Student: Hi. I thought you had some
really good points, but I just wanted to
ask you about hybrids and stuff
because I'm here studying biology,
and so we've learned a lot about
genetic mutations, and disorders, and
such, and there actually are
hermaphrodite humans beings,
where they have both ovaries and
testicles. And that... I have it right here.
It's actually a medical condition
called "ovotesticular disorder."
And there are also other genetic
disorders where people are born with
XXY, just X, or just Y, and such.
And while it may seem rare,
there are hundreds of thousands of
people born with this each year.
And so, going off of your fairytale
hybrid people, they do exist, and
I'm just wondering how that
would play into your view of
there being a spectrum
of gender because...
Walsh: These are people
who can get pregnant
and also impregnate someone else?
Student: Yes. Hermaphrodites
have both ovaries and testicles.
Walsh: No. No. No.
[Audience chattering]
Walsh: If such a person existed,
I would not include that part
in my next speech, but...
[Audience laughter]
Walsh: ...such a person does not exist.
Now, intersex and gender deformities,
as you talked about, do exist, and
I expected someone to bring that up
in the Q and A. I think it's a fine
point to bring up. Two things
I would say to that. Number one,
that actually has nothing to do
with transgenderism because if when
we're talking about transgender,
we're talking specifically about
intersex people, then we would
just say "intersex." But with
transgender, most of the time,
we're talking about men who don't
have any deformities, they are just
straight-up men, clearly, and they
are identifying as women.
So even if I agree that what you're
talking about is some sort of
exception, that actually would have
nothing to do with the transgender
topic. But I don't think it is an
exception because, as I said,
I think a true resident of the middle
circle of the Venn diagram
would be someone who has the
reproductive capabilities of
both genders, and no one like that
exists. I mean, not to be crude,
but there isn't anyone who can get
themselves pregnant, right?
That doesn't exist in the
human kingdom, anyway.
So I think what you're talking about
there are people who have deformities,
and so in their case, it would be more
difficult than usual to determine
what their actual biological sex is
because the usual indicators aren't
there or aren't as obvious, but that
doesn't mean that they don't have
a biological sex. It's just not as clear.
