Everyone these days seems to be invoking “science,” as if science were black and white and settled. Scientists acknowledge that what we know is always changing as new data comes in. That’s why we call science “empirical,” because it depends on what we observe and whether those observations can be replicated and whether different observers get results they can agree on.

As for gender (or any human trait), it is certainly not simple. There are at least two genders. But there is also intergender (which used to be called “hermaphrodite”), and that has been acknowledged since ancient times.

A good example is the South African Olympic athlete Caster Semenya, whose birth certificate says “female” but who doesn’t have a uterus and does have undescended testicles. She has identified as female her whole life, She also has a rare condition called 5a-reductase 2 deficiency and natural testosterone levels in the male range.

Incidentally, both males and females naturally have both testosterone and estrogen and naturally overlap in normal ranges of these hormones. In fact, male babies have a teenage level spike in testosterone before 7 months, which is then converted into estradiol, which then shapes the male brain and male behavior. Some girls will have high enough levels of testosterone that they will have body size and musculature resembling boys.

So, bottom line: we need to keep an open mind and be continually learning the complexities that the good Lord has created in this world we live in.

David Doreau
Waterville