Rulings and Realities: A Spectrum Too Vast to Cage (Sex & Gender)
- El Amethyst
- Apr 19
- 9 min read
They did it again.
Another ruling handed down by those who do not live the realities they claim to define. Another tightening of the edges — as if identity can be carved cleanly into two neat halves. Male. Female. Period.
But life doesn’t work like that.
And neither does gender, sex or love.
Last night, I found myself wide awake, searching the corners of the internet, pulling together pieces of science and sociology, trying to make sense of how to articulate the vastness of gender and sex as a spectrum. My mind raced through studies, articles, and personal accounts, attempting to find the words to communicate what feels so clear in my soul, but so difficult to pin down in the face of those who believe identity can be boxed in, measured, and legislated.
I read about the hormonal diversity of the human body, the intersex people who exist between the binary, the sociological shifts in how societies have understood gender throughout history. I thought about the complexity of the mind-body connection — how gender is not just biology, but also identity, expression, and experience. It's messy, it’s fluid, it’s expansive. And yet, here we are again, fighting to explain why this is not only real, but essential.
What this ruling does — beyond its immediate harm — is press upon us the urgent need to speak. To unpack the difference between sex and gender. To honour the lives that exist outside the binary, and those that move through it differently.
Because yes, we’ve talked about this before.
But they weren’t listening.
As a queer woman, and as a mother to two beautiful non-binary adults who were assigned female at birth, I know these lines are more than abstract. I’ve watched my children navigate a world that keeps trying to box them back in. I’ve seen the courage it takes to live in one’s truth when institutions cling to simplicity.
But gender is not simple. It’s not static.
It’s breath.
It’s movement.
It’s the space between knowing and becoming.
Sex, too, is not the fixed truth they pretend it is. Biology is more nuanced than the schoolbooks ever told us — and far more expansive than the rulings allow.
The truth is, sex and gender are not static, binary categories. They are fluid, evolving aspects of human identity. A spectrum exists between male and female, and it stretches beyond those labels. This isn’t just about what’s on a birth certificate or in a medical textbook — it’s about lived experience, about the ever-changing expression of who we are and how we relate to ourselves and others. From intersex bodies to gender-fluid identities, sex and gender are intertwined yet distinct, full of variations that don’t adhere to one narrow set of rules.
What I want to say — gently, fiercely — is this:
You cannot legislate lived experience.
You cannot rule identity into submission.
And yet… they try.
And we resist.
In homes and in classrooms, in the quiet of therapy rooms and the defiant art shared online, people are talking. Queer people, trans people, parents, allies, lovers, friends — we’re expanding the conversation. We’re widening the lens. We’re reclaiming truths that are ancient, indigenous, soft, loud, messy, and sacred.
And it matters.
Even when it feels like screaming into the wind, it matters.
Because the conversation they try to end?
It’s still blooming.
Right here.
In us.
There is a grief in this. Let’s not pretend otherwise. A deep, exhausted grief at having to defend our right to be, over and over again.
But beneath that grief is fire.
And that fire lights a path.
I am not trans. I don’t speak for those who are. But I love people who live beyond the binary. And I know the tenderness, the strength, and the truth of their lives.
So this is not a theoretical debate.
This is personal.
This is my children.
This is my community.
This is me.
You — who are non-binary, trans, gender-expansive, questioning, fluid, or quietly undefined — you don’t need permission to exist. You are not a mistake. You are not a disruption.
You are part of the tapestry.
A vital part.
They etch their limits in law,
draw lines to contain us.
But we were never meant to be contained.
We grow — like wildflowers through concrete.
To understand the full harm of rulings that attempt to narrow identity into binary terms, it’s vital to first grasp the distinction between sex and gender — and how both exist on a spectrum.
Biological sex, often assumed to be fixed and binary, is in fact a complex interplay of multiple factors:
Chromosomes (XX, XY, but also variations like XXY, XYY, XO, and mosaic combinations)
Hormones (levels of estrogen, testosterone, and others vary widely across individuals)
Gonads and internal reproductive organs
External genitalia
And secondary sex characteristics that develop over time.
