Upholding the Truth: Your Sex and Gender Science Cheat Sheet

Upholding the Truth: Your Sex and Gender Science Cheat Sheet

 

In a Facebook post last June 23, 2025, Rappler posted a pro-gender ideology image with the caption: “Help us amplify the voices that need to be heard”. Within the picture, the image has these words: “Pride is louder when we speak together. Be loud, be proud, uphold the truth.” Given Rappler’s well-known promotion of the gender madness, it’s safe to assume that when they say they want to uphold the “truth,” they don’t necessarily mean “objective truth.” Rather, they mean “any idea that can serve our promotion of our preferred theory, i.e. gender ideology.”

But we don’t do that here at Matthew’s Intellectual Mosh Pit. In this part of the internet, we’re all about objective truth (yes, I’m not perfect; yes, I make mistakes, but I never intend to deceive anyone). And so, for the sake of actually upholding the truth, I’d like to provide a list of scientific studies, articles, and papers that show the truth on sex and gender (provided in each respective bullet point). Consider this your cheat sheet just in case you find yourself in conversation with science deniers (whether they know it or not). Before you proceed, I just want to once again reiterate: I’m all about the truth, not about being politically correct.

You’ve been warned.

With that said, here’s the list.

 

SCIENCE SHOWING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ON AVERAGE

Maybe you’ve heard of the claim, “Men and women do not have any significant difference; any so-called differences about their way of thinking, their dispositions, etc. are just imposed by the patriarchy who wants to keep women down.” Of course, misogyny is a real thing that needs to stop. Yes, there are still people who think women are inferior in dignity to men; people who don’t see the fundamental equality between men and women. But just because we’re equal doesn’t mean we’re the same. And science shows this: men and women have, on average (not taking into account individual traits, personalities, and moods), biologically rooted differences.

There is obviously a difference in reproductive roles. Because a male’s bodily organization is for the production of small, motile gametes (sperm) and a female’s bodily organization is for the production of large, sessile gametes (egg), there’s a fundamental difference in how each member of the two sexes participate in the propagation of the species.

·       A Response to SciAm’s Stop Using Phony Science. (2020). Paradox Institute. https://www.theparadoxinstitute.com/watch/a-response-to-stop-using-phony-science

·       Mayer, L. S., & McHugh, P. R. (2016). Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences. The New Atlantis, 50, 10–143. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/43893424

·       Hilton, E., & Wright , C. (2020, February 13). Opinion | The Dangerous Denial of Sex. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dangerous-denial-of-sex-11581638089

·       Sex vs Gender. (2020). Paradox Institute. Paradox Institute. https://www.theparadoxinstitute.com/watch/sex-vs-gender

 

There’s also a difference (on average) in brain structure, which affects behaviour.

·       Differences between men and women due to the “sexed brain” which affects “memory, emotion, vision, hearing, the processing of faces, and the brain’s response to stress hormones.” Women’s frontal cortex and limbic cortex (responsible for emotional responses) are “bulkier” than men’s. Men’s parietal cortex (space perception) and amygdala (responding to “emotionally arousing information”) are bigger then women’s. Cahill, L. (2012). His Brain, Her Brain. Scientific American, 21(2s), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamericanbrain0512-4

·       There also seems to be innate differences in toy preference. Boys tend to prefer balls or toy cars, while girls prefer dolls. This isn’t just true of human babies. Similar studies have been done on baby monkeys and have found the similar result. (Ibid.)

·       One-year old baby girls also differ from one-year old baby boys in terms of objects/people they prefer to look at. When the baby girls and boys were given films to watch, the former prefer looking at films featuring human faces, while the latter prefer looking at films featuring cars. (Ibid.)

·       There are also fMRI studies showing that, on average, women are better than men in verbal fluency (ability to generate different words for any beginning letter), while men are better than women in terms of mental rotation (ability to rotate 3D images in the mind). Halari, Rozmin, et al. “Comparable FMRI Activity with Differential Behavioural Performance on Mental Rotation and Overt Verbal Fluency Tasks in Healthy Men and Women.” Experimental Brain Research, vol. 169, no. 1, 12 Nov. 2005, pp. 1–14, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-005-0118-7, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-0118-7.

Of course, there’s also differences in pubertal development: things like breast growth and menstrual cycle for girls, and testicle growth and nighttime emissions (“wet dreams”) for boys

·       Changes During Puberty for Boys and Girls. (n.d.). Saint Luke’s Health System. https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/changes-during-puberty-boys-and-girls

There’s also difference in susceptibility to certain diseases, including mental illnesses.

