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If English makes 3 additional gender terms to accommodate for XXX, XXY, and XYY people, what would be the most realistic terms for those genders?

Last Updated: 19.06.2025 11:36

If English makes 3 additional gender terms to accommodate for XXX, XXY, and XYY people, what would be the most realistic terms for those genders?

Most babies aren't screened for their chromosome number. I have always assumed I'm XY, but I don't actually know, and I've never felt that it was urgent to check it. XXX and XYY individuals usually look outwardly like normal females and males, respectively. Geneticists use the terms "superfemale" and "supermale," but outside of technical language we probably should not use those words. XXX females do not necessarily look like Supergirl or Wonder Woman or Barbarella; they tend to be tall and may have (but don't always have) minor developmental delays, but most lead quite normal lives. XYY males do not necessarily resemble Superman or Jason Momoa; they also tend to be tall and sometimes show developmental delays, but not always. Many XXX and XYY individuals are never diagnosed. Since you can't pick XXX females or XYY males out of a crowd just by looking, there's probably no need for a special English term.

So the karyotypes XXX, XXY, and XYY aren't genders at all, and in non-technical English, there's no real need for specific words for them.

Most importantly: you're mixing up sex and gender. Sex refers to what the good professor Ken Saladin calls the "three Gs" -- genes, gonads, and genitals (which usually, but not always, align with one of the two typical patterns). Gender refers to what a person knows themself to be: according to Merriam-Webster, it is "the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex." There is a considerable and growing amount of evidence that gender is encoded in brain structures and can't be changed consciously. Usually, the "three G's" align with gender in typical ways: a kid with X and Y chromosomes, testes, and a penis will usually self-identify as a boy and do things that our culture says are "boy things." Usually. Not always.

Hello, I have a question about astral projection. I started to get interested in this a little while after my mum passed in april. I thought I may be able to see her and speak with her if I managed to achieve astral projection. Since this interest, every time i sleep on my back I go into sleep paralysis. However, I cant progress into astral projection because it is very scary for me as I feel like I'm suffocating when this happens. I panic and force myself to wake up. This only ever happened about once a year before this. It sometimes lasts a long time. This has happened about 3 times per week since my mum died, as mentioned on a previous post. I no longer try to go into it anymore(due to the suffocating feeling), but it still happens. I read that sleep paralysis is the pathway to astral projection. Why has this started to happen so frequently since simply taking an interest in it? Is this connected to the afterlife? I am concerned about it as I now cannot seem to stop this happening. Could it be my mum trying to communicate? Im asking due to more knowledge around this in this group.

XXY males have male genitals. The testes are small, and they're infertile, but I see no reason to call them anything other than "males." If you have to refer to their chromosomes specifically, you can say "Klinefelter's syndrome." But again, if you can't pick them out in a crowd without detailed physical examination, there's probably no need for a special English term.

You left out X0 (Turner's syndrome), XXXX, XXYY, XX with translocated SRY, XY with deleted or damaged SRY, XX with partial or complete androgen insensitivity, güevedoce. . . .