Biological sex is a continuum rather than a strict binary
Evidence
There are certainly cases where physiological givens create particular situations. There is no rigorous biological distinction between the two sexes; an identical soma is modified by hormonal activity whose orientation is genotypically defined, but can be diverted in the course of the fetus’s development; this results in individuals halfway between male and female. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1032
Categorization
- DEFINE: Articulates the technical basis of biological sex as a modified continuum, foundational to the existentialist rejection of anatomical destiny.
- QUESTION: Worth noting how modern intersex science has refined or complicated this 1949-era embryological account.
- XREF: connects to: Sexual difference cannot be reduced to the biology of gametes — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 88; The meaning of sexual positions is socially constructed, not biologically fixed — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1978; Gender is a social power structure rather than a genetic trait. (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- The meaning of sexual positions is socially constructed, not biologically fixed
#responds-to(0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1978 - Gender is a social power structure rather than a genetic trait.
#qualifies(0.72)