·       Men are more likely to have, among other things, autism and ADHD, than women, while women are more likely to have anxiety disorder and anorexia than men. Ruigrok, A. N. V., Salimi-Khorshidi, G., Lai, M.-C., Baron-Cohen, S., Lombardo, M. V., Tait, R. J., & Suckling, J. (2014). A meta-analysis of sex differences in human brain structure. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 39(100), 34–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.12.004

Hormonal exposure in utero also affects men and women’s job preference. On average, men, given a higher exposure to testosterone in the womb, prefer mechanically-oriented jobs (e.g. engineering). Women, in the other hand, due to lower exposure to testosterone, prefer people-oriented occupations (e.g. teaching). So, the next time someone tells you that the reason why many academic institutions have more men in the STEM department is only/mostly due to sexism, you know they’re ignoring a biological fact.

·       Soh, Debra. “No, the Google Manifesto Isn’t Sexist or Anti-Diversity. It’s Science.” The Globe and Mail, 8 Aug. 2017, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/no-the-google-manifesto-isnt-sexist-or-anti-diversity-its-science/article35903359/Accessed 1 July 2025.

 

SCIENCE SHOWS THAT SEX IS BINARY/INTERSEX OR DSD (DISORDERS/DIFFERENCES IN SEX DEVELOPMENT) CONDITIONS DO NOT PROVE THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO SEXES

 

You may have heard of the claim that science proves that there are more than two sexes/sex is a spectrum due to instances known as disorders/differences in sex development (DSDs). This is not true. DSDs are sexual disorders, not a different sex category; there is no third sex because there is no “third gonad” or “third gamete.” As we’ve seen above, our reproductive roles are either determined by the production of sperm cells/donation of genetic material (male) or the production of egg cells/reception of genetic material (female). There is no third, fourth, fifth, etc. reproductive role in humans. There’s only male and female, and people with DSDs still belong in the binary, albeit in a way that’s difficult to know compared to the majority of us who are unambiguously male or female.

·       Biology of DSDs: Introduction — Paradox Institute. (2020). Paradox Institute. Paradox Institute. https://www.theparadoxinstitute.com/watch/biology-of-dsds-introduction?rq=DSD

·       Chromosomes Are Not Sexes. (2017). Paradox Institute. https://www.theparadoxinstitute.com/watch/chromosomes-are-not-sexes

 

SCIENCE SHOWS THAT “SEX REASSIGNMENT THERAPY” (SRT) OR “GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE” (GAC) LACKS SCIENTIFIC BACKING WITH REGARDS IMPROVING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH OF PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS TRANSGENDER/HAVE GENDER DYSPHORIA

This claim that we have absolute dominion over our bodies is essential to the transgender ideology. Setting aside for now the fact that such a claim is philosophically erroneous and ethically problematic, the way such an idea influences our view of medicine/health care, i.e. that we can alter our bodily reality to match our subjective idea (instead of correcting our ideas via proper psychotherapy to match our bodily reality), shows that SRT/GAC is ineffective at best and harmful at worst. Even the pro-GAC organization, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), confirms this. First, let’s look at hormonal therapy.

·       WPATH Standards of Care (ver. 7): Effects of feminizing/masculinizing hormones for the sake of “sex change” (which is impossible given that we cannot change our bodily organization) include health risks such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and possible risks like breast and cervical cancer. World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). (n.d.). Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People. Retrieved June 22, 2025, from https://gendergp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/Standards-of-Care-V7-2011-WPATH.pdf. 40.

·       WPATH admits that there were no controlled trials on hormonal therapy: “To date, no controlled clinical trials of any feminizing/masculinizing hormone regimen have been conducted to evaluate safety or efficacy in producing physical transition.” (Ibid. 47.)

·       No consistent studies showing improvements on the health of people who identify as transgender. Cretella, M. (2016). Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate. https://www.jpands.org/vol21no2/cretella.pdf

·       WPATH Standards of Care (ver. 8): Oral conjugated estrogen can cause cardiovascular and thromboembolic complications. Coleman, E., Radix, A. E., Bouman, W. P., Brown, G. R., de Vries, A. L. C., Deutsch, M. B., Ettner, R., Fraser, L., Goodman, M., Green, J., Hancock, A. B., Johnson, T. W., Karasic, D. H., Knudson, G. A., Leibowitz, S. F., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Monstrey, S. J., Motmans, J., Nahata, L., & Nieder, T. O. (2022). Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(S1), S1–S259. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644. 110.

