Harvard GenderSci Lab Statement on the HHS Memo

According to the New York Times, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has circulated a memo urging government agencies to recognize sexual identity only as defined by genital diagnosis at birth or genetic test. The memo argues that this definition is necessary for ascertaining sex “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.” We strongly dispute this claim.

Scientific and medical consensus, built from decades of research across the scientific disciplines, understands human sex as a multidimensional biological and social trait that can vary over the life course. Genitals and genetics are only one part of the complex trait of sex. In humans, a scientific definition of sex is not complete without recognizing lived, affirmed sexual identities as a component.

The memo's authors appeal to science, but referring to biological traits such as genitals and genes does not make their definition of sex scientific. This selective definition of sex deviates from scientific consensus about the nature of human sex and gender.  It has one and only one aim: to exclude millions of transgender citizens — those whose sexual or gender identity often does not match their natal genitals — from civil rights protections.

Contact: Professor Sarah Richardson