Queer theory and how it reinterprets gender identity are about advocacy and politics not science. California seems to be the centre of the trend towards denying that gender exists and that sexual orientation is entirely caused by societal imprinting. Some people even claim that the use of pronouns like ‘he’ or ‘she’ is a type of violence which is an extreme interpretation, it seems to me.
Genetic variation in traits makes evolutionary sense but the concept of race does not; so-called races do not have clearly defined niches or biological roles. Race is a social construct, something we project onto people; genetic variation is much more subtle and continuous.
On the contrary, gender does have a strong role defined by evolution – we have male and female roles and fitness for sex drives our evolutionary success. Gender does exist in scientific understanding. Yes there are people who do not fit into this polarised or binary framework but those are exceptions rather than the rule. The exceptions may even have evolved and may even have evolutionary advantages in certain areas, such as child rearing. Nonetheless there is a biological polarity in gender for the most part. No we should not persecute nor discriminate against those who do not fit into this binary gender system which evolution has given us and we should accept self-identity just as we should accept biological truth.
Liam Mor's Blog