·       Estrogen use for men who identify as women can bring about cardiovascular diseases, cessation of spermatogenesis, and testicular atrophy. Schwartz, L., Lal, M., Cohn, J., Mendoza, C. D., & MacMillan, L. (2025). Emerging and accumulating safety signals for the use of estrogen among transgender women. Discover Mental Health, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00216-3

The same can be said for sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Many who underwent SRS have higher risks of dying by suicide, showing that SRS doesn’t solve the problem (or maybe even worsens it).

·       “Postoperative transsexuals reported lower satisfaction with their general quality of health.” Mayer, L. S., & McHugh, P. R. (2016). Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences. The New Atlantis, 50, 10–143. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/43893424. 111-112.

·       “Sex-reassigned individuals” are 4.9 times more likely to attempt suicide and 19 times more likely than the general population to die by suicide. (Ibid. 111.)

·       According to a long-term study from Sweden, people identifying as transgender have higher risks for “mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population.” Dhejne, C., Lichtenstein, P., Boman, M., Johansson, A. L. V., Långström, N., & Landén, M. (2011). Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden. PLoS ONE, 6(2), e16885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

·       SRS doesn’t provide any advantage in relation to mood/anxiety disorder. Correction to Bränström and Pachankis. (2020). American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(8), 734–734. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.1778correction

·       People who underwent SRS have a “12.12-fold higher suicide attempt rate than those who did not.” Straub, J. J., Paul, K. K., Bothwell, L. G., Deshazo, S. J., Georgiy Golovko, Miller, M. S., & Jehle, D. V. (2024). Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Following Gender-Affirmation Surgery. Curēus, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.57472

·       Those who had SRS are associated with “significantly higher risks of suicide, self-harm, and PTSD”. Straub, J. J., Paul, K. K., Bothwell, L. G., Deshazo, S. J., Golovko, G., Miller, M. S., & Jehle, D. V. (2024). Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Following Gender-Affirmation Surgery. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.c182

The same is true (and this is to be expected) with children identifying as trans/have gender dysphoria. The push for trans activists to have these kids take puberty blockers (so that their bodies won’t develop into the body they don’t like) and cross-sex hormones (so that their bodies will develop into the body they like, i.e. the body of someone belonging to the opposite sex) are shown to have possible negative health effects (I mean, what else did you expect if you’re gonna hinder the natural development of the human body?) and doesn’t alleviate the problems of children with gender dysphoria. Another problem is that almost all children who identify as the opposite sex will desist identifying as such and therefore outgrow the dysphoria. GAC for children is therefore aiming to make permanent what is supposed to just be a temporary phase among majority of these children, inhibiting natural cognitive growth.

·       80 to 95 percent of children outgrow the dysphoria/discordant gender identity. McHugh, P., Hruz, P., & Mayer, L. (n.d.). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE DR. PAUL R. MCHUGH, M.D., DR. PAUL HRUZ, M.D., PH.D., AND DR. LAWRENCE S. MAYER, PH.D. IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER . Retrieved June 22, 2025, from https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/16-273-amicus-petitioner-mchugh.pdf. 12-13.

·        According to Dr. Debra Soh: “Across all eleven long-term studies ever done on gender dysphoric children, between 60 and 90 percent desist by puberty.” (Soh, D. (2020). THE END OF GENDER : Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in our Society. Simon & Schuster. 141. Emphasis added.)  Among these 11 studies include: Drummond, Kelley D, et al. “A Follow-up Study of Girls with Gender Identity Disorder.” Developmental Psychology, vol. 44, no. 1, 2008, pp. 34–45, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18194003, https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.34.; Singh, Devita, et al. “A Follow-up Study of Boys with Gender Identity Disorder.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 12, 29 Mar. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.632784.; Steensma, Thomas D., et al. “Factors Associated with Desistence and Persistence of Childhood Gender Dysphoria: A Quantitative Follow-up Study.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 52, no. 6, June 2013, pp. 582–590, www.transgendertrend.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Steensma-2013_desistance-rates.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.03.016.

