they say—hey, wait a minute, WTF is happening?

It feels like it’s too much to take. Not my fight. Not gonna die on this hill. 21/

The #TransIdeology train is subverting reality and silencing objectors by having correctly predicted that good people don’t want to be called nasty names, to have their reputations tarnished by whispers.

…Did you hear that Heather’s a transphobe?...better to steer clear… 22/

Guess what? Fuck that. They are winning because we are quiet. We have truth on our side, and we can legitimately claim to be interested in the well-being of the vast majority of people—not just a select few. 23/

Two and a half years ago, I wrote an email to my then institution saying that, due to the madness then engulfing our campus, we no longer looked like a liberal arts college.

For this I was called a racist. 24/ https://medium.com/@heyingh/evidence-of-my-racism-d744e0cd9f40

Oopsie, though: I’m not a racist, any more than I’m a transphobe, or have internalized misogyny, or am a white supremacist, or any other garbage insult that has come my way.

People who haven’t yet had stigmatizing epithets hurled at them are afraid of what happens next. 25/

Results may vary, but I can say this: Being called something you are not can be freeing. When I first saw the absurd accusation that I was a racist, I laughed out loud.

It made the later name-calling easy to take, frankly. A Nazi? Yeah. Right. A transphobe? Uh-huh. Do tell. 26/

Once again:

If working for a world that MLK would have embraced makes me a racist, and demanding that women’s rights not fall prey to #TransIdeology makes me a transphobe, then those words no longer have useful meanings. 27/

We should hold our fire, at least for a little while, when something makes us seethe. We should consider whether we are reacting to the message, or the messenger, and not conflate the two. But we can and should also take careful aim at bullshit. /end