I'm going to note that biology is one area of science I've never studied, other than as a chapter or two in a planetary science course, so happy to to challenged on the science. My perception is biology seems to be a science where a number of new discoveries are being made rapidly - thanks to more comprehensive analysis of R/DNA, epigenetics, microbiones, etc - and therefore established ideas need to change. (A bit like Einstein moving physics on from Newton?) I was interested that when asked this question recently the US Supreme Court candidate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, refused to define what a woman was on the the basis she wasn't a biologists. Given the following I can sort of see why :-)Some summarised postings from Rebecca R. Helm, an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina, seem to indicate defining biological sex isn't necessarily that straightforward: "There are several ways of approaching biological sex: on a chromosomal, hormonal, or even cellular level. But none of them would allow you to reach a simple explanation.You could say there are the XX/XY chromosomes and the SRY gene (which should be located on the Y chromosome to indicate "maleness") that really matters to defining sex. But there’s also a chance the SRY gene can pop off the Y chromosome or transfer to the X, and your physical, chromosomal, and genetic sex might vary altogether because of this without you even knowing it. Hence, the possibilities here are endless, where you can be a different sex on a genetic, chromosomal, hormonal, cellular, and even physical level."From another source, Planned Parenthood, it's estimated in the US 1-2% of people are born intersex but that doctors normally assign a sex at birth based on visual appearance of external organs so it's impossible to gather accurate statistics of how often these may just mismatch any chromosomal anomalies.That's before one looks at gender as well as biological sex! Is it surprising the average politician, or judge, prefers to avoid a definition?I haven't checked, but I suspect the sex discrimination laws don't define what a woman is - why should they, the Computer Misuse Act doesn't define what a computer is. That does leave it to the judges! It all makes Cosmology, quantum theory, dark matter and dark energy seem so much easier ... :-)
Michael Ixer ● 1399d