·        France’s National Academy of Medicine: “There is no test to distinguish between persisting gender dysphoria and transient adolescent dysphoria. Moreover, the risk of over-diagnosis is real, as evidenced by the growing number of young adults wishing to detransition. It is, therefore, appropriate to extend the phase of psychological care as much as possible.” National Academy of Medicine in France advises caution in pediatric gender transition. (2022). SEGM. https://segm.org/France-cautions-regarding-puberty-blockers-and-cross-sex-hormones-for-youth

Regarding Puberty Blockers and Cross-Sex Hormones

·        No controlled study on “alleged benefits and potential harms” of pubertal suppression and hormonal therapy. Cretella, M. (2016). Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate. https://www.jpands.org/vol21no2/cretella.pdf

·        Puberty blockers involve risks for cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, etc.  Smith, W. (2021, May 5). Major Swedish Hospital Bans Puberty Blocking for Gender Dysphoria. National Review. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/major-swedish-hospital-bans-puberty-blocking-for-gender-dysphoria/

·        Open letter of Practicing Physicians: Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can increase risks for sexual dysfunction, poor bone health, etc. Open letter by practicing physicians. (2025). Binary. https://www.binary.org.au/open-letter-by-practicing-physicians

·        Oral estrogen  increase risks for thrombosis and elevated blood pressure; administering testosterone may negatively affect cholesterol and increase risks for sleep apnea. McHugh, P., Hruz, P., & Mayer, L. (n.d.). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE DR. PAUL R. MCHUGH, M.D., DR. PAUL HRUZ, M.D., PH.D., AND DR. LAWRENCE S. MAYER, PH.D. IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER . Retrieved June 22, 2025, from https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/16-273-amicus-petitioner-mchugh.pdf

·        Children who took puberty blockers “reported greater self-harm, and the girls experienced more behavioral and emotional problems and expressed greater dissatisfaction with their body – so puberty blockers exacerbated gender dysphoria.” Transgender Trend. (2021, March 23). Tavistock’s Experimentation with Puberty Blockers: Scrutinizing the Evidence. https://www.transgendertrend.com/tavistock-experiment-puberty-blockers/.

Many people with gender dysphoria also have been found to have other psychiatric comorbidities coexisting with the dysphoria, which are ignored by GAC. This calls for a need to find a better alternative treatment for gender dysphoric persons other than GAC (e.g. talk therapy in order to find the cause/predisposing factor that lead to them identifying as the opposite sex)

·       There are severe psychopathologies that precede gender dysphoria in some people; autism is also very common. Kaltiala-Heino, R., Sumia, M., Työläjärvi, M., & Lindberg, N. (2015). Two years of gender identity service for minors: overrepresentation of natal girls with severe problems in adolescent development. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-015-0042-y

·       “43-75% of adolescents with gender dysphoria have at least one type of psychiatric comorbidity.” Myths of Gender Affirming Care. (2023). Paradox Institute. https://www.theparadoxinstitute.com/print/pamphlets/myths-of-gender-affirming-care. See also Kaltiala-Heino, R., Sumia, M., Työläjärvi, M., & Lindberg, N. (2015). Two years of gender identity service for minors: overrepresentation of natal girls with severe problems in adolescent development. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-015-0042-y

·       Many adolescent and young people who identify as trans have pathologies like depression, self-harm, and anxiety. María, P.-O., Antonio, B.-F., Gilberto, P.-L., & Domingo, L.-P. (2021). A 2020 Review of Mental Health Comorbidity in Gender Dysphoric and Gender Non-Conforming People. Journal of Psychiatry Treatment and Research, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.36959/784/425

*BONUS SOURCE* REPORT EXPOSING THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICES OF WPATH BY JOURNALIST MIA HUGHES: Hughes, Mia. The WPATH Files: PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC SURGICAL and HORMONAL EXPERIMENTS on CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS, and VULNERABLE ADULTS. 2024. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a45d683b0be33df885def6/t/6602fa875978a01601858171/1711471262073/WPATH+Report+and+Files111.pdf

OTHER HELPFUL SOURCES ON SEX AND GENDER:

·       The Paradox Institute (theparadoxinstitute.com)

·       Person and Identity (personandidentity.com)

·       Chastity.com (chastity.com/gender)

·       Binary: Debunking the Sex Spectrum Myth by Zachary A. Elliott (https://www.amazon.com/Binary-Debunking-Sex-Spectrum-Myth/dp/B0CFZL3HXN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7YTUF1983CT7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uJs4pRdqGdBggcMV30vhP5iQ7gm-rcPA8bVYarCQ-7tJR1kWfdoSYcwsyfLpH1m4Ez8kM8UNdNo0FbCe7gv21cfPFoGqHNpmGlkud5u86HhCqPToyJNwDXR6TPkl-ptzqJwtdFfHHM3b6RwYI6waHs3a4bCKJrP6_tvM0MEJc7SmtE0BDH7jxQ7mQ9nZxcxhmMhqbmN01Vq_42zZO6WmzXNJWYv9EMUqboZjBCuPr1Y.kG2kNKoPsWd-v3FkaAT6kZF1lDVvF6tVgsR2KsUalIs&dib_tag=se&keywords=zachary+elliott&qid=1751335234&sprefix=%2Caps%2C496&sr=8-1)

