Harvard-Educated Doctor Explains To Riley Gaines That There Really Are Only Two Sexes

Riley Gaines welcomed Dr. Carole Hooven onto the latest episode of the 'Gaines For Girls' podcast to discuss a number of topics including transgender athletes, testosterone levels, and the term intersex.

Dr. Hooven, a Harvard Ph.D. holder, is an expert in gender ideology and explained to Gaines some of the confusions around intersex before making it clear that intersex conditions affect males or females, not a third sex.

"This misunderstanding is totally understandable," Dr. Hooven began. "Intersex as a term is not particularly helpful, in my view. The language around these differences or disorders in sexual development (DSDs) is sensitive and people disagree about the proper terms to use."

"Intersex really implies that one is between two sexes and that's why I think it's not helpful, because in the overwhelming majority of these DSDs, over 99%, they affect either males or females."

"I said something about what male and female mean, and it's important to understand that there because then you can understand why there isn't a third sex"..."If you look across all of these sexually reproductive species, there are two reproductive classes, and we're one of them as mammals. It's very clear in mammals that there are males and females that must combine their gametes to create an offspring."

After explaining that there is no third sex, Gaines and Dr. Hooven discussed that reducing testosterone levels in biological men doesn't completely eliminate the advantage male athletes have gained during puberty.


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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.