You could, if you were identifying as an NKVD officer at the time, make an old socialist kneel in front of a trench and introduce him/her to Comarade Nagant.
Yes, we are agreeing on that point, the chromosomes never lie. So letâs start testing everyone in the world and Iâm willing to bet plenty of big burly men will suddenly discover that theyâre not quite who they thought they were 
Chromosomal abnormalities that would put people on the intersex spectrum are FAR more common than most people realise. The old number thatâs been discussed to the end of the earth was the same percent as there are redheads in the world. While intersex and trans arenât one and the same there is a significant overlap when it comes to the chromosomal aspects of the intersex umbrella. Perhaps if trans people were actually tested and it was discovered that right down to their chromosomes they were not a binary sex they might start to get a bit more respect and support from the world at large, although in reality I suspect bigots would just find some other reason to hate them for being âa man in a dressâ or such. The point is that we are still at the earliest stages of understanding what makes us who we are.
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Fascinating stuff Kirstea. You obviously know much more about the biology of this than I do, but what you say fits well with what I do know from the philosophy of science side - or for that matter the philosophy of artâŠ
Placed, so, beyond the compass of change,
Perceived in a final atmosphere;
For a moment final, in the way
The thinking of art seems final when
The thinking of god is smoky dew.
We divide the world up into neat concepts - âmenâ, âwomenâ - but these are only concepts, not reality (not âthings in themselvesâ). Reality is a whole lot more messy - everything shades into everything else - the closer you look, the fuzzier the image.
Kirstea, have you got any references for all of this? I know a lot of theorising has gone on about sexuality, but - unfortunately - a lot of it is informed by ideology rather than science, and most of it seems to be experimental.
For example, the claim that being intersex is just as common as being a redhead (one often advanced with laudable motives - until you realise itâs based on a flawed definition of âintersexâ) is rebutted here: Intersex Is Not as Common as Red Hair - by Colin Wright (essentially, 88% of the 1.7% figure claimed as âintersexâ is an condition called Nonclassical or Late-Onset Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, which you can find out about here: Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Types, Symptoms, and More).
Yes, thatâs why I said
To indicate that that particular statistic has been the hot topic of debate over 30 odd years. I had assumed that was enough to suggest it wasnât set in stone.
Iâm sure I could find references yes since it isnât information I have just come up with, but to be honest I have no idea as of today what they are as I havenât noted down the papers and studies Iâve read over the years as itâs not my area of specialism and practicing law you end up collecting more than enoughâthings that might prove usefulâ as it is 
. I am not a geneticist, nor despite appearances perhaps even very interested in this subject. I just do my best to learn and understand and support marginalised and attacked communities in our society and so do research, but since as I say this isnât a particular focus of mine I canât really produce half a dozen good references for you immediately Iâm afraid. I just attempted in my comment to not claim certainties about anything since, as I keep saying, we are still at the earliest stages of our understanding in this area. I do know a couple of lawyers who may so I could shoot them an email actually and see whether they can point me to the best sources.
Colin Wright and his magazine Quillette though need to be treated with some circumspection - they are part of the âIntellectual Dark Webâ - an informal network of journalists and youtubers, some of whom like Wright have science qualifications, but few of whom are actually scientists or academics. They are not taken seriously outside the US.
â Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?â
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It is a shame this has accidetnly been moved onto the wrong thread!! Can be easy to do. @james are you able to split the gender discussion from the end of this thread back onto the correct thread?
No, thatâs not a function that is available to me, maybe start a new topic?
or delete it and repost in the correct topic
Was it them who told you Nesrine Malik was a bloke? 
Itâs the strangest thing, I have a memory of articles by Nesrine Malik with a photo of a man next to that name. And yet they are unquestionably a woman. It is quite spooky.
I momentarily confused Kenan and Nesrine Malik in passing about 20 posts ago. It was explicitly just a âby the wayâ. Letâs not pretend it was significant in the discussion. I prefer to stick to sound argument and evidence (and avoid the ad hominem temptation - itâs always best).
But I donât think youâll find much of either sound argument or evidence in Intellectual Dark Web sources - they really are pretty notorious for fake news you know - so at the very least itâs best to flag them for possible bias.
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Kenan and Nesrine both write for The Guardian - Iâve confused them before myself actually.
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This is from 2018âŠ
I must admit I was surprised you thought it worthwhile to « correct » what Iâd said (doubly so when you plainly hadnât checked, unlike you!). Not your best point in this discussion!
Are we any closer to working out what is Left and what is Right?
I was just trying to be helpful - as I was in my previous answer above to the 'what is Left and what is Right? question. I donât think the discussion has moved beyond this has it?
I donât think itâs possible to understand the meaning of political terms like âleftâ and ârightâ without a broad perspective, historically and geographically.
Their origin was the seating positions of the privileged (nobility and clergy) versus the commoners in the états généraux at the start of the French revolution, and this remains my touchstone:
- on the right = the privileged, and defenders of the status quo that privileges them;
- on the left = those without privilege, who therefore challenge the status quo
Each side of course at different times and places embraces a range of ideas and beliefs - on the right in developed anglo-saxon societies until recently, for example, the belief in âneo-liberalismâ (the marketisation of all aspects of life) was strong; on the left recently âidentity politicsâ, pushing aside âclass struggleâ - but these are mere contingencies, subject to change in different times and places. The underlying values of right (defending a status quo that privileges some people over others) versus left (challenging that status quo) change much more slowly, and hardly at all geographically.
Apparently Michel Barnier is âright-wingâ -
Always came across as a sensible and pragmatic chap, curbing immigration is one of his aims which is rather ironic given his previous job.
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Do you think he means Freedom of Movement or immigration from third country nationals?
Or are you saying he could be accused of taken a leaf out of Farageâs and co playbook as a vote winner?