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

Each person is a mosaic of sex-related and postpubertal biological traits that vary in their degree of femaleness and maleness.

By: Ari Berkowitz, University of Oklahoma, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 17, 2026

Words: 1,247

Last Updated: 8 hours, 10 minutes ago

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By Ari Berkowitz, University of Oklahoma

Many people recognize that gender – how a person identifies, presents themselves and is perceived – has nuances. Some people identify and present as women, others as men, and still others as nonbinary.

But there is a common misconception that biological sex – usually determined by a person’s sex chromosomes, gonads (ovaries or testes) or genitals – is binary. This idea assumes that everyone is biologically either female …

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