¿Qué es el sexo?

Enrique Alcalá

Autores

Enrique Alcalá

Palabras clave:

sexo biológico, binarismo sexual, género, intersexual

Resumen

¿Qué es el sexo? Este debate se ha recrudecido por acción del activismo de género. El sexo ha dejado de entenderse como un mecanismo reproductivo y se presenta como un rígido sistema de clasificación, arbitrario e injusto. Nuevas teorías del sexo como espectro y la utilización de la «intersexualidad» han revelado, más que una crítica certera al binarismo sexual, una incomprensión del porqué del sexo. En este trabajo señalamos las incoherencias presentes en la literatura crítica del binarismo sexual y ofrecemos referencias alternativas. El texto recoge los orígenes del sexo, su desarrollo y su papel para nuestra especie. Se discute la condición «intersexual» y se señalan los fallos en su abordaje habitual. Por último, se desecha la idea de la asignación de sexo al nacer y se apunta a una confusión deliberada entre el sexo y género. Este trabajo expone los sesgos ideológicos de algunas de las publicaciones clave para entender el activismo transgenerista.

Citas

Ainsworth, C. (2015). Sex redefined. Nature 518, 288–291. https://doi.org/10.1038/518288a

Arboleda, V.A., Sandberg, D.E., Vilain, E. (2014). DSDs: Genetics, underlying pathologies, and psychosexual differentiation. Nature Reviews Endocrinology 10, 603–515. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.130

Ashley, F. (2021). ‘X’ why? gender markers and non-binary transgender people. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68494-5_2

Ashman, T.L., Bachtrog, D., Blackmon, H., Goldberg, E. E., Hahn, M. W., Kirkpatrick, M., Kitano, J., Mank, J. E., Mayrose, I., Ming, R., Otto, S. P., Peichel, C. L., Pennell, M. W., Perrin, N., Ross, L., Valenzuela, N., y Vamosi, J. C. (2014). Tree of sex: A database of Sexual Systems. Scientific Data, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2014.15

Auchus, R.J. (2015). The classic and nonclassic congenital adrenal hyperplasias. Endocrine Practice 21(4), 383–389. https://doi.org/10.4158/ep14474.ra

Audí Parera, L., Azcona San Julián, C., Barreiro Conde, J., y otros. (2019). Anomalías del Desarrollo sexual. Desarrollo sexual diferente. Protocolos y diagnósticos terapéuticos en Pediatría 1, 1 – 19. ISSN: 2171-8172.

Ayala, S., & Vasilyeva, N. (2015). Extended sex: An account of sex for a more just society. Hypatia, 30(4), 725–742. https://doi.org/10.1111/hypa.12180

Babu, R., y Shah, U. (2020) Gender Identity Disorder (GID) in adolescents with differences of sex development (DSD): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatric Urology 17(1), 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpurol.2020.11.017

Blackless, M., Charuvastra, A., Derryck, A., Fausto-Sterling, A., Lauzanne, K., y Lee, E. (2000). How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology 12, 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(200003/04)12:2%3C151::aid-ajhb1%3E3.0.co;2-f

Cameron, E.Z., Edwards, A.M., y Parsley, L.M. (2017). Developmental sexual dimorphism and the evolution of mechanisms for adjustment of sex ratios in mammals. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1389, 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13288

Campillo Álvarez, J. E., (2005), La cadera de Eva: el protagonismo de la mujer en la evolución de la especie humana. Barcelona, España, Ares y Mares

Capel, B. (2005) The battle of the sexes. Mechanisms of Development 92, 89 – 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0925-4773(99)00327-5

Cui, X., Cui, Y., Shi, L., y otros. (2018). A basic understanding of Turner syndrome: Incidence, complications, diagnosis, and treatment. Intractable & Rare Diseases Research 7(4), 223–228. https://doi.org/10.5582%2Firdr.2017.01056

Dessens A.B., Slijper, F.M., y Drop, S.L. (2005) Gender Dysphoria and Gender Change in Chromosomal Females with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. Archives of Sexual Behaviour 34, 389–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-4338-5

Díaz Hernández, V., y Merchant Larios, H. (2008). Bases moleculares de la determinación sexual en mamíferos. CIENCIA ergo-sum, Revista Científica Multidisciplinaria de Prospectiva, 15(3), 287-296.

DiNapoli, L., y Capel, B. (2008). SRY and the standoff in sex determination. Molecular Endocrinology, 22(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1210/me.2007-0250

Écochard, R. (2023). Hombres y mujeres. ¿Qué nos dice la neurociencia? (1ª ed.). Ediciones Deusto.

Ellis, R.E. (2017). “The persistence of memory”—Hermaphroditism in nematodes. Mol. Reprod. Dev., 84: 144-157. https://doi.org/10.1002/mrd.22668

Errasti J., y Pérez Álvarez, M. (2022). Nadie nace en un cuerpo equivocado: Éxito y Miseria de la Identidad de Género (1ª ed.). Ediciones Deusto.

Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993). The five sexes. The Sciences, 33(2), 20–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2326-1951.1993.tb03081.x

Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). The Five sexes, Revisited. The Sciences, 40(4), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2326-1951.2000.tb03504.x

Ferrara, M., y Casper, M.J. (2018). Genital alteration and intersex: A critical analysis. Current Sexual Health Reports 10, 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11930-018-0142-9

Fuentes, A. (2022). La ciencia biológica rechaza el sexo binario, y eso es bueno para la humanidad. Sapiens / Human Nature. Recuperado de: https://www.sapiens.org/es/biology-es/biological-science-rejects-the-sex-binary-and-thats-good-for-humanity/

García-Sifuentes, Y., y Maney, D.L. (2021). Reporting and misreporting of sex differences in the biological sciences. eLife 0, e70817. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.70817

Garland J., y Slokenberga, S. (2018). Protecting the Rights of Children with Intersex Conditions from Nonconsensual Gender-conforming Medical Interventions: the View from Europe. Medical Law Review 0(0), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwy039

Gettler, L. T., McDade, T. W., Feranil, A. B., & Kuzawa, C. W. (2011). Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(39), 16194–16199. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105403108

Grady, D. (2018, 22 de Octubre). Anatomy does not determine gender, experts say. The New York Times. De https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/health/transgender-trump-biology.html

Haig, D. (2004). The inexorable rise of gender and the decline of sex: Social change in academic titles. Archives of Sexual Behaviour 33, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ASEB.0000014323.56281.0d

Haig, D. (2019). Cooperation and conflict in human pregnancy. Current Biology 29, 455–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.040

Handelsman, D.J., Hirschberg, A.L., y Bermon, S. (2018). Circulating Testosterone as the Hormonal Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance. Endocrine Reviews 39, 803–829. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2018-00020

Heinich, N. (2021). Ce que le militantisme fait à la recherche. Gallimard. EAN: 9782072955945

Ichikawa, K., Nakamura, Y., Bono, H., y otros. (2022). Prediction of sex-determination mechanisms in avian primordial germ cells using RNA-seq analysis. Scientific Reports 12, 13528. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17726-7

Iqbal, M. Z., Jam, M. R., Saleem, M., & Ahmad, M. (2011). True hermaphrodite: a case report. APSP journal of case reports, 2(2), 16. PMID: 22953283

Jost, A. (1948). Recherches sur la différenciation sexuelle de l'embryon de Lapin. Masson.

Krishan, K., Chatterjee, P.M., Kanchan, T., y otros. (2016). A review of sex estimation techniques during examination of skeletal remains in forensic anthropology casework. Forensic Science International 261, 165e1-165e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.02.00

Lucotte, E.A, Laurent, R., Heyer, E., y otros. (2016). Detection of Allelic Frequency Differences between Sexes in Humans: A Signature of Sexually Antagonistic Selection. Genome Biology and Evolution 8(5), 1489–1500. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw090

Margulis, L., y Sagan, D. (1998). ¿Qué es el sexo? Tusquets Editores.

McLaughlin JF, Brock K, Gates I, y otros. (2023, octubre) Multivariate Models of Animal Sex: Breaking Binaries Leads to a Better Understanding of Ecology and Evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology 63(4), 891–906, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad027

Migeon, C.J., y Wisniewski, A.B. (1998) Sexual Differentiation: From Genes to Gender. Hormone Research 50, 245–251. https://doi.org/10.1159/000023285

Montañez, A. (2017, 29 de Agosto). Visualizing sex as a spectrum. Scientific American Blog Network. De https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/sa-visual/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum/

Oakes, M.B., Eyvazzadeh A.D., Quint, E., y Smith, Y.R. (2008). Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome – A Review. Journal of Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology 21(6), 0–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2007.09.006

Ospina-Alvarez N, y Piferrer F. (2008). Temperature-dependent sex determination in fish revisited: prevalence, a single sex ratio response pattern, and possible effects of climate change. PLoS One 3(7):e2837. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002837

Poslosky, J. (2021, 16 de marzo). American Academy of Pediatrics speaks out against bills harming transgender youth. American Academy of Pediatrics. De https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-speaks-out-against-bills-harming-transgender-youth/

Reardon, S. (2016). The spectrum of sex development: Eric Vilain and the intersex controversy. Nature, 533(7602), 160–163. https://doi.org/10.1038/533160a

Sax, L. (2002). How common is lntersex? A response to Anne Fausto‐Sterling. The Journal of Sex Research, 39(3), 174–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490209552139

Speiser P.W., y White, P.C. (2003). Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. The New England Journal of Medicine 349(8), 776–788. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra021561

Speiser, P.W., Arlt, W., Auchus, R.J., y otros. (2018). Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Due to Steroid 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 103(11), 4043–4088. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-01865

Stahl, A. (2021, 16 de abril). Meet The “Fringe Extremists” Pushing Flawed Science To Target Trans Kids. BuzzFeed News. De https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/avivastahl/transgender-trans-kids-healthcare-science

Strkalj, G., y Pather, N. (2021). Beyond the Sex Binary: Toward the Inclusive Anatomical Sciences Education. Anatomical Sciences Education 14, 513 – 518. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2002

US proposal for defining gender has no basis in science. (2018). Nature, 563(7729), 5–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07238-8

Vilain, E., Jaubert, F., Fellous, M., & McElreavey, K. (1993). Pathology of 46, XY pure gonadal dysgenesis: Absence of testis differentiation associated with mutations in the testis-determining factor. Differentiation, 52(2), 151–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1432-0436.1993.tb00625.x

Walsh, A. (1994) Hermaphroditism en V. L. Bullough y B. Bullough (Ed.), Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia (1ª ed., pp. 265-270). Routledge