Student Cover Sheet and Reflection on Feedback Form

University of Birmingham – School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion

Module Title: Feminist Philosophy (26782)

Module Level: LI
Student ID (SRN) 2041626
Essay/assignment title: ‘Critically discuss the idea that sex is binary’
Confirmed Word Count: 1723
Have you had an extension agreed? Yes No
If Yes, what is your extension deadline? N/A
What feedback have you received on earlier assessments, or while preparing this assessment?
 To include more of my own critical evaluation
 To include my own examples
 To signpost clearly

How have you responded to that feedback in this assessment?

 I have tried to critique Fausto-Sterling using my own ideas rather than finding a critique
 I have tried to incorporate my own examples where possible
 I have tried to signpost for each main section of the essay

What feedback on this assessment would best help you think about your next one?
 Feedback on whether the structure/signposting is correct
 Feedback on whether I have used enough independent evaluation
 Feedback on whether I used enough of my own examples
Sex is traditionally thought of as being binary; people are categorised as either male or
female. This view, however, has come under recent criticism with feminist literature arguing
that sex should be seen as more of a spectrum. This essay will be divided into five main
sections. I will begin by outlining the argument for a binary notion of sex. Secondly, I will
explore an objection to this argument; specifically that from Fausto- Sterling. Thirdly, I will
introduce a critique to her argument. I will then discuss Fausto-Sterling’s later alteration of
her approach. However, ultimately, I will demonstrate that this adaptation is still
unconvincing. I will thus conclude that whilst Fausto-Sterling’s conclusion that ‘sex is not
binary’ is correct, her means of getting there are unpersuasive.

In order to wholly understand whether sex is binary, we must first determine what is meant
by this term. Traditionally, sex refers to the biological make-up of a particular person
(Marway, 2021). It is therefore seen as ascribing biologically male or female properties. Take
the example of an individual who has XY chromosomes, high testosterone levels and testes.
This individual would be labelled a man due to these male characteristics. This is different
from gender which refers to the socially constructed characteristics of each sex. Whilst
gender could be seen to be socially constructed, many argue that sex is purely biological.
This is the view of Georgi K Marinov who believes when looking at the basic scientific facts,
it is undeniable that sex is binary (Marinov, 2020, 280). According to Marinov, when looking
at the connection between genes and reproduction it is almost impossible for there to be
more than two sexes. (Marinov, 2020, 288). Any definition of sex which does not involve the
biological reproductive functions is simply not describing sex and is a harmful way of
thinking (Marinov, 2020, 288). Many people share this view and believe sex to be purely
binary.

However, many feminists claim that defining sex in purely binary and biological terms
supports women’s subordination. Take the example of women having lower levels of
testosterone than men. This could lead to the assumption that women are physically
weaker than men and thus not good candidates for carrying out physical work. This is clearly
not always the case and thus defining sex as purely binary is simply a biological way of
suppressing women. Rather, some feminists argue sex should be thought of as more of a
spectrum in which both sex and gender are somewhat socially constructed. In her 1993
paper entitled ‘The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough’, Anne Fausto-Sterling
supports this view. She specifically looks at the existence of intersex people who challenge
the traditional view that there are only two biological sexes (Fausto- Sterling, 1993, 21). This
leads her to propose a classification of at least five sexes to prove that sex is not binary:
male, female, herm, merm and ferm (Fausto- Sterling, 1993, 21).

According to Fausto- Sterling, each of these categories should be treated with respect and
seen as legitimate sexes (Fausto-Sterling, 1993, 21). By thinking of sex in this way it reduces
the chances of any discrimination against people who do not directly fit in the two-gender
system. Take for example the South African runner named Caster Semenya who was told to
reduce her naturally high levels of testosterone in order to compete in races with other
women (Spary, 2021). It is examples like these which highlight the necessity of categorising
sex as a spectrum rather than as a binary notion. Fausto- Sterling discusses a further
example of an individual that does not fit within the sex binary: a hermaphrodite called
Emma (Fausto- Sterling, 1993, 23). Emma lives his/her life as a female yet has ‘both a penis-
sized clitoris and a vagina’ (Fausto-Sterling, 1993, 23). Emma is described as living a very
happy life; s/he is able to have heterosexual sex with males and females and would not
want to remove the vagina and become a man (Fausto- Sterling, 1993, 23). Cases such as
that of Emma show that not all individuals fit into the binary notion of sex, yet s/he is happy
and content with his/her life. As such, this is a primary example as to why sex should be
seen as more of a continuum, rather than a binary notion (Fausto- Sterling, 1993, 21).

Fausto-Sterling ends her article by discussing her utopia surrounding multiple sexes. She
invites us to imagine a society in which there is a wide variety of sexes which are celebrated
for their uniqueness (Fausto-Sterling, 1993, 24). Science would be used to prevent any
negative conditions that could occur from intersexual development rather than trying to
“correct” their sex to fit the binary system (Fausto-Sterling, 1993, 24). Fausto-Sterling
acknowledges that this shift in thinking will not be an easy one yet recognises it as necessary
to stop discrimination and allow individuals of all sexes to be respected within society
(Fausto-Sterling, 1993, 24).

