Transforming identity, bigotry’s war against the reality of gender diversity

Transgender people make up about 0.5% of the general population. However, the percentage of transgender individuals tends to be higher among younger age groups. About 1.43% of those aged 13-17 and 1.31% of those 18-24 identify as transgender. 

The complexity of sex and gender development

For whatever reason, in the past decade or so, the religious right, aka evangelicals, in both Canada and United States, have taken a visceral hatred towards Trans people to the point they would gas them if they could. (and Trump may yet provide the opportunity).

There have always been Trans people though we didn't call them that. As a kid in the 50's I knew about sex-change operations. People had them when the inside didn't match the outside. My parents, who were very conservative Christians, thought nothing of it. My neice remembers in her early teens watching a CBC documentary on sex-change operations with them and they were amazed at what could be done.    

So now the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum is under assault by "Christians". "There is no hatred like Christian love". Banning any books that could possibly include sexual diversity, firing teachers and harassing librarians. Claiming Drag Queens and age-appropriate sex education is grooming kids. Yet kids taught from Kindergarten the proper names for genetalia and that they have the right to say NO, are far safer from grooming. The groomers and pedophiles are all people in authority. Teaching kids to obey adults unquestioningly sets them up for  exploitation.

Sex is a way of categorizing physical characteristics. Gender is a way of characterizing a social construct, often based on the physical characteristics but is rooted in cultural interpretations of them. And is basically how do you feel inside.

Sex: male, female, intersex. Gender: boy/man, girl/woman, tomboy, gender fluid, nonbinary, femme, transfem, masc, transmasc, depending on culture. Cree and Blackfoot cultures include man/woman and woman/man as genders. In India hijra is the third gender.

Different types of Intersex

It is totally expected from biology that there should be transgender people. Only people who never got past Grade 6 science class still think sex and gender are binary. 

Grade six science

The SRY gene on the Y chromosome blocks certain gene expressions on the X chromosome. If a Y chromosome doesn’t have that gene, the default is female. Some people may have XY chromosomes and the SRY gene, (or XX chromosomes and an SRY gene), but don’t develop as a typical male because their hormone receptors aren’t complete. And that’s a spectrum. 

Rebecca Helm, a biologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville US writes:

Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people talking about biological sexes and gender right now. Lots of folks make biological sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex.

If you know a bit about biology you will probably say that biological sex is caused by chromosomes, XX and you’re female, XY and you’re male. This is “chromosomal sex” but is it “biological sex”? Well...

Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to sex. It’s called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you “genetically male”. But is this “biological sex”?

Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now you’ve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?

A Y with no SRY means physically you’re female, chromosomally you’re male (XY) and genetically you’re female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means you’re physically male, chromsomally female (XX) and genetically male (SRY). But biological sex is simple! There must be another answer...

Sex-related genes ultimately turn on hormones in specifics areas on the body, and reception of those hormones by cells throughout the body. Is this the root of “biological sex”??

“Hormonal male” means you produce ‘normal’ levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of ‘male’ hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto ‘female’ hormones. And...

...if you’re developing, your body may not produce enough hormones for your genetic sex. Leading you to be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally non-binary, and physically non-binary. Well, except cells have something to say about this...

Maybe cells are the answer to “biological sex”?? Right?? Cells have receptors that “hear” the signal from sex hormones. But sometimes those receptors don’t work. Like a mobile phone that’s on “do not disturb’. Call and call, they will not answer.

What does this all mean?

It means you may be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally male/female/non-binary, with cells that may or may not hear the male/female/non-binary call, and all this leading to a body that can be male/non-binary/female.

Try out some combinations for yourself. Notice how confusing it gets? Can you point to what the absolute cause of biological sex is? Is it fair to judge people by it?

Of course you could try appealing to the numbers. “Most people are either male or female” you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you...

The reason I don’t have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal sex doesn’t match their physical sex and learning that in the middle of a 10-point assignment is JUST NOT THE TIME.

Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & identity, ask yourself: have you seen YOUR chromosomes? Do you know the genes of the people you love? The hormones of the people you work with? The state of their cells?

Since the answer will obviously be no, please be kind, respect people’s right to tell you who they are, and remember that you don’t have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect don’t have to be.

Note: Biological classifications exist. XX, XY, XXY XXYY and all manner of variation which is why sex isn't classified as binary. You can't have a binary classification system with more than two configurations even if two of those configurations are more common than others.

Biology is a shitshow. Be kind to people.

Grizzly 399, Queen of the Tetons. 1996-2024. Rest in Peace

 Grizzly 399, arguably the most famous grizzly bear in the world was struck and killed by an automobile on HIghway 89 in the Snake River Canyon, about 40 miles sosuth of Grand Teton National Park. She was traveling between Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. Her yearling male cub, Spirit, was with her but excaped unharmed. It is hoped he is old enough to survive on his own. They were likely headed to Pilgrim Creek in Wyoming to den up for the winter. She was cremated and her ashes spread along Pilgrim Creek in the Grand Teton national Park where she spent much of her life. 

