A Texas legislator drew ire when he declared during a floor discussion in H.B. 4042 that there are six, not two sexes that are acceptable in "modern science."
Legislators were surprised during a committee hearing on Texas House Bill 4042 when state Representative James Talarico claimed that there are six sexes in what he called a "spectrum," not two. The discussion centered on H.B. 4042, a bill that aims to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls' K-12 sports. Rep. Talarico argued that "the bill seems to think there are two."
"The one thing I want us to all be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes," Rep. Talarico said as he addressed Republican Rep. Cole Hefner, the New York Post reported. "The one thing I want us to all be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes."
The Ivy League-educated Democratic lawmaker went on to explain, "The point is that biologically speaking, scientifically speaking, sex is a spectrum, and oftentimes can be very ambiguous."
In an even more bizarre turn of events, Rep. Talarico, who has a bachelor Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts degree in education policy from Harvard University, ended his statements on "six sexes" with, "I am not well-versed in this issue area. I'm not a scientist, I'm a politician, a lot worse than a scientist."
Beth Stelzer, the president of Save Women's Sports, later testified and quickly rebutted the Ivy League-educated Democratic lawmaker's confusing statements, The Blaze reported. Stelzer cited several scientific studies that proved "the male advantage is immutable and that there are in fact two sexes they're dimorphic, XX/XY."
Stelzer tried to clarify Rep. Talarico's statements, explaining that "The other quote 'sexes' mentioned are disorders of sexual development that are variants of XX or XY chromosome. They are still disorders of male or female."
According to the Washington Times, Talarico's declaration that there are "six sexes" according to "modern science" is false, but he may have read about the concept in the Harvard's Office of BGLTQ Student Life guide from 2017 that read, "There are more than two sexes" or from a 2013 story by Joshua Kennon's "personal blog intended for academic, educational, and social engagement," titled "The 6 Most Common Biological Sexes in Humans."
Those opposed to House Bill 4042, which prevents transgender girls from participating in girls' K-12 sports, believe that the bill is aiming to solve a nonexistent problem, the Austin American Statesman reported. Bishop Suffragan Kathryn Ryan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas condemned the bill, saying it "invites further discrimination."
However, the bill's proponents believe it is vital maintaining fair competition and leveling the playing field for girls. More importantly, the bill will also protect girls from being forced to compete against biologically born male athletes. Republican Rep. Cole Hefner stressed that biological males have physical differences such as larger bodies, stronger muscles, and denser bones that will make a difference, especially in contact sports.
