So I opened up next week’s Free Will Astrology column, and Irene Messina–who does the first read of the column–had left a note at the top of a column, noting that she had a question about these two sentences:

The average male owns 15 pairs of underwear, while the typical female has 21. (The other three genders average 25, 31 and 13, respectively.)

I am only, um, familiar with two distinct genders. So, being the crack investigative reporter that I am, I quickly did some elementary math and rushed off to Google, where I Googled the term “five genders.”

There were more than 2.3 million results.

Turns out there’s a belief in some circles that there are, in fact, five genders.

Here’s an excerpt from an article I found on the PBS show Nova’s Web site, by Anne Fausto-Sterling:

In 1993 I published a modest proposal suggesting that we replace our two-sex system with a five-sex one. In addition to males and females, I argued, we should also accept the categories herms (named after “true” hermaphrodites), merms (named after male “pseudohermaphrodites”), and ferms (named after female “pseudohermaphrodites”).

So, well, there you go. Check out that article to learn more, or just Google “five genders” if ya wanna learn more.

Thoughts?

This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2008.

7 replies on “Learning Something New Every Day”

  1. If GOD wanted there to be five genders, he would created men, women, men with womenly organs, women with manly organs, and some sort of in between mixture… then he would have prevented medical science from perfecting the complicated, painful and humiliating surgical procedures that artificially push three of the categories into the other two… or let’s face it the one (women). So, seeing as to how GOD, in his ULTIMATE WISDOM did NOT prevent medical science from advancing to the point where in the last forty years or so, we are able to mutilate the genitals of infants to create butchered versions of both sexes… Obviously, then, this is what GOD wants.

  2. On the other hand, according to the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (take it with a grain of salt), the five genders being argued for separation were not herms and merms, but
    “heterosexual men, heterosexual women, homosexual men, homosexual women, and transsexuals (those who have had sex change operations).”
    .
    Tricky thing, though: I couldn’t find the speech they are referencing the UN’s Habitat II (Istanbul, 1996) or supporting facts that acknowledge this portrayal is accurate.

  3. Why are we calling them “five genders”? I thought “gender” referred to social role?

    Isn’t the physiological term “sex”?

    Also, what are the percentage representation of the other genders? I would think they would be less than a half a percent.

  5. I’ve always wondered what gender is the one that corners you in your dorm room once every couple of days, brings up the topic, and then no matter what you say, think, feel or do they get all pissed off at how intolerant you are. Then why did you bring it up in the first place, I don’t give care what you are or do! You are the one who brings it up constantly. You are the one who gets furiously angry at anyone who tries to understand you! Why don’t you just lock yourselves in your room with your Smiths CDs and leave me alone!

  6. THAT IS A CROCK OF BEER NUTS BECAUSE IF THEY COUNTED YOUR UNDERPANTS THEY WOULD HAVE TO SNEAKING IN AND BE ARRESTED WITH THEIR HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR THAT IS DOWN YOUR DRAWERS. THE REASON THE FIVE GENDERS HAVE FIFTEEN UNDERWARES IS BECAUSE IT IS A MULTIPLE OF THREE AND THERE ARE THREE HOLES IN YOUR UNDERPANTS ONE FOR EACH LEG AND ONE TO UNBUTTON IN THE OUTHOUSE. IT DOES ALSO NOT ALLOW FOR BOXERS OR BRIEFS WHICH IS A CHOISE BETWEEN PUGILISM OR THE LEGAL PROFESSION WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO SCALE IT BY EDUCATION LEVEL FOR YOUR PANTY RATING.

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