Grizzley 399 and Spirit Sept 7, 2024

Highway 89 through Snake River Canyon

Pilgrim Creek, Wyoming

Grizzly 399  was born in a den in Pilgrim Creek, Wyoming, in the winter of 1996. She resided on federal land in a range of hundreds of miles throughout the Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. 

Named for the identity tag affixed by researchers to her ear, she amazed all by continuing to reproduce into old age. Unlike many grizzly bears, she was often seen near roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and creating traffic jams. Scientists speculate such behavior kept male grizzlies at a distance so they would not be a threat to her cubs. Some believe male grizzlies kill cubs to bring the mother into heat. She taught her cubs road safety and how to take advantage of teh annual elk hunt by watching for elk kills and feasting on the entrails left behind by hunters.

Grizzly 399 became famous in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, as she raised three cubs near the roads of the park during the summers of 2006 and 2007, giving thousands the opportunity to observe the family in the wild. The spring of 2011, she again emerged with another set of triplets. She had 18 known cubs in eight litters over the years, and some have been spotted with cubs of their own.

“People from around the world have followed grizzly bear 399 for several decades. At 28 years old, she was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” said Hilary Cooley, Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One of the most nateable photographers is Tom Mangelson whose book about 399 will be a collectors item. https://www.mangelsen.com/grizzly-399-bkgrizzly399.html

A great many videos of Grizzly 399 are available on YouTube. Greg Balvin and his wife Sandy are noted videographers of 399. https://www.youtube.com/@gregbalvin 

Other videos are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0qjQZY1CgE&list=PLvxs_j5q540b8Nus7j9MTbNiiucEHmnfU&index=1

In 2020, at the age of 24 years, she appeared with four cubs, highly improbable for a grizzly, especially one of her age. Then her fame really took off. Troopers were required to keep order on the highway and keep people at a distance from the bears. They reappeared in spring 2021 and 2022 when she sent them on their way.

399 and her quads 2020

399 and her quads 2020

She was, is, and will remain a legend to all who saw her or followed her on Social media.

A memorial was held for her on October 30, 2024 sponsored by PBS. 

 https://www.youtube.com/live/xlwERB_zxcEi=IRSbsvx9f1z31aGi  

A candlelight vigil was held in Jackson WY. Nov 2^nd in her memory

https://www.youtube.com/live/vbYL55b4X-A?si=l65xmGdkTYp-VDkL

Jericho Hotel Foxtrot Charlie, Whiskey Tango Alpha Foxtrot

 Trying to blog or actually do anything this past week has been difficult but at least I didnt go back to chewing my fingernails. Or drinking, as I am too cheap to guzzle booze at Canadian prices.

Of course Trump has declared himself the winner and at first glance it does appear to be the case. However with record voter turnout and 20 million missing ballots, it aint over until the fat man is in jail.

The media all act like voting was normal but Kamala Harris was not only running against Trump, she was runing against decades of Republican voter suppresssion. That didn't seem news worthy when results were being reported.

She is wise not to concede. Counting is not complete and recounting has not even begun. 

Just read that she conceded. Like Gore in 2000

Karolina Protsenko - Five years on

 Five years ago I published a bog post about Karolina Protsenko, a young violinist of Ukrinian background who busks on the street in Santa Monica. She is now 16 and has simply gained in skill, fame and family memebers. She now has two liitle brothers, the older one often "helps" . . https://dablogfodder.blogspot.com/2019/12/httpsfaerieworlds.html

There is no end of music videos to post. 

https://karolinaprotsenko.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQxHhJ8BftT6AD9_yLyn49A

https://www.youtube.com/@KarolinaProtsenkoViolin

The Loneliness of Old Age

" Grow old along with me! the best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made:" Rabbi ben Ezra by Robert Browning.

Sometimes things catch me unaware. I know 1974 was 50 years ago but this meme sort hit me hard, because it really felt like "just like that!" 

 

There was an article a while back, which of course I can't find now and the link below is not it, about how lonely centenarians feel. They may have friends, family, an active social life, yet there is an emptiness. Their peers have all died. They have buried both parents, a spouse, possibly a child, their siblings, several nieces and nephews, and too many friends and neighbors to count, longevity comes with a curse. It is the dull ache of loneliness — reflected in every framed family portrait; every personalized calendar; every faded snapshot stuck on the side of the fridge. All those people are gone, and they're still here.

It comes with the knowledge that for all they have experienced, there is no one left to share it with. Maybe that is the hardest part. The solitude of unshareable experience. My mother had couins that tipped the hundred, as did my father, one of whom is still alive. I wish I could sit down with her and ask about how she feels being so old.

