this post was submitted on 21 May 2026
194 points (95.8% liked)

World News

56225 readers
1831 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Biology is a term used to describe how your body functions. Hormones changing your body is biology, whether they're natural or otherwise. "Biological sex" is a dog whistle. It is not a term used by people who are being honest. It's just sex, or sex assigned at birth. "Biological sex" is a term for bigots to sound like they have science on their side.

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 0 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Exactly what I said, there's no other kind

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Sure it does, it's the sex you have biologically.

Exactly what I said, there's no other kind

Biology is how the body is functioning and growing. This is defined by what hormones are in the body, as hormones tell cells how to function. In this way, biological sex is the sex defined by what hormones are in your body. Sex assigned at birth does not necessarily match this.

Biological sex is not a term that has any meaning. It is a term invented to lend the air of scientific authority to a certain group of people making a bad faith argument. Sex is the term that is more commonly used, or sex assigned at birth to be more specific (which implies it changes and is not just gender).

Iff (if and only if) we're using the words as their definitions imply, biological sex = what hormones are in your body. Hormones define how your body functions, meaning their biological activity. Then it follows that hormone replacement therapy changes biological sex. It isn't the bullshit static thing the people typically using the word to mean, as a replacement for "sex assigned at birth". That term they won't use because it lends credence to the idea it can change, rather than something that makes them sound as if their opinion is based in science.

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

To be clear though, hormones don't define how your body functions, that'd be DNA. You wouldn't have hormones or the ability to process them into meaningful signals without DNA. Ultimately, "biological sex" is determined by the sex chromosomes, which never change. I'm not arguing whether or not right-wing chuds co-opted the term (I've no clue, I don't listen to right wing chuds), but it does have an objective, scientific, apolitical, societally functional meaning.