Dystopia Land discussion

What if humankind had evolved with three genders instead of two?

This is the topic of the first book of the We Three trilogy, a sci-fi thriller about the life of Dr. Lyin Lawrence, whose New York apartment had been burnt in 2033 in an attempt to murder hom. (hOm, not hIm, as there are no males/females! ^^)

A mixture of thriller, romance and fantasy, in this first novel we will come to know how the world would have been if humankind had evolved in such a drastically different way.

Dr. Lawrence is the inventor of the GAIAA Protocol, the cure for the lethal Early Kileer Diseases epidemy that flooded in the world back in 2015. But now somebody is after Dr. Lawrence for still unknown reasons and hon must live hidden from everybody while writing hor memoir.

What happened in Dr. Lawrence's life that brought hom to hor discovery? Why are there people who still hate hom? Will they find whom is after hom?

Tomorrow and Sunday it will be free for download on Amazon! :)

We have more than two genders. This does sound interesting though.

Indeed! What if there were "biologically" more that two? I mean, how many more issue would we have? How would relationships be? How may other issues? :)

There are 'biologically' more than two. I presume by biology you mean sex rather than gender? Some intersex people define themselves as male or female whereas others may not. Intersex people are 'born' intersex. For some this manifests itself 'biologically' through chromosomes and for others it's shown through differences corresponding between gonads and genitals. Many of these issues are realities for intersex people as well as for non binary people and some trans people that do not define into the gender binary some or all of the time.

Jamtheory wrote: "There are 'biologically' more than two. I presume by biology you mean sex rather than gender? Some intersex people define themselves as male or female whereas others may not. Intersex people are 'b..."

You're right. I was referring to the genetic aspects. What struck my mind when I had the idea of this story was that maybe the world could have really evolved with a three-chromosomes system (ok, I know there are some animal species that have a X, Y, Z system of sex chromosomes like certain chickens, but hey are the exceptions that confirm the rule, aren't they?). Could you imagine how many intersex variants there would be? :)
I would be satisfied if this story could push readers to confront themselves with the concept that, as you said, there are more than two genders and there could have been even more "if only", if only nature had decided differently.
Now, starting from this concept: could you imagine all sociology, psychology, politics, ... whatever: how would have it been?? :D

Both words sex and gender translate as one word in my language. What is the difference in English between those? Pardon my ignorance.


Joseph wrote: "Now, starting from this concept: could you imagine all sociology, psychology, politics, ... whatever: how would have it been?? :D "

That is interesting, I'm sure history would have been very different as well as our mentality, but in which direction that is difficult to say

Oh sorry to be so English focused. In English sex relates to biological or physiological characteristics related to terms such as male, female and the many varieties of intersex. Gender on the other hand refers to the socially and culturally constructed categories that include but are not limited to masculine, feminine, man, woman, non binary and trans.

In your novel(s?) are these many variations of intersex people (as we have today) living in an accepting society? Are they in a majority or a minority? Do they live, as intersex people do today, in societies that do not legally recognise their existence or are they 'equal' citizens? It's a great intention to challenge people's gender prejudices - is it entirely fiction or have the lives of an gender nonconforming, trans or intersex people influenced you? Are there differences legally, socially or culturally between the many sexes in your novel? This does sound very interesting. Have you ever read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides?

Jamtheory wrote: "Oh sorry to be so English focused."

Oh, don't apologize, I need to develop my language skills and obviously my gender knowledge as all those terms are new to me. I know that there are biologically more then two genders but did know it is such a wide spectrum. In one article it says "intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn’t found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied."

Is this all a recent information or I've never heard of something like that before. When speaking of internal differences do they mean about organs that are part of the sexual functioning?

My apologies to the author for highjacking his topic with my chit-chat.

Hey that's ok. Intersex identities have often been poorly acknowledged if at all and these terms can be new to many people. Most countries including the UK still force the registration of intersex children as either male or female when they get a birth certificate that you have to get I think within the first few months after the birth. There are some good activist organisations like OII that help to counter some of the discrimination intersex people face and work to change laws and get more recognition. As for internal differences - yes some intersex people may have differences associated with sexual activity. Someone may have genitals usually associated with people assigned male at birth such as a penis and they may also have a womb associated with people assigned female at birth. This indeed may not be discovered until puberty or later. For others they may have genitalia that is atypical in some way. Others may have no obvious or less obvious signs and it is discovered due to chromosone testing - this is something that has happened to intersex athletes who have had their sex called into question after winning sporting events.

Jamtheory wrote: "Others may have no obvious or less obvious signs and it is discovered due to chromosone testing - this is something that has happened to intersex athletes who have had their sex called into question after winning sporting events. "

WOW, but how can you test someone if you are not recognizing officially that they might not fit the standard sex categories?

Anyway I will do some more reading, It's a fascinating topic, but I also another issue that our society doesn't know how to deal with.

Another question, I hope it is not considered insensitive, I am too nosy sometimes. Is intersex considered a genetical or other condition? (As in 'illness')

That is a good question. I know for the athletes they defined as women but the sporting judges suspected they were male so they were testing for evidence of that rather than intersex but you're right it's hypocritical not to recognise them as intersex and penalise them for it. Intersex is considered a sex and a biological category. It isn't considered an illness although historically it's something medical professionals have treated like an illness or something to 'fix'.

Jamtheory wrote: "That is a good question. I know for the athletes they defined as women but the sporting judges suspected they were male so they were testing for evidence of that rather than intersex but you're rig..."

Thank you for answering all my questions. :)

No apology needed! Every intelligent discussion is most welcome indeed. If my writing helps people ask themselves questions and become more aware of such realities, I will be satisfied!

From an embryological standpoint, we all start our existence as female. What brings males to become males is the action of androgens and other hormones which act by transforming our phenotype into masculine. The subject of intersex as it has been pointed out is most interesting and relevant in this discussion. It refers to the fact that from starting as a XY in our cell up to becoming a man there is a hell lot of aspects to keep into consideration. There are a bunch of clinical conditions such as Morris' syndrome, for example, in which a child is born with a XY chromosomal set but he/she grows up as a girl because he/she lacks the cell receptor for androgen molecules; it's like having our cell programmed to listen to message but lacking ears to hear it, so they naturally evolve into a female.

So, for the ones who discredit such people: you're ignorant, in the sense that you "ignore" how things work in nature!

Returning back to the more simple topic of the discussion, I was most fascinated by the sociological implications of such a three genders (indeed: genders, rather than sexes) system because it adds a further level of complexity into the matter. The reproductive aspect is paradoxically the simplest to handle, since nature provides a few examples in which animal and plant species actually reproduces with a similar system.
In the setting of the novel, the "officially recognized" minimum requirement to be considered as a family is a triplet. The couples are NOT considered weird but just "incomplete", a temporary status before coming to the realization of the triplet. Like in our own society, couples or triplets made of individuals of the same gender are considered odd in some countries and are more accepted in others. Exactly like our own world.

Further answering to jamtheory's questions: I didn't really think about the subject of intersex while writing this novel but I indeed had some thoughts about homosexual relationship (in one scene the protagonist, who is particularly attractive, is approached by another "mawon" that actually flirts with "hom", and the protagonist is sort of tempted to give in to the offers, was it not that "hon" is already engaged in a couple).
Your questions are indeed hugely engaging. I think I'll keep them in mind while writing the possible sequels!!

And PS, responding to Ellie: don't worry for the language! I make a lot of mistakes, too! I am Italian, actually! ;)