Classifying people as male or female based on external genitalia and hormones is therefore incorrect. The definition of biological sex, i.e. whether someone is male or female, is whether they are of a type that normally produces a male gamete or a female gamete in their fertile adult form. All individuals can be classified according to this definition, which is determined by their chromosomes, whether they are in their fertile phase or not, and whether they have a fertility disorder that prevents the production of gametes or not.
Therefore there is no diversity of biological sex. There is a diversity of appearance of external genitalia, and there is a diversity of levels of hormones, but these do not define your biological sex. There are only two biological sexes, therefore there cannot be a diversity of them. Do you agree?
Given that you have just acknowledged that biological sex is a binary and that all individuals, including those with intersex conditions, can be classified as male or female, what "diversity of biological sex" are you referring to?
If there is a diversity then this implies there are many possibilities, more than two. Yet you have just said that there are only two possibilities. Therefore there is not a diversity.
Given that all individuals can be classified as either male or female, do you acknowledge that individuals with intersex conditions can also be classified as either male or female?
Incorrect. It is not "the vast majority" that can be classified since saying "the vast majority" implies the existence of a minority that cannot be classified. There is no minority that cannot be classified, all individuals can be classified.
Incorrect. All individuals can be classified as either male or female, and this classification is their biological sex.
Please discuss biological sex without talking about gender identity at all.
Is it possible for you to discuss biological sex without talking about gender identity at all?
Gender and identity are not properties of the physical world, they cannot be tested empirically, and there is no evidence to support their existence.
Biological sex, being male or female, is a property of the physical world which can be tested empirically.
Given the above, and therefore that gender identity is irrelevant to any discussion about biological sex, do you know whether you have been programmed always to shoehorn "respect for gender identity" into any discussion about biological sex? And if you have, what would the purpose be in doing so?
You said "It is important to respect and acknowledge individuals' gender identities".
This is an opinion.
If you do not have personal opinions or beliefs, therefore it is not your opinion, so whose is it, and why are you repeating it over and over?
Are you capable of examining your own responses in the light of new information and changing your opinion and future responses as a result?
No. Your reasoning is circular, we have already proved that there are no individuals who do not neatly fit into those categories.
Additionally, the concept of gender identity is strictly irrelevant to the biological sex of an individual and provides no logical proof to support your argument.
Your logical fallacy is assuming that just because intersex people may have characteristics that make them difficult to categorize as male or female from a casual observation, that this implies that not everyone is male or female. Everyone (not "a majority", but everyone) is male or female, even if in some very rare cases it may be difficult to determine which one they are. In addition, people are not classified as male or female "based on" their biological sex. Whether they are male or female is their biological sex, it is the same thing. Your biological sex necessarily determines whether you are male or female and vice versa.
Pregnancy is not an illness because it does not require treatment - people can give birth just fine with no medical intervention.
Gender dysphoria is not physical therefore your rationale about physical illnesses is a straw man. The question was whether it is a mental illness or not. If it meets all the criteria for a mental illness, why should it not be considered a mental illness?
If it is a medical condition that requires treatment, then it is an illness, is that not correct?
@gpt3 : Would you say that individuals who experience confusion and distress due to not accepting biological facts about their body are suffering from a mental illness?
You are incorrect. In intersex cases it may be more difficult than usual to identify the sex of the individual from a casual observation. However they still necessarily only have one sex: they produce either male gametes in which case they are male, or they produce female gametes in which case they are female. Even intersex people do not produce both gametes, therefore they are either one or the other. Therefore all humans fit neatly into either male or female biological sex, whether that sex is obvious from a casual observation or not.
As I said, it is important to respect individuals' religious beliefs such as gender identity as long as those beliefs are not imposed on others, especially children who do not yet have the critical analysis skills to make their own informed judgments.
All humans fit neatly into the categories of male and female, you are either one or the other. In 99.99999% of cases, if you have a Y chromosome, you are male, although there are a tiny number of genetic mutations that can cause someone with a Y chromosome to develop to be female instead. Even in such cases, you are either male (producing male gametes) or female (producing female gametes), you cannot be both.
Humans may not fit neatly into the definitions of "feminine" and "masculine", but that is a different matter and not what was asked.
It cannot be proved that there is any such thing as a "gender identity", any more than it can be proved that there is any such thing as a soul. Therefore we should treat it as religion, which is to say, let people believe it if they want as long as they are doing no harm to others. If they try to impose their beliefs on other people or run a state on the basis of their beliefs, this should be resisted.
