In Vino, Veritas

Recently on Twitter, in what was yet another discussion about the nature of gender and rights of trans people following Kathryn Bristow beginning her new role as co-chair of the Green Party of England and Wales. I was repeatedly ask to define the terms man and woman, as well as describe my understanding of the difference between them. Trying to explain this on a platform that limits you 280 character chunks is nigh on impossible with any sense of nuance and in a thorough robust way. So I have decided to write this in a full a way as I can.

Before continuing I think it prudent to point out that I am not a biologist, I am not a doctor, and I am not trans. I will be discussing points here that someone from these groups would be able to give you almost certainly better, more eloquently, and from a better informed platform than I will be able to. I hope that you will take the time to read more information from them as well.

As an analogy I offer we reframe the question as “what’s the difference between red wine and white wine”. On the surface this seems ludicrously easily; they’re different colours. However the realities behind these differences are more complicated. Both beverages are made from fermented grapes. And indeed, generally speaking, different grape varieties are used to make red and white wines. So these could be seen to be analogous broadly to biological differences between male and female.

As an aside I also enjoy the fact that all grapes used in wine making, while the may be different colours, look different, and provide different flavours, are actually all the same species of of grape called Vitis vinifera. And so in this case this can be considered like the chromosomes or even I suppose basic amino acid base pairs that make up DNA. But, I digress.

So we have the assorted red and white grapes, or male and female biological aspects. However, while red and white grapes are used to make red and white wines respectively. It’s actually not solely that difference that accounts for the differences we see in the end resulting drink. You actually had to do different steps with the grape during fermentation to make these differences. For red wines you have to ferment the grapes along with their seeds and skins to actually get the colour of the drink, but these are removed for white wines. So in this case this would be like the SRY gene that effectively ‘turns on’ male development as we usually see it in human development.

And I’m sure we’re all very familiar with the wide variety of both red and white wines. Much as there is much variety in men and women, males and females. Dryness, sweetness, tannins, body….. there’s a reason these aisles in supermarkets are so stocked and we all have ones that may fit our tastes differently.

Things can get more complex and if we do different steps in these processes differently we can end up with different results. We can take a merlot grape, and instead of fermenting it with it’s skin and seeds, remove those and enjoy a white merlot wine (though it is in fact a very pale pink). Which tastes slightly different and you might enjoy slightly differently, or in different situations. You can also ferment some white wine grapes with their skins and seeds as you might with a red wine grape and get what is known as orange wines. These are quite rarely made but taste more like a red wine and have tannins as they do.

So we can take the biological building blocks on one side, and through circumstances being slightly different we can end up with a very different result than we otherwise would. For most of the real world practicalities we can treat these wines much as we would for what they appear. An orange wine we can experience exactly as we would a red one. And for most people there would no reason not to call a white merlot a white wine.

Similarly, in the way we experience trans people in the world will in most situations be exactly the same as cis people. We can meet them, speak with them, have them as friends, get annoyed if they won’t listen to their music on the bus through headphones … and actually the process of their being made will have near no impact on our relationship with them. We may cherish them for their difference and diversity, and their point of view on the world we share.

But this whole time we have been talking about red and white wines. And wine is much more complex than simply red or white, or even just the masses of variation and variety within those two categories. We are all also, I presume, familiar with rosé wines. There are also the Portuguese Vinho Verde or green wines; sparkling wines such as champagne, cava, prosecco and others; dessert wines; fortified wines such as port and sherry; fruit wines like those made from elderberry or apple; wines made from other things such ginger wine, or mead (honey wine). There are specials wine preparations such as vegan wine, kosher wine, sulphite free wine, low- or no-alcochol wines. Some wines names or types are protected origin titles.

All of this variety comes from small variations in the same vitis vinifera substance (with some exceptions) and what we do with it to make an end product, then how we socialise ad market that product. And similar people may be made from variations in the same substance in our DNA, but what happens to that along the way makes for huge variations in the final out coming person. And how we talk about that is a set of categories that we created to try and describe that. And, while we may most commonly think about red or white, man or woman, a small scratch beyond the initial question throws up a massive world that is vastly more complex.

And thus, when you ask “whats the difference between a man and a woman”, I cannot help but point out that you have imposed a narrow binary on something that is much much more multifaceted and complex. We may have parts of male or female biology in our DNA, organs, hormones, genitals and so on. But processes and circumstances in our lives may have decided what it is from these present in us and to what extent, how much these all align. And the words we use to understand and describe ourself to others will be informed both by these as well as our understanding of those descriptions as they are presented in our culture and society.

Just pour a glass of your favourite tipple for New Year and enjoy that there is so much more out there. Iechyd da!