4 ms·

Genetic edge-case in sexual development

33 points by pook 16y ago

jey 16y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRY_gene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRY_gene
njn 16y ago
same article, with picture: http://www.aissg.org/articles/MARIA.HTM http://www.aissg.org/articles/MARIA.HTM
ohashi 16y ago
So... is she allowed to compete?
bediger 16y ago
Doesn't this kind of person put lie to the easy "marriage is between a man and a woman" viewpoint by blurring the distinction between "man" and "woman"? According to the article, this condition isn't even all that rare. Let's not even get started thinking about the warlike Xambia in the New Guinea highlands, or the guevedoces of Dominican Republic (http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html). The boundaries between genders, even at a physical level, seem pretty porous.
- benpbenp 16y ago
  In general, this is an invalid inference. Consider the heap paradox and the continuum fallacy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorites_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorites_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy
- araneae 16y ago
  If by porous you mean far less than 1% of the population is of indeterminate sex, than yes. To me it seems pretty solid, compared to pretty much anything else you can tell about a person's biology just by looking at them.
- Qz 16y ago
  Androgen insensitivity is only one of a number of gender bending genetic disorders, there's about 5 more that are just as common.
- natrius 16y ago
  Marriage laws have plenty of logical issues even without this kind of issue. Can a woman who was born a man marry another woman? http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/may/04/tribblog-ag-asked-rule-transgender-marriage/ http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/may/04/tribblog-...
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    Sure, why not. As long as they're both of age and it is consensual.
    - jrockway 16y ago
      I think people like the grandparent are looking for technical reasons to allow this sort of marriage under the current statutes. Of course anyone should be able to marry anyone else -- but the legal framework doesn't exist for that yet.
- thristian 16y ago
  I was pointed to an interesting article about that very topic the other day: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/marriage.html http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/marriage.html "In particular, in 1967, Polish sprinting champion Ewa Kłobukowska was disqualified (and banned from professional sports!) for being (probably) XXY on the basis of failing the Barr body test, as was Spain's hurdler Maria José Martínez Patino for being XY (CAIS) in the 1980s. Worse, during preparations for the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games, Austrian skier Erika Shinegger was genetically tested, determined to be XY (probably CAIS), and disqualified. This was a great shock to all three women, who were raised female and had no reason to think otherwise. (Erika subsequently did have a sex change, and is now Erik. Maria's competitive eligibility was reinstated in 1988. Ewa retired, married, and gave birth to a son.)"

33 points by pook 16y ago

jey 16y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRY_gene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRY_gene

njn 16y ago

same article, with picture: http://www.aissg.org/articles/MARIA.HTM http://www.aissg.org/articles/MARIA.HTM

ohashi 16y ago

So... is she allowed to compete?

bediger 16y ago

Doesn't this kind of person put lie to the easy "marriage is between a man and a woman" viewpoint by blurring the distinction between "man" and "woman"? According to the article, this condition isn't even all that rare. Let's not even get started thinking about the warlike Xambia in the New Guinea highlands, or the guevedoces of Dominican Republic (http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html). The boundaries between genders, even at a physical level, seem pretty porous.

benpbenp 16y ago
In general, this is an invalid inference. Consider the heap paradox and the continuum fallacy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorites_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorites_paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy
araneae 16y ago
If by porous you mean far less than 1% of the population is of indeterminate sex, than yes. To me it seems pretty solid, compared to pretty much anything else you can tell about a person's biology just by looking at them.
Qz 16y ago
Androgen insensitivity is only one of a number of gender bending genetic disorders, there's about 5 more that are just as common.
natrius 16y ago
Marriage laws have plenty of logical issues even without this kind of issue. Can a woman who was born a man marry another woman? http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/may/04/tribblog-ag-asked-rule-transgender-marriage/ http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/may/04/tribblog-...
- jacquesm 16y ago
  Sure, why not. As long as they're both of age and it is consensual.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    I think people like the grandparent are looking for technical reasons to allow this sort of marriage under the current statutes. Of course anyone should be able to marry anyone else -- but the legal framework doesn't exist for that yet.
thristian 16y ago
I was pointed to an interesting article about that very topic the other day: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/marriage.html http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/marriage.html "In particular, in 1967, Polish sprinting champion Ewa Kłobukowska was disqualified (and banned from professional sports!) for being (probably) XXY on the basis of failing the Barr body test, as was Spain's hurdler Maria José Martínez Patino for being XY (CAIS) in the 1980s. Worse, during preparations for the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games, Austrian skier Erika Shinegger was genetically tested, determined to be XY (probably CAIS), and disqualified. This was a great shock to all three women, who were raised female and had no reason to think otherwise. (Erika subsequently did have a sex change, and is now Erik. Maria's competitive eligibility was reinstated in 1988. Ewa retired, married, and gave birth to a son.)"