What Is a Human?

“In fact, heterosexuality and the male-female binary can be observed across countless species. The onus of proof, therefore, is on those who claim that we are an exception.”

What is a woman? Today, a surprising number of people find it difficult to give a straight answer to this innocuous question. Many resort to circular definitions such as “a woman is anyone who identifies as a woman” or other such gender-ideological platitudes. Their confusion, however, appears to be rooted in something deeper than mere ideology: a lack of understanding or misinterpretation of human nature. So, what is a human?

Sex and Gender Identity

Modern notions of a gender identity distinct from bodily sex echo the dualist view of human nature common to many religions. In this view, human beings consist of a body and a soul. Indeed, the belief that a person can be born in the wrong body presupposes the existence of something like a “sexed soul.” But this ignores that our sexual identity emerges piecemeal as our male or female body matures. To put it more generally, there is no “self” independent of brain development, which is firmly grounded in physical reality.

Many gender ideologues even go so far as to deny that there are meaningful, objectively identifiable physical differences between males and females. The now widely used phrase “assigned female/male at birth” (instead of “biological female/male” or “born female/male”) adds to the impression of arbitrariness. It does not take a degree in biology to see, however, that biological sex differences are real and reflect our different reproductive roles as men and women. In fact, heterosexuality and the male-female binary can be observed across countless species. The onus of proof, therefore, is on those who claim that we are an exception.