·       The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society by Dr. Debra Soh (https://www.amazon.com/End-Gender-Debunking-Identity-Society/dp/1982132523/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18SU8GKHA88DP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4jn0sAi_ufxx00AdFIeKIehma7gm_3I4QJRogafNiIicSnTGcMf7zFWzv9UyutJvPufZekdjL_iRk0VNPSyq963Pew1T4laTHxuvQskEqvk.Ypk8E10AIfRewdf05jMyZ67mR7EzrVKoxsVCfoqp7eI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Debra+Soh&qid=1751335279&sprefix=debra+so%2Caps%2C407&sr=8-1)

·       When Harry became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Dr. Ryan T. Anderson (https://www.amazon.com/When-Harry-Became-Sally-Transgender/dp/1641770481/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GYA96NWIT595&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OXe9HwADNmn3z69A9kNpg7UfsECGYP1WPBOqvL_1wb0vQ9uDNpnz5ROaYzjc9Q-c00JOy9lVuy1HXdFsur-5I38AmLl4vhQPgVQvcD0bM9rmBso6JdQnVKLrNmj0RfX988nevi42Ri7aFX3-sdOEPZO4t1k9kF6omByuq_omtaJ_F8W0jR7UJ5n6PUwVewj4.p7_TPNWeaA3kZ0tAAsw74kefZlx4GJ8CEeQvFShZhs0&dib_tag=se&keywords=when+harry+became+sally&qid=1751335342&sprefix=when+harry+beca+sally%2Caps%2C391&sr=8-1)

·       Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier (https://www.amazon.com/Irreversible-Damage-Transgender-Seducing-Daughters/dp/168451228X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=YKQIXTS9XPQU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sZxWc_XMXnZExfNdZPgqtrjLJgxzdgx_BY0NlliEoE4lzGbZsd7_CtY2QwxvJ8am4uP323RV3YCKaLu6lysyq2T5uUzwxPw4jNr2nI40krPn32kjVNfucxVGeARNZgn8r9S_HO02uTmdybSNJbRblyNowL0hZCtQJUCWRgjHzsdbpyNO6eA1vCzM6R_W_mn82DpHFlByg28MeNu24QQwLUAMFvJFcc-djCUp1Dp-FIQ.5LxAGg0c5C-gvqdtKVJWldVzIcQsjGRDacaRLT3tiqI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Abigail+Shrier&qid=1751335397&sprefix=abigail+shrie%2Caps%2C337&sr=8-2)

·       Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness by Dr. Miriam Grossman (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1510777741?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title)

·       Trans: When Ideology meets Reality by Helen Joyce (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0861540492?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title)

·       Male, Female, Other? A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender by Jason Evert(https://www.amazon.com/Male-Female-Other-Jason-Evert/dp/B0CTX1C7X5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3E04BSDBZTNKH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9xX63CKgRGTbvVjUxfdKdfh5iE0cWetRjKkWjsejLvMdVAeyHrzuEW4BZAfMae-C335IYK1zHMCT9IyU0qy0ssUFz0fJWeH4sCK7qvG8bOs0ky9liUM-Kcglhf4ruQ-Kjk2XolGe3u4w72XbtZiH7gJBIZLVChyhILW6szISCGE79fcKnClJrFmQFy8gTMxTGqI_WhuHRErIhoGZtML5_Bwgxz54jF1A2e2MLp7rmck.9_JBCvABHYLgJ7JadWrO2AZFkdJWXQtFkxgHdxqILkw&dib_tag=se&keywords=male%2C+female%2C+other&qid=1751335553&sprefix=Male%2C+Female%2C+O%2Caps%2C326&sr=8-1)

 

CONCLUSION

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s not aiming to be. I just hope you can use this as a basic source for discussions on sex and gender. As a matter of fact, I’ll be the first one to admit that simply using science as a source on this debate is insufficient. There has to be a discussion on the level of worldview/philosophy (specifically on whether or not the human body – including its sex, male or female – is essential to personal identity) and morality (e.g. What the purpose of medicine is and whether procedures like SRS fulfill or distort this purpose). Also, this cheat sheet is not meant to hinder you from researching on your own, so feel free to see for yourself the science (and anthropology/ethics) on the matter. I’ll leave you with a quote from the late Pope Francis:

“The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek ‘to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it’.”

– Laudato Si 155, emphasis added