They don't so much 'change sex' as they grow reproductive organs in response to conditions and blast sperm and/or eggs everywhere, sometimes both at the same time.
this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2025
256 points (97.1% liked)
Science Memes
15488 readers
2659 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
TIL Prince was trans. It's so obvious now that I think about it.
Sounds more like an enby? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Most enbies consider ourselves trans, seeing as trans means to identify with a gender other than the one you were assigned.
and also because trans rights are enby rights
This makes sense. TIL
IDK what that is, but sure, let's go with that.
Non binary :) enby -> NB
Is non-binary not a form of transgenderism? I honestly do not know.
That depends who you ask.
“Transsexual” is an antiquated term that’s considered exclusionary by some and thus bigoted in a sense, as it implies that one must experience body dysphoria and seek medical treatment to change their body’s sex traits in order to feel more comfortable with them.
“Transgender” simply refers to someone who identifies as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth.
“Non-binary” people identify as something other than the two “genders” that are typically assigned at birth, so technically they fall under that same umbrella of transgender.
But also… we consider sex and gender to be different technically speaking. Sex is considered to be a biological thing, and gender is more of a social/cultural thing typically based on sex.
… Which would mean doctors don’t really identify (or “assign”) genders at birth, they assign sex, which kind of contradicts the notion of transgender people, aka someone who identifies as a different gender than their “assignment” at birth.
I personally think transgender is too broad a term and causes a lot of confusion, and that we’d be better served by once again referring to people as either transsexuals, or gender queer/non-binary.
It’s complicated. Some non-binary people do have body dysphoria and do seek medical care to change their body’s sex traits, while not identifying as either a man or a woman.
Unfortunately in LGBT+ spaces, it’s often seen as social suicide to make these distinctions, as when you make distinctions you necessarily make divisions and thus exclusions, which feels bad if you or someone you love is the one being excluded.
Other trans people would probably call me “Tru-scum” for thinking this, because in their minds what I’m saying is equivalent to saying “there’s transsexuals, and there’s people who play with make-up and clothes and expect other people to refer to them differently”…
Except I’m not saying that, and I don’t think gender queer or non-binary people are “playing”, or are less valid in any way.
I just see the ways that people are similar, and different, and I refuse to blind myself or bite my tongue about it.
they assign sex
I hate the use of the word assign, but it doesn't fit with what doctors are doing. Sex is a biological rather than social construct. They're looking at how you are, and trying to identify what your reproductive organs are. It's like saying a doctor assigns you a medical condition rather than diagnosing a condition that is already present.
No, sex is still a social construct in that it's a label made up in order to explain certain biological traits. It is also not a binary, but a bimodal distribution which is how most scientists treat it nowadays.
So yeah, it is assigned because nobody is looking deep into chromosomes etc at birth for the most part, they're merely looking at genitals and either assigning a sex based on that or in the case of intersex people often non-consensually 'correcting' them.
is still a social construct in that it's a label made up in order to explain
By that logic, literally everything that can be described with language is a social construct.
often non-consensually 'correcting' them.
I am against the medically unnecessary cutting of children's genitals in all cases. Whether it's FGM, "correcting" intersex kids (in cases where it's not going to cause problems with things like urination), routine circumcision, etc.
By that logic, literally everything that can be described with language is a social construct.
Correct.
I am against the medically unnecessary cutting of children’s genitals in all cases.
Good to know 🙂. We are too!
Correct.
Since math is a language and is itself described by language, that folds all the natural sciences (as they are described by math) into social constructs as well, and since engineering is just applied science, engineering is a social construct. Which means that civil engineers assign whether or not a bridge will hold under a given load and conditions, as opposed to it being some properties of the bridge itself independent of the language being used to describe it that determine what loads and conditions it can successfully operate under? No?
Sex is the same way. Sex predates language. Sex predates humans. Sex predates the entirety of organisms we would classify under Kingdom Animalia. It predates any living thing complex enough to have a language. It exists independent of the language used to describe it. You can easily make the argument that's not true for gender, because unlike sex it doesn't exist outside the language and societal structures built around it.
Okay. Have a nice day.
I agree.
I guess there is some contextual utility since parents do “assign” gender roles to their children based on their sex, but the doctor has nothing to do with that, so I agree.
I'd like to play dress up and be called my non assigned gender.
Just to see.
IDK.
You seems to be very reasonable and logic, thank you for expliciting it all very well 👍.
I think you're description will be fine with our diverse friends, it's pretty correct and non judgmental
I thought it was where you don't identify as any gender, rather than transitioning genders. I am not positive either. 😅
Nonbinary is an umbrella term for somebody who doesn't fit the gender binary completely or in part.
Somebody who has no gender is called agender, but that is not a gender in and of itself, merely a lack of any gender.
Thanks for this!!! I realised I never really thought about it.
* mother shucker