However, I will now demonstrate that Fausto-Sterling’s argument that sex is a spectrum
contains a fundamental flaw. This being that by referring to sex as a spectrum it causes
more harm than good. This model assumes there are two extremes on either end of the
spectrum; a person who is seen as an ‘absolute’ female or an ‘absolute’ male. This itself
turns sex into a notion that is relative to others. Therefore, my sex would not be up to me
but instead I would have to compare my sex to others to see how far along the spectrum I
am. Take the example of Jo who has some aspects of the female genitalia but also has
testes. Suppose Jo describes herself as a female. However, suppose Sam does not have
testes and is further down the spectrum towards the ‘absolute’ female end. According to
the spectrum model Sam is ‘more’ of a female than Jo. I believe this to be an unfair
conclusion as a person’s sex should be up to the individual rather than in comparison to
others.

Furthermore, the following question can be posed: how many different sexes would need to
be recognised so that everyone is happy? Fausto- Sterling herself believes there to be at
least five, thus suggesting there are potentially many more. In order for no one individual to
get offended there would need to be endless possible types of sex. The obvious next
question is where do we draw the line?

However, I will now look at Fausto-Sterling’s later paper in which she alters her account of
sex. In her 2000 paper entitled ‘The Five Sexes, Revisited’, she suggests sex is
multidimensional rather than a spectrum (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, 22). Rather than different
kinds of sex falling onto a continuum, sex should be thought of as a more complex concept
with what can be thought of as having multiple axes (Fausto-Sterling, 2000, 22). These
different axes could be chromosomes, level of hormones and anatomical features (Fausto,
Sterling, 2000, 22). Take for example Fausto-Sterling’s idea of a ‘herm’, they would be right
in the middle of these three axes; someone who has equal levels of testosterone and
oestrogen and has one testis and one ovary.

The proposed advantage to this approach is that we are able to record much more
complicated combinations than a mere continuum. It represents sex in all of its possible
complexities and highlights the vast varieties of sex there might be. It is therefore clear that
a multi-dimensional approach is preferable to a spectrum as it is more accommodating of
the complexities and thus allows for a more granular approach. Furthermore, this
multidimensional aspect provides us with a sense of the individuals gender identity (Fausto-
Sterling, 2000, 22). This is due to the fact that it looks at the individual’s experience as well
as their environment. Due to these advantages, a multidimensional approach seems to be
more favourable than that of a spectrum.

However, I will now demonstrate that despite revising her approach, Fausto-Sterling’s
argument is still unsuccessful. By altering her view of sex to be multi-dimensional, all she is
doing is creating more labels for people to be oppressed by. The only way to create a just
society in which no individual is discriminated against due to their sex is not to add more
labels but to remove them altogether. A person’s sex should become unimportant; people
should essentially become androgenous. I believe this would allow individuals to have
genuine choice when it comes to relationships. Homosexual relationships would not be seen
as ‘abnormal’ and heterosexual as ‘normal’, thus allowing people to freely explore their
sexuality without the constraints of sex.

Admittedly, there are situations in which it is necessary to identify a person’s sex such as for
health reasons. A clear example of this would be the need to know if a person has testes to
make sure they do a screening for testicular cancer. We know that testicular cancer affects
people with testes and thus we need a way to label these people so that they can be
screened. I therefore believe that the only purpose for labelling a person’s sex is for health
purposes. Therefore, for these reasons and these reasons alone it is helpful to have some
labels, but I do not believe they should be a defining feature of an individual. I do not think
for example a person’s sex needs to be on their passport or other forms of identification.
Therefore, Fausto-Sterling is correct in concluding that sex is not binary, but her argument
itself is unconvincing.

In conclusion, I have critically discussed whether sex is binary. I have outlined the traditional
view that there are only two biological sexes. Fausto-Sterling provides a critique to this
perspective arguing that sex should be thought of as a spectrum with at least five different
sexes. However, I have shown that this argument is flawed as it relativises a person’s sex. I
have also shown that a later alteration of her argument to make it a multi-dimensional
approach is also unsuccessful. This is due to the fact that the multi-dimensional approach
simply adds more categories in which we can label sex. Rather, these labels should be
unimportant; a person’s sex should be relevant for health reasons only. Thus, I conclude
that sex is not binary, but Fausto-Sterling’s argument fails to be convincing in showing this.
Bibliography:
- Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993) ‘The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough’,
the Sciences, pp 20-24 [Online] Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239657377_The_Five_Sexes_Why_Male
_and_Female_are_not_Enough
- Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000) ‘The Five Sexes, Revisited’, The Sciences, pp 18-23 [Online]
Available at: http://www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~alexroni/IPD%202015%20readings/IPD
%202015_4/FAUSTO_STERLING-2000-The_Sciences%205%20sexes%20revisited.pdf
- Marinov, G.K. (2020) ‘In Humans, Sex is Binary and Immutable’, in Springer Nature
2020, pp 279- 288 [Online] Available at:
https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s12129-020-09877-8?
sharing_token=Wju7pagbpWZw0t_qJTx1T_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4m7bhVvT3i3
HzK1MtbR0sAj3X6fKY8SAYEvIodxn7BFrNv6ieSienYmepjKKDkBglnsxWn6NeO6s4Zo5C
6m_gL8phpEE2XN5aJvO10kfSpt9ram2k3vTA8YRK1yqMWOY0%3D
- Marway, H. (2021) Lecture 3- Biology: Categories and Spectrum. Feminist Philosophy
(26782) [Online] Available at:
https://canvas.bham.ac.uk/courses/44980/pages/week-3-introduction?
module_item_id=1531591 (Accessed: 01/04/21)
- Spary, S. (2021) ‘Caster Semenya appeals to European Court of Human Rights over
'discriminatory' testosterone limit’, CNN. [Online] Available at:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/26/sport/caster-semenya-appeal-scli-intl-spt/
index.html (Accessed: 04/04/21)