In Sex Isn’t Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary, Beans Velocci argues that biological sex is not a natural fact or stabile category, but a socially and historically constructed classification system congealed via powerful cultural discourses. Velocci explains that scientific ideas about sex have always been entangled with racism, colonialism, eugenics, and efforts to control reproduction and social hierarchy. Their project traces how researchers across fields such as zoology, gynecology, sexology, and trans medicine have continually redefined sex categories to preserve the gender binary, even when bodies and lived experiences don’t jive with it. We’ve linked you to an interview with Velocci about their book, in which they connect current anti-trans politics to said older scientific and racial logics regarding the category of biological sex.
Sex Isn’t Real?
