A gay biology teacher in New York state has hit back at a transphobic meme by using her knowledge of human genetics.
Grace Pokela saw a post on Facebook that said “Being one sex but thinking you’re the other is a psychological disorder” and that those who support transgender people are sociopaths.
“You can be male because you were born female, but you have 5-alpha reductase deficiency and so you grew a penis at age 12,” Pokela wrote in her comment.
“You can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but you are insensitive to androgens, and so you have a female body,” she continued.
"You can be male because you have two X chromosomes- but also a Y. You can be female because you have only one X chromosome at all. And you can be male because you have two X chromosomes, but your heart and brain are male. And vice - effing - versa.
“Don’t use science to justify your bigotry. The world is way too weird for that sh*t.”
Pokela—who teaches at Arlington High School in Lagrangeville, New York—told the Huffington Post that the person who posted the meme “manipulated facts to suit their agenda”.
“The fact that a group of people would deny evolution, deny global warming, and deny basic principals of ecology but then turn around and use science to support their bigotry was something I found repellent.”
Pokela’s post has attracted over 40,000 likes on Facebook, prompting her to set up her own page—Evolving with Grace— where she will write about how science affects current issues.
