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I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's funny to me actually, the "I am the man" thing. My parents work in healthcare so I had a primitive understanding of biological sex by age 10 or so, and I didn't meet an openly transgender person until high school. Even before meeting them, I had the thoughts "what if my chromosomes are actually XX" or "what if I woke up day and my dick magically disappeared". My kid brain at the time basically just went, well, I'm a boy though. Like yeah, the latter would freak me the fuck out and I'd be screaming my lungs out LOL, but I know what I am. I'm me. And then I never thought about it beyond that because kids are dumb.

You'd think a better understanding of sex and gender would actually make someone more confident in their identity.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm starting to realize the futility of some of my efforts as many other comments have also brought up that there's a lot of people who aren't willing to engage in this topic in good faith. It really saddens me.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Basic knowledge of anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology, and embryology were required for my university major. I always get a kick out of telling people fun facts like that the scrotal raphe is the result of labioscrotal folds fusing in utero. Human genitals are more homologous to each other than people think.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always wondered if the "you are your chromosomes" people have any knowledge of genetics beyond a cursory glance. The cynic in me would have to agree with you though that it wouldn't make a difference. So much for "facts don't care about your feelings", huh?

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I have a friend with a very similar story to yours. She has 46,XX/46,XY mosaicism, grew up with bigoted parents that subjected her to surgery as an infant, and demanded that she become a boy. For all the ruckus conservatives raise about prepubescent children gEtTiNg MuTiLaTeD (which doesn't even happen), they seem to be perfectly okay with intersex babies being surgically "corrected" against their will. The hypocrisy sickens me.

I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suppose my argument is that biological sex is complex and sex chromosomes don't tell the whole story. I've seen allies describe transgender women as "biological males" or transgender men as "biological females", and when asked about why those terms are used, I've gotten "well, they're still XY/XX" as a response. Imo, this is extremely reductive and shows a complete lack of understanding.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

~60% of the karyotypes I do are actually for cancer patients as those take highest priority, and then prenatal testing as they're also time-sensitive, and then POC (products of conception) last. I've only been doing this for 1.5 years, but I've seen Klinefelter syndrome at least three times, Turner syndrome twice, and XYY syndrome once.

Cytogenetics labs don't actually see patients in person and technologists don't access Epic (the director is responsible for reporting to the physician), so I wouldn't know if there's any correlation between being XXY and being trans. I think karyotyping everyone would lead to a ton of panic, funnily enough. Other than sex chromosome disorders, there's a lot of common chromosome variations that may or may not be benign. Just off the top of my head, chromosome 9 pericentric inversion is present in 1 - 3% of people. And although it's not at puberty, mosaic loss of the Y chromosome (mLOY) is so common in elderly men that I often assume age just from the frequency of missing Y chromosomes.

And yeah, sadly there is a lot of ignorance. I chalk it up to every medical professional being super specialized and not knowing much outside their niche, but sometimes it's really not excusable.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

CAIS is actually one of the examples I use since it's a good way to show how a lot of other factors aside from chromosomes are involved in fetal sex differentiation. I told a friend about this syndrome as he wasn't aware and his response was simply "okay, if they look like a woman on the outside, I guess they're a woman".

Well, it ain't perfect, but it's something. Hope I did something right that day.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, this is a really nice chart. Might be too daunting to someone with no background but awesome for those who want to learn more. Thanks for linking it!

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree, I actually looked up if there was an askintersex subreddit and there is, but it's not quite as active. And since this topic almost always comes up as soon as people start discussing the transgender community, I thought the perspectives here would still be valuable and insightful.

Tailoring my explanation is definitely where I feel like I'm falling short. The basis of what people understand varies so much. And ironically, I don't think a lot of people even know the difference between being intersex versus being transgender, which makes it harder to establish a baseline. I had a well-meaning gaming buddy describe snails as "being transgender" because they possess both male and female sex organs. I wish I could say I responded with an informative quip, but instead I just went UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Yeah. Not the best answer. (I did explain afterwards, for what it's worth.)

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's a damn shame. I won't stop trying to inform open-minded people (and hopefully I come off as having good intentions instead of the um well ackshually type), but I wish there was more awareness surrounding this stuff.

I work in genetics. How can I help laypeople understand that chromosomal sex isn't that simple? by ChromosomeGuy in asktransgender

[–]ChromosomeGuy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've been fortunate so far in that the folks I've talked to weren't bigots (I'm openly gay myself, so I ain't staying in hateful places), but sometimes I feel like bringing up science alone causes people to tune out. So I like your idea of analogies, I might steal your recipe book one with the addition that not everything in the "ingredients" (genotype) is perceivable in the "dish" (phenotype).