This article is written by Adam Wittenberg of The Lion, a media partner of Michigan News Source.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Lion) – In the transgender debate, a central question is often overlooked: Can a person actually change their sex?

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After hormones, surgeries and outward changes, is it possible for someone born male to become female – or vice versa?

While many people identify as transgender based on gender identity – a belief that they are a different gender than their biological sex – science presents a different conclusion.

Biologists, faith leaders and many secular voices, including prominent atheist Richard Dawkins, agree: A person’s biological sex cannot be changed.

What follows examines that claim and responds to opposing arguments, based on The Lion’s interviews with three experts.

Are there more than two sexes?

No, experts say, and on this the science is clear.

“What makes an individual male or female has to do with the type of gametes – sperm or ova – that your reproductive system has the function to produce,” said Colin Wright, a Ph.D. evolutionary biologist, avowed atheist and fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

“Males produce many small gametes that we call sperm, and females, universally by definition, are the ones that produce fewer but much larger and nutrient-rich gametes called eggs or ova.

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“Because there are only two of these gametes in what are called anisogamous species –species that reproduce by fusing gametes of different sizes – there are only two sexes. There can only be two sexes.”

Although some point to rare intersex cases, Wright said these do not represent a third sex.

“For there to be a third or intermediate sex would require some sort of intermediate or novel gamete beyond sperm or ova.

“But we don’t have any of those intermediates or novel gametes. Even if an individual appears sexually ambiguous, that is not an example of a third sex. It does not invalidate the binary nature of sex.”

Mary Rice Hasson, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said sex is “determined at conception and is immutable. It marks every cell of the body,” she wrote in an emailed response to questions.

Alan Shlemon, a speaker with Stand to Reason, a Christian organization that defends the truth of Scripture, said transgender ideology rests on two claims.

“The first is the sex spectrum – the idea that sex is not binary,” he said. “The second is gender identity – the idea that you have a psychological sense of self that is your true, authentic self, and it could be different from your biology.

“On the sex spectrum, science and Scripture speak together on this. When we turn to science, the vast majority of scientists will tell you that humans come in only two sexes, male and female. There is no third sex. There’s no spectrum of sexes.”

Why did medical groups support transgender procedures?

Experts say early support for transgender procedures was built on weak evidence and social pressure.

Wright describes a “citation cartel,” where weak studies were repeatedly cited without scrutiny.

“I was run out of academia for talking about this,” he said. “I wrote op-eds explaining why sex isn’t a spectrum and can’t be changed, and it sparked enormous backlash.

“Most biologists who spoke out, including myself, have been pushed out. Anyone who speaks about this gets piled on by activists.”

Hasson cited multiple international reviews.

“They have all concluded that the procedures are based on low- or very low-quality evidence,” she said. “The evidence base is remarkably weak and fails to support claims of benefit.”

She said systematic reviews – the highest level of evidence – have not supported these interventions, and she pointed to a recent federal report finding no reliable benefit and actual evidence of harm. The review was ordered by President Donald Trump after he took office in January 2025 and signed executive orders against transgender policies and practice.

“Those claiming these procedures are evidence-based rely on low-quality evidence – surveys, case reports and biased studies,” Hasson said.

Shlemon said ideology has influenced science.

“Transgender ideology has hijacked science and used it to advance an agenda,” he said.

“We’re now seeing a reversal. Even non-Christian scientists are recognizing it contradicts basic science. Many institutions were trying to be politically correct and cater to cultural pressure.”

Are transgender procedures safe?

Experts say long-term outcomes remain disputed and evidence is limited.

Hasson said early procedures date back to 1930s Germany and lacked strong evidence from the start.

“There has never been a strong evidence base that these procedures produce benefits beyond physical alteration,” she said.

She added that early programs, such as Johns Hopkins’ in the 1970s, were shut down due to lack of evidence. They were later revived “because of political ideology, profit motives on the part of medical institutions, and the hubris and greed of physicians who saw new frontiers and medical specialization and innovation at the expense of troubled patients,” not because of new evidence showing their efficacy.

“The research is notoriously poor, plagued by weak methodology and lack of long-term data,” she said.

Wright said many underlying mental health issues are going unaddressed.

“I think the mental health issues are often there first,” he said. “People are told gender identity explains everything, but many of those issues existed before.

“This creates a disconnect between biological reality and perception that can be psychologically harmful.”

Shlemon said other conditions are often overlooked.

“There are comorbidities that are not being diagnosed,” he said. “Instead, patients are placed on a transition pathway without a full medical evaluation.

“They go through the process and still experience distress. That’s because the original issue wasn’t their body.”

Examples include a contagion of teenage girls who declared themselves transgender in recent years, which Shlemon said was likely for social or emotional reasons.

Adults urged them to mutilate their bodies, and more than 5,700 surgeries were conducted on minors from 2019-23, while more than 8,500 children received hormones and puberty blockers, according to Stop the Harm.

Many now live with regret.

“This is not health care,” Shlemon said. “It’s not healthy and it’s not caring for these individuals.”

Does altering the body resolve a psychological issue?

Historically, treatment for gender dysphoria focused on aligning thoughts with biological reality, Shlemon said.

“If a male believed he was a woman, the diagnosis was that the mind was mistaken and the body was normal,” he said. “Today, that approach is reversed.”

Hasson described such interventions as “expensive, destructive attempts” to alter the body.

Wright questioned the scientific basis behind the approach.

“The idea is that we can change the body to match the mind,” he said. “But that relies on a misunderstanding of what sex is.”

Why is support for transgenderism beginning to wane?

Hasson pointed to cultural and legal shifts. These include a late-January New York jury verdict awarding $2 million to detransitioner Fox Varian. Many other lawsuits have been filed or are in the works.

“Lawsuits, detransitioners and public opinion are driving change,” she said. “The risks are becoming clear.”

Shlemon said more people are questioning the claims.

“People are realizing we can’t reject basic scientific evidence,” he said.

“Gender identity is a pseudoscientific concept. It can’t be measured or objectively tested. When beliefs lead to real-world consequences, people begin to question them.”

What role have the media played?

Wright said media coverage has often been one-sided in support of transgender ideology.

“The media has played a major role, either by misreporting or failing to report key facts,” he said.

“Only recently have some outlets begun to acknowledge that the evidence may not support earlier claims.”

Wright encouraged people to speak out about their beliefs, noting that political and cultural winds could shift, making it harder to voice dissent.

Hasson said the “gender industry” has succeeded by “circling the wagons, repeating their claims despite the lack of evidence, and resorting to smear campaigns, attempting to label rigorous scientific criticism as ‘bigotry’ or political partisanship.”

Is gender identity scientifically verifiable?

Shlemon said gender “identity” simply isn’t objectively verifiable.

“It’s a self-perception,” he said. “How do you measure that?”

He described a flier distributed by Harvard University that said a person’s gender identity is fluid and “could change within a year, or within a month, or even within a week.”

“If someone feels a certain way, that doesn’t make it objectively true. Feelings can change.”

What should Americans understand about the issue?

Hasson emphasized the distinction between belief and biology.

“Sex cannot change,” she said. “Every person is either male or female.”

While this goes against popular culture for much of the past decade, Hasson said it is necessary to take a stand.

“Compassion should not mean affirming something that is not true if it leads to harm.”