Biological sex is all over the news lately. Whether it's via President Trump's <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/">executive order </a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/21/nx-s1-5300880/trump-passport-policy-trans-gender-intersex-nonbinary">affecting passport policy</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/21/nx-s1-5305282/trans-inmates-federal-prison-policy-transfers">moving trans inmates between prisons</a> or <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5290056/differences-between-transgender-cisgender-athletes-science">shifting the requirements for women in sports</a> — appeals to "the biological reality of sex" are constant. In truth, biological sex, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1317504111">like a lot of scientific categories</a>, is nuanced. It's defined by multiple criteria – including chromosomal, chemical and physical factors – that can, and do, change over a person's lifetime. And it's a reality that's definitely not limited to male and female. Want the episode to cover more nuances of human biology? Let us know by emailing <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org">shortwave@npr.org</a>! We're also always open to other story ideas you have. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave">plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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