These factors don’t always align neatly, and they don’t define who someone is. Intersex people — whose bodies don’t fit typical definitions of male or female — remind us that sex, too, is not binary. Current estimates suggest that around 1.7% of the population is intersex, roughly the same proportion as natural redheads.
Gender, by contrast, is social, cultural, and deeply personal. It includes how we experience ourselves, how we express that identity, and how the world responds. It can evolve over time and includes non-binary, agender, genderfluid, trans, and two-spirit identities — none of which are “new,” though the language may be. Gender is not performance. It is presence.
So when legislation insists on collapsing all of this into two boxes — male and female — it erases the complexity of life itself.
And this erasure doesn’t only affect trans and non-binary people.
When a society becomes obsessed with policing gender, anyone who doesn’t “look” like a narrow ideal — in voice, build, behaviour, or appearance — can become a target.
This is not about safety.
This is about control.
And it puts all women at risk — trans or not.
There’s a deep hypocrisy here: how often we hear “Not all men!” when discussing male violence — but some of the same people shout “All trans women!” when discussing bathrooms or safe spaces. That contradiction exposes the bias: it’s not protection they seek, but exclusion.
Let’s also be clear: trans women fighting for their rights does not erase the long legacy of cis women’s activism. We do not lose our history by making space for others to speak theirs. The two are not at odds. In fact, they often share common roots — resistance, survival, and the pursuit of bodily autonomy.
It is also true that biological sex still matters — particularly in medicine, reproductive health, and certain social contexts. We will always need language to talk about ovaries, uteruses, prostates, chromosomes, and hormones. Honouring the fact that biological females have faced centuries of gendered oppression doesn’t mean denying the existence or rights of trans people. It simply means that complexity must be held, not erased.
And finally — because nuance is necessary — having a sexual preference for certain genitals is not inherently transphobic. Attraction is complex. What becomes harmful is when that preference is weaponised to shame or dehumanise others. Respecting personal boundaries doesn’t mean invalidating someone’s gender.
There is space for all of this —
The science,
The stories,
The sex,
The soul.
Always has been.
And it’s not new.
Many cultures have long recognised more than two genders:
Two-Spirit people across many Indigenous North American communities,
The Hijra in South Asia,
The Fa’afafine of Samoa,
The Bakla in the Philippines,
The Waria in Indonesia,
The Sworn Virgins of the Balkans,
And many more — each with their own traditions, language, and spiritual meaning.
These identities were respected. Sometimes feared, sometimes revered — but never denied.
And as for Pride? It was trans women of colour who helped spark that fire.Marsha P. Johnson. Sylvia Rivera. Miss Major.
The bricks weren’t just thrown — they were carried by those long told they didn’t belong anywhere.
Their fight doesn’t diminish ours.
It widens the path.
One final note: From grief to action
Some nights, the weight of it all won’t let me sleep.
The ruling.
The erasure.
The growing gap between those with power and those simply trying to live their truth.
So I did what I always do — I wrote.
But this time, not just a blog or a poem.
I wrote to my MP.
Because truth deserves a place not just in art, but in policy.
Because trans rights are human rights.
Because silence is not an option.
You’ll find that letter below — not just as a record of my own resistance, but as an invitation. To speak. To write. To act. To not let this moment pass quietly.
If it helps you write your own, let it.
If it makes you feel less alone, let it.
If all it does is bear witness — then that too, is enough.
With love and fire
El
Dear Mr. Gethins,
I am writing to you not only as your constituent in 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈, but as a mother, a survivor, a sociologist in training, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I am deeply distressed by the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling that legally redefines “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 to mean only someone who is biologically female at birth—thereby excluding trans women from legal protections in single-sex spaces.