I need another 23 years to hit 100. My FB friend Natalie and I have an agreement that when we hit the magic number we will tell people who ask the secret that we ate a pinecone every day for 40 years. 

The 70s were 50 years ago. The 60s were 60 years ago. Every time I listen to a song (and it is mostly when I listen to music) and realize it was 50 or 60 years ago that it was released, I feel lonely. Those were times that can never be repeated. Some of the people I knew then are still here but they too have changed. 

Global Transportation Hub Please No mo'e Moe

 “Conservative governments are such firm believers in private enterprise they will spend any amount of public dollars to make it work”.

The Sask Party has destroyed our Health Care and Education with gross underfunding (though they have money for private religious schools which need not follow government education standards). They have untold money for useless mega-projects such as the Global Transportation Hub, the Regina Bypass which costs Saskatchewan taxpayer roughly $10,000 per vehicle that uses it, and now an irrigation project that even KPMG’s feasibility study says cannot repay the principle costs in 50 years.

A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports, and ferry slips.

Regina’s Global Transportation Hub Industrial Park (GTH) is an integrated transportation and logistics inland port designed to encourage manufacturing, value-added processing, warehousing and distribution operations in the heart of Western Canada, according to their website.

GTH according to their website

The GTH became the subject of controversy over its involvement in a land purchase that disproportionately benefited businessmen with personal ties to Sask Party MLA Bill Boyd (Wikipedia).

Loblaws was the first business to locate in the GTH. Their warehouse is a disaster as they did not take into account the nature of Regina’s clay soil when pouring the floor. If, as rumour has it, they may have attracted attention of a large American regional chain with their own distribution centre, it would likely close if a merger occurs.

Several City of Regina (Emterra) and provincial crown corporations (SaskTel, SaskPower, Sask Liquor and Gaming Commission) have located there but don’t really count as location decisions were politically made.

The largest company to locate there is a Cargill canola crushing plant on the far west edge of the GTH. However, no modern large scale crushing plant will be built without access to both rail lines, e.g. the Yorkton crushing plants, so the government must build a spur from CPKC and CN to the plant to allow unit trains. The government built a CPKC (South) rail spur to create an intermodal terminal for container transfer.   Now it must extend it to the Cargill plant and build a spur from the CN line to the Cargill plant - at what cost?. I would love to know why Cargill located there. What did they pay for the land? How much are they paying for utilities? The government is paying for the rail connections.

GTH showing location of Cargill plant and the CPKC rail spur and intermodal terminal

Please, in the upcoming election, No MOE, no mo’e.

Of Doctors and Dentists

 Canada has a nonrefundable Disability Tax. I dont qualify as I get all my tax back every year anyway. I need more income. But for fun, I made a list of all my disabilities. Then I wondered how it is I am still alive. But it does explain why I seem to be doctoring all the time. Once I see a cardiologist I will have seen every specialist but a gynocologist and an oncologist. 

Last week was no exception as I went for a CT scan. And also to a dentist. I had two extractions last year and one filling. In September I had two more extractions and a filling. Oct 2 I had a root canal and an extraction. I was 2.5 hours in the dental chair. The extraction took over an hour and a half. The 25 mm (1") root refused to budge and came out one small piece at a time. My dentist did an expert job and I have no quarel with him, only with my genetics as my father's teeth were the same way. 

My dentist was exhausted when he finished. I said that I expected he would sleep the Sleep of the Just that night, though others prefer the sleep of the just after. My jaw still aches and I take pain killers at night to sleep

My plan is to post on my blog one day and then read all the blogs I follow the next day. My energy this week was at an all time low so I didnt read anyone's blog. I managed to walk the dog every day. I promise to do better. Though there is a saying attributed to a member of the Soviet Politburo, "We tried to do better but the result was just the same". For some reason Tanya quotes that to me every so often.

Speaking of dogs, Lucky is racist.  Dog PAAWS provide volunteer dog walkers for old people who need them. I need a relief walker whenever I get my knee replacement and my cataracts removed. The organizer is an 84 year old woman who taught English in refugee camps around the world. She found a volunteer and brought him to our house one evening to meet us and Lucky. The volunteer is a second year pre-veteriany student from India with dog training experience. 

Lucky acepted the woman immediately and then took 5 minutes of barking before he accepted Dev. Dev is brown. Lucky has only seen non-white people in the dog park where he ignores them. In our home apparently it is a different matter. Lucky didn't phase Dev at all and we have been walking several times together now. Dev can run with him which I cant and Lucky loves that. But he still takes a minute to accept him when he arrives at our door. What a Doofus.

Lucky with his favourite toys - tennis balls to catch on the bounce