I am not a doctor or pediatrician, and don’t have an in-depth understanding of biology, biological-chemistry, or a medical science eduation. But, I have noticed a trend in the political community.

Campaigns around TransX individuals often promote misinformation around gender and how it is possible to attribute or assign gender through medical evidence [‘x’ for all persons within this label].

Before reading on, I will be centering my rejection of transphobia solely on defining gender as a chemistry not a biology.

“Chemistry is such a diverse science branching into many industries, and its understanding is fundamental” (Kaur, scientianews.org). [In medicine] it is the foundational science that underpins how we understand diseases, diagnose health conditions, and develop life-saving therapeutics. It bridges biology and [physical science] to reveal how molecules, elements, and chemical reactions sustain life or cause disease.

With existing discourse being centered around biology, I believe this is the root flaw that promotes transphobia. I will differentiate the two by promoting terminology, from pediatric chemical-biology, to support gender – even by medical measure – is a construct.

 Let’s first unpack the medical purpose of bubbling in your sex.

In some cases, persons with a high protein, dense muscular build require different treatment in comparison to a person with a lower metabolic muscle-to-fat physiology. While this is often a man versus woman body-type conversation, this is not just a result of anatomy alone.

Yes, in some ways this may support there is a difference in human make up, however, this is not a diversification of ‘gender’, instead it is doctors’ efforts to efficiently treat individualized diagnoses. Examples like high cholesterol, STD diagnosis, and genealogy history also directly prove differences, and further confirm there is no objective categorization.

In layman’s terms, person-to-person diversity does not construct overarching identity labels.

*anxious exhale* All of that to say, why does medical science serve as an indicator that it is humane to not protect one’s sex/gender or transX identity under the law?

Many political campaigns argue pediatrics, specifically zygote development, defines a science that clearly verifies gender as two options: male and female.

However, the only biological indicator of female or male is the uterus as a heterogenous organ. (It is important to note, this organ does not make you a XX/female or woman, it is solely a deconstruction of humans’ inability to be asexual reproducers.) More in-depth, a penis and vagina in early-stage zygotes, and plastic surgery are parallel; different ‘shapes’, same function.

Rapid-fire Fun Fact: The homologous structures in the male and female zygotes during the “indifferent stage” illustrate that gender is a chemical phenotypical difference not a contrary heterogeneous/heterogenous biology.

If the nature of child development is utilized to argue gender is biological, it actually proves gender is chemical not natural.

Because biology deals with generalizations of organism (cell function, genetics, anatomy), gender only becomes present through a reaction dependent on 1) the mother and father’s chemical hormonal cycle, or 2) hormonal shifts well into puberty (all at root still related to a chemical-biology understanding prior to – or at maximum time of –  conception).

‘Puberty’ as a transition from childhood into adulthood is also experienced by TransX’s individuals through “Hormone Therapy”. These cycles and physiological changes are a result of chemical and environmental factors. 

Simply put, gender is constructed; it is not maintained or reliant on biological anatomy alone. As a hormonal chemistry, it causes phenotypes (“the observable physical or biochemical traits resulting from those genes interacting with the environment”) to lend society towards visual-psychosocial markers, far from any genetic code.

XX and XY somehow becoming a testament that criminalizes and oppresses is a violation of any Americans civil liberties and rights. 

Transgender individuals have medically backed gender-science, and repeatedly exist on government, state, and local federal documentation. The biology of a human makes us equal. Our individual chemistry explains our differences. 

Politicians asserting medical-biology to dehumanize TransX people and legalize “Transmisia”, is a fallacious bias. There is no ‘natural order’ throughout this discourse, just essentialist-rejection blurring ‘that’s just my belief’ with judicial oversight. 

Moving forward Pediatricians/OBGYNs and other pediatric workers should educate us ON MEDICAL FACT to guide society towards inclusion.

‘Woman’ and ‘Man’ are inherently a psycho-social construct. Gender as a whole does not exist alone but within circumstantial engagement-based measure— case and point this is “taught in childhood”. https://www.simplypsychology.org/mere-exposure-effect.html

Acknowledgement: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author, not necessarily Our National Conversation as a whole.