Aren't Some People Intersex? Doesn't That Mean That Transgenderism Has A Scientific Basis?

The Difference Between Intersex Conditions and Transgenderism

On this episode of Bible Bash, we will be answering the question, aren't some people intersex and doesn't that mean that transgenderism has a scientific basis? Now this kind of question is the kind of question that reflects a profound confusion of categories and it's a profound confusion of categories which in some sense is understandable because the argument of the transgender movement for many years has been basically to appeal to these exceedingly rare cases of individuals who are born with ambiguous genitalia and using that as evidence that biological sex isn't just a binary as most people assume.

So there are cases of individuals who have extra chromosomes for instance or individuals who have ambiguous genitalia or even the opposite genitalia that you might expect and so there are deformities along those lines where an individual's genitalia doesn't actually match their chromosomes and so then this is evidence that is put forward to prove essentially that this old gender binary is hopelessly antiquated and unhelpful.

Now the problem along these lines is that when you make a case trying to compare transgenderism with being intersex or being a hermaphrodite, you are profoundly mixing categories at that point. So in order to demonstrate that we're profoundly mixing categories, you might want to think about what it actually means to be intersex or to be hermaphrodite at that point.

How Rare Intersex and True Hermaphroditism Are

So when you think about the actual statistics of individuals who are what might be described as intersex, there's a lot of discussion and disagreement on what constitutes being intersex and there are a lot of genetic deformities or abnormalities that are put under this broader label of being intersex.

But then as you think through the statistics itself, an individual has a 0 .018 chance of having some sort of mild deformity as it relates to their genitalia such that they have genitalia that appear to be somewhat abnormal in that kind of way.

Now true hermaphroditism is the condition in which an individual's chromosomes don't match their genitalia at that point in a way that is obvious. So true hermaphroditism basically represents a very low percentage of what we might describe as all of the genetic deformities that could be included under the broader label of intersex.

And the estimated frequency of true hermaphroditism is essentially one in 83 ,000 births. So what you're describing is a very rare phenomenon which because of the effects of sin in the world, an individual suffers from some genetic deformity such that his or her chromosomes don't seem to match their genitalia in some kind of significant way.

So when you think about this kind of individual who has this kind of condition that they're suffering from, this would be the kind of situation that you wouldn't describe as proof that would overturn the gender binary.

In fact, the individuals in this kind of situation, they have chromosomes which don't match their genitalia, but then it would be their chromosomes which determine their biological sex at that point. They're just suffering from some sort of genetic deformity.

And it's so very rare that individuals actually have this kind of deformity that individuals along these lines, they're not the kind of individuals who feel like they're trapped in the wrong kind of body.

They're the kind of individuals who are suffering from some sort of genetic deformity. And everyone knows what their actual sex is based on their chromosomes along those lines. And so there are individuals, basically these individuals are not the kind of individuals who are trying to advance the transgender movements.

Why Intersex Conditions Do Not Support the Transgender Movement

There are a wide variety of phenomenon that can occur where individuals maybe have extra chromosomes or individuals have ambiguous genitalia, or even genitalia that doesn't match their chromosome. But these things are exceedingly rare, and these things are no proof for the transgender movement in general.

What's actually happening in the transgender movement is, in the main, is that, or almost exclusively, is you have individuals who have genitalia that matches their chromosomes. Their biological sex is absolutely certain.

They're just individuals who have been pressured by society or who have engaged in some sort of deviant sexual practices. Or maybe they're individuals who have homosexual mothers or fathers who are distorting their view of gender, or they're individuals who are giving themselves over to different forms of depravity.

However it comes about, you have individuals who are essentially rejecting the biological and clear sex that God has assigned to them at conception, not even at birth. They're rejecting this clear biological sex that they are created with, and they're choosing in a high-handed way to rebel against their maker.

This is a very different thing than the idea of an individual who is intersex or who is a hermaphrodite at that point. The fact remains that individuals who are intersex or hermaphrodites feel deep shame over the fact that their genitalia doesn't match or has some sort of abnormality in it where it doesn't match their chromosomes.

These are two different kinds of situations. Intersex people don't really want to be used as pawns for the transgender movement and really do not find a home with the transgender movement at all because they realize that they're fundamentally in some very different situation as the standard transgender person at that point.

I'm not trying to say that there's no intersex person who might be sympathetic to the hermaphrodite or sympathetic to the transgender cause. I'm just trying to say it's two different phenomenas, one of which has nothing to do with the other.

And so when you think about what's actually happening here, there's no evidence or reason to appeal to the intersex phenomenon as proof that actually helps the transgender movement in any way.

Biblical Counseling and Final Exhortation

Personally, then please know that we also offer free biblical counseling, which you can take advantage of by emailing us. Now, go boldly and obey the truth in the midst of a biblically illiterate world who will be perpetually offended by your every move.