Biological sex is neither binary nor a spectrum – a biologist explains how it’s multidimensional

The Conversation reports that a biologist at the University of Oklahoma is challenging a widespread misconception: that biological sex is binary—simply male or female with no overlap. Ari Berkowitz explains that sex-related biological traits actually overlap significantly. Some females have more coarse body hair than some males; some males have larger breasts than some females. Even primary sex characteristics like chromosomes, gonads, and genitals don't always align in the same person; someone might have a Y chromosome but develop female-typical genitals, for example. Intersex variations—where sex traits diverge from typical patterns—occur in roughly zero point two to six percent of the population. Rather than viewing sex as a spectrum, Berkowitz argues it's better understood as multidimensional, like a mosaic where each person's traits fall at different points, some more typically female, some more typically male, others intermediate.

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