I’m writing this article after watching a Stephen Colbert interview of Bill Nye. I made the mistake of reading the comments on that video, and because I know there’s no point in arguing with people in YouTube comments, I’ll put my arguments here. The biggest issue I saw, had nothing to do with what was in the video.
The only reason people are hating on Bill Nye now; is because he did an episode on gender and sexuality on his new Netflix show, Bill Nye Saves the World. The biggest argument against this episode was that he was a liberal shill pushing a populist agenda that said there were more than two genders. They also called him a fascist for some reason, never-mind that that’s not what fascism is.
My problem with the two gender argument is that it’s factually incorrect. Even if you are talking about people’s chromosomes, that’s still incorrect. There are more than two biological sexes in the world. Yes, there is the traditional male and female, but there is also a wide spectrum of intersex combinations that have been recorded in the past. You can have more than one X or Y chromosome which throws your entire biology into an entirely new arena. People who are intersex can identify as a girl or boy, but they aren’t biologically. Some intersex people do lean very heavily to one side, and others have sex organs for both sexes.
Another fault with the two genders argument is that gender in of itself is a social construct. Gender was invented by society as another way of making labels. In the past, the ideas of girl and boy were wildly different. The current “girl” color is considered to be pink when it used to be blue. The very idea of girl and boy are completely made up. Yes, biologically you may be a girl and a boy. Physically there are differences in general, but the idea of gender is a construct. When a baby is born, it doesn’t care what gender it is or you are. If you feed the baby, the baby will like you, and it doesn’t care what gender its friends are.
The fact that babies and animals don’t have a clue what gender is, just goes to show that it’s made up. We only have gender labels like girl, boy, non-binary, gender-fluid, demi-gender, and others because as humans we feel more comfortable when we can put a name on something. This is a proven science that I’m not making up. I will link to several different sources at the end of this post. If you won’t believe a kid, you might believe science.
I’m not asking you to change your transphobic ideology if you have it, I’m just trying to explain to you the reasoning behind Bill Nye’s opinion. Just because Bill Nye isn’t a “real” scientist, doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Maybe he doesn’t have a doctorate or a masters in biology or chemistry, but somebody on his staff probably does. He has consulted scientists to find his information, and the fact that he is using his platform to advocate for trans rights and the LGBTQ+ community, in general, isn’t something to be looked down upon.
You shouldn’t overlook years worth of work simply because the science he is using doesn’t match up to your factually incorrect beliefs. I’m no more a scientist than Bill Nye is, I’m even less of one, but my information is based on research and evidence. I’m a fact-based thinker, if something doesn’t add up I don’t believe in it. You can trust me when I say, I am not being pressured to believe what I do, I’m just a kid who loves science, is a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and really hates when people push opinions based on lies. Thank you if you managed to read this rant, and I’m sorry if you disagree, but let’s have a civilized discussion about this. Check my sources if you disagree with me if you find fault with them tell me so I can try to find better ones. Thank you, have a wonderful rest of your day.
Informational Sources:
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001669.htm
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/sex-chromosomes-and-sex-determination-44565
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/how-science-helps-us-understand-gender-identity/