This ruling sends a chilling message. It legitimises exclusion, fosters misunderstanding, and opens the door for further rollback of hard-won rights. It is not justice—it is legalised discrimination.
As someone who survived male violence, I want to be very clear: I have never felt threatened by a trans woman. The danger comes from predatory cisgender men, emboldened by the very patriarchal, misogynistic and capitalist systems that this ruling strengthens. These same structures that harm women also marginalise trans people, people of colour, disabled people, and even the natural world. They create a culture of disposability, of division, of control.
I am a mother to non-binary children, and a long-term unpaid carer to my disabled partner. My children—now teens and young adults—live with disabilities too. The barriers we face as a family aren’t due to trans rights. They are rooted in systemic neglect, gendered violence, and the transmission of trauma through generations. Trans people are not the threat—inequality is.
As a student of sociology, I know that both sex and gender are spectrums, not fixed binaries. Modern science and lived experience confirm this (Ainsworth, 2015; Hildreth, 2023). The concept of “woman” cannot and should not be collapsed into one narrow biological box. Doing so does not protect women; it erases countless individuals from legal protection, safety, and dignity.
I urge you to:
1. Publicly affirm your support for trans and non-binary people and their right to safety, recognition, and protection under the law.
2. Push for reform of the Equality Act so that it reflects modern understandings of sex and gender as spectrums.
3. Reject narrow legal definitions that embolden exclusionary politics and dehumanise trans people.
4. Advocate for evidence-based, inclusive policymaking that reflects the lived realities of marginalised groups.
5. Address the root structural inequalities—patriarchy, capitalism, misogyny, racism, ableism, and environmental degradation—that harm women, LGBTQ+ people, carers, disabled people, and future generations.
We must not let fear and misinformation shape the laws that govern human rights. I am asking you—imploring you—not just to represent me, but to represent justice, compassion, and truth.
I would appreciate your response and clarity on your position regarding this ruling and the direction of equality policy in the UK and Scotland.
Yours sincerely
El
References & Further Reading
Ainsworth, C. (2015). Sex redefined: The idea of two sexes is overly simplistic. Nature.
A foundational article exploring how biological sex is not binary, but a spectrum influenced by hormones, chromosomes, and anatomy.
https://www.nature.com/articles/518288a
Hildreth, L. (2023). Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn’t Binary.
Breaks down current science on biological sex, including intersex variations and developmental factors beyond XX and XY chromosomes.
https://cadehildreth.com/gender-spectrum/
American Psychological Association. (2015). Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People.
Professional standards affirming gender diversity as valid, urging culturally competent care and policy inclusivity.
https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/transgender.pdf
GLAAD. Tips for Allies of Transgender People.
A practical guide for supporting trans people in respectful, affirming, and informed ways.
https://glaad.org/transgender/allies
PBS. A History of Pride and the Role of Black Trans Women.
Highlights the key role Black trans women played in early LGBTQ+ activism, including the Stonewall uprising.
Indian Health Service. (2022). Two-Spirit and Native LGBTQ Health.
Explores the Indigenous concept of Two-Spirit people, affirming the presence of gender diversity in Native traditions long before colonial contact.
https://www.ihs.gov/lgbt/twospirit/
UNESCO. (2022). Re-balancing the scales: gender equality in cultural life
Documents culturally specific understandings of gender beyond the binary in across the globe.
Sexual Health Alliance. The difference between sex and gender
An accessible explanation of how gender identity, expression, and sex assigned at birth differ — and why that matters.
https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/the-difference-between-sex-and-gender
Scientific American. (2018). Visualizing Sex as a Spectrum.
Uses infographics and case studies to show how even biological sex isn't a clean binary — covering chromosomes, hormones, and intersex traits.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/visualizing-sex-as-a-spectrum
The Trevor Project. (2023). Understanding Gender Identity.
Offers affirming resources for youth and allies to understand gender diversity, dysphoria, and the language people use to define themselves.
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/understanding-gender-identities-and-pronouns/
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