What Is A Woman?
In a world that tries to change the definition of man and woman, what makes them unique?
Social media exploded some time ago when a Supreme Court nominee in the US couldn’t define what a woman was. Therefore, let us examine the question that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give a direct answer to: “What is a woman?”
THE HISTORICAL DEFINITION OF SEX
From the early 1880s, when chromosomes were first discovered, until 1955, the definition of a woman was straightforward: women had XX chromosomes, and men had XY chromosomes. This clear distinction held firm for decades. However, the discovery of De La Chapelle Syndrome in 1955 revealed that men can have XX chromosomes, and in 1972, Swyer Syndrome showed that women can have XY chromosomes.
These conditions challenged the traditional chromosomal definitions of man and woman, raising the question: should they redefine our understanding?
CHROMOSOMAL VARIATIONS
Beyond the typical XX and XY chromosomes, genetic variations exist. Women may have XO (Turner Syndrome, where the second X is partially or completely missing), XXX (Triple X Syndrome), XXXX (Tetrasomy X Syndrome), or even XXXXX (Penta X Syndrome).
For example, a woman with Swyer Syndrome, despite having XY chromosomes, requires lifelong hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). If started early, HRT allows her uterus to develop normally, enabling pregnancy through IVF, though her ovaries do not produce eggs.
Men also exhibit chromosomal variations. Conversely, a man with De La Chapelle Syndrome, despite having XX chromosomes, cannot give birth. These rare cases highlight the complexity of genetic conditions but do not necessarily redefine sex.
What makes a woman with Swyer Syndrome a woman, even though she has XY chromosomes? She has female anatomy. What makes a man with De La Chapelle Syndrome a man, even though he has XX chromosomes? He has male anatomy.
If it was good enough for the time of Christ to determine how someone would be called male or female, its standards should be good enough for us, too, regardless of genetic evidence.
THE RARITY OF INTERSEX CONDITIONS
The intersex condition, once called “hermaphroditism,” is often cited as affecting 1.7% of the population, primarily by activists referencing Fausto-Sterling’s estimate. However, more realistic data suggests this figure may be as low as 0.018% of births1.
While these conditions are scientifically significant, their rarity underscores that they are exceptions, not the norm, in determining biological sex.
THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SEX AND SIN
We know from the Bible that death entered the world through Adam (Romans 5:12). Before the Fall, there was no death, and the human DNA was perfect. Afterward, not only did sin enter the world, but also genetic degradation began, leading to aging and chromosomal abnormalities. Our ancestors once lived for nearly 1,000 years, but now human lifespans average around 100 years.
Genesis 5:2 states, “He created them male and female,” affirming that God assigns sex before birth, as further emphasized in Psalm 139:14, where we are described as wonderfully made. God has assigned your sex long before you were even born; we merely recognize what it is at birth.
Attempts to use genetic variations to broaden definitions of manhood or womanhood are misguided. Regardless of chromosomal anomalies, individuals are born male or female, and this remains unchangeable.
WHAT MAKES A MAN AND A WOMAN?
Throughout history, long before the discovery of chromosomes, humanity has recognized the distinguishing characteristics that set a man apart from a woman. Genetics can be fascinating, but for thousands of years, people knew exactly who was a female and who was a male.
Mutilate yourself beyond recognition, inject yourself with hormones from the opposite gender, and change laws to accommodate your sinful mind, but you will never be able to change God’s design.
Any attempts to alter how God has made us will ultimately be in vain. The way He made you is the way you will be facing Him when you die. You will stand as you are, not as you or the world may perceive you to be. Whatever change you have made in your body will be gone when you stand before Him (Philippians 3:21).
DON’T GET LOST IN THE SCIENCE
While the science of it all can be fascinating, don’t get lost in it. As A.W. Tozer wrote, “Science observes how the power of God operates, discovers a regular pattern somewhere and fixes it as a ‘law.’ The uniformity... [and] trustworthiness of God’s behavior in His world is the foundation of all scientific truth... Religion on the other hand... is concerned not with the footprints of God along the paths of creation, but with the One who treads those paths.2”
REAL LIFE APPLICATION OF HERMAPHRODITISM
This heading was added post-publication.
There was significant controversy surrounding the boxing event at the 2024 Olympic Games. The internet went wild because a “trans” boxer won a match against a woman, and everyone lost it over how a man could be allowed in the arena. While there are many conflicting reports about this “trans” person, one report caught my attention. It states that the “trans” in question is a woman with Swyer syndrome (female body with XY chromosomes).
If that’s true, then yes, she is a woman in every sense of the word, even able to get pregnant depending on how early she started HRT. But she’s not like other women—she’s technically a biological male due to her chromosomes and technically a biological female due to her physical anatomy. This exposes the flaw in the current use of the word “transgender.” The transgender movement is sneakily using the term to include not just those who pretend to be the opposite sex, but also hermaphrodites.
Should she be allowed to play sports? It seems unfair to the tiny 0.018% of the population who are hermaphrodites and want to compete professionally, but a female with an XY chromosomal abnormality shouldn’t compete with XX chromosome women.
A woman with Swyer Syndrome will always have physical advantages over XX women. She’ll have testosterone levels higher than any other woman, and if she started HRT late, she might’ve gone through puberty as a man, developing muscles like a man, putting her far above other women in such sports.
What if that boxer is actually a male with De La Chapelle Syndrome? Same deal: that person shouldn’t be competing against women because he would have an obvious advantage over females.
Both female and male hermaphrodites and men who pretend to be women, calling themselves “transgender,” have an advantage over XX women and should be banned from competing against them.
CONCLUSION
I’ll finish this blog by answering what that US Supreme Court nominee, who’s now a Supreme Court Justice, wouldn’t answer. A woman is a human being who was born female. She will always be female, no matter how she may feel about it. It was by God’s design that she was born female. Nothing she can do will ever change God’s design. Even if she has mutilated her body to appear to be a man, all her work will be undone once she leaves this world behind. In the end, she will face God as she is: female.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12476264
A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy: Drawing Closer To God Through His Attributes, (Reformed Church Publications, 2015), pp. 60-61