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other arrangements are possible. Some people have a third chromosome, and thus are 47,XY or 47,XX. Other people have only one, meaning they are 45,Y or 45,X. Other variations, such as 47,XXX and 47,XYY can also happen; a person can even be 49,XXXXY. It’s rare, but a person also be 46,XX/46,XY, which indicates that some cells have one arrangement and some have the other. And a very small number of men are actually 46XX, due to what’s known as a translocation of the Y chromosome (see diagram on page 10).

GENETICS AND SEX

The interplay between genetics and biological sex is extremely complicated, and this book can only skim the surface of this highly technical topic. If you are interested in delving deeper into the genetic aspects of males and females, you might want to start with an article on the Scientific American website, “Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia: Actual Research Shows That Sex Is Anything but Binary” (https://blogs. scientificamerican.com/voices/stop-using phony-science-to-justify-transphobia).

Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

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