Sex and Gender: Beyond Binaries
Introducing an upcoming piece on the science behind the sex and gender continuum
I recently became engaged in a conversation on Twitter with an evangelical pastor/leader after responding a video of his on deconstruction. After I challenged the patriarchal notion that only men can be pastors, my interlocutor suggested that we might have something to learn from first century approaches to gender:
After some push back, he asked me further,
After suggesting that part of the problem is the insistence that science return to us definite answers about what a man or woman is might be asking too much, I proposed a brief tit-for-tat, a blog Call-and-Answer, if you will. Jones accepted, and after a brief back-and-forth over Twitter, we privately agreed to move forward. In that exchange I laid out how I would approach my piece:
The approach I'm likely to take is to link to a few resources and provide a brief summary. One of the things that I have learned over the years, both as a Christian doing apologetics and as a professional philosopher, is that intellectual work is still work - that is to say that while I don't expect my interlocutor to necessarily change their mind, I do expect them to put in some of the intellectual work as well. That is to say that I'm not going to write 2000 words on why gender isn't a binary. I'm going to instead provide resources and summaries that will allow you to pick and choose where to do your own reading, when you're able. I believe in good-faith discussion. But I am also not naïve - I realize that we are both wedded to certain perspectives. Here's the deal: I'm a disabled person who doesn't have a lot of energy, all things considered. I'm happy to do the work, but for it to be worthwhile, you’ll have to meet me halfway.
An upcoming piece, then, will be a review of some of the current research on sex and gender. Some notes on my starting point:
I presuppose the view that expecting science to give us a definite answer on ‘What is a Man’ and ‘What is a Woman’ is expecting too much of the scientific method. Instead, as I will highlight, we should be open to the possibility that the answer to both questions is “Well, it’s fuzzy, unclear, and we have a lot to learn. What we do know, however, is that sex and gender are not binaries, and that there is no standard definition, biologically or socially, for Man or Woman, Male or Female.”
I will not, however, be writing a philosophical argument for that conclusion, instead inviting my readers to, as keyboard warriors are fond of saying, “Do their own research” by diving into the resources that I highlight. My goal is not, therefore, to change your mind directly, but is instead to give you the tools and resources that you need to find the answers for yourself.