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Chromosomes do not necessarily determine sex. True, most women have XX chromosomes and most men XY chromosomes.

However, some women, with full female biological characteristics — a natural uterus, womb, and breasts — have XY chromosomes.

About 1 in 2000 females have a single X chromosome (45,X). As many as 1 in 1000 have triple X chromosomes (47,XXX).

Some men with full male characteristics have XX chromosomes. Some others have XXY (47,XXY) or YYX chromosomes (47,YYX).

A smaller number may have a variety of aneuploidies (e.g. 49,XXXXY) and mosaic presentations (e.g. both 45,X/46,XY).

A female with XY chromosomes may have some physical advantage over a XX female. On the other hand, they may have some deficits, which cause disadvantage.

They may have some characteristics typically associated with males, such as a muscular physique. Conversely, a male with a non-typical karyotype may have more feminine characteristics.

Is it any wonder that sex verification in sports is fraught with complexity? Neither chromosome nor hormone testing is a reliable measure of gender.

A male with XX or XXY chromosome may have low or negligible levels of testosterone, whereas a female with XY chromosomes may have high levels.

Determining where such individuals fit in competitive sports is far from simple. Some might posit that they should be barred from competing in either category or have a category of their own.

But then where would that end? Who would determine what is biologically normal, and at what point normal tips over into atypical? What of a typical XX female who naturally has high testosterone levels?

If only biology provided simple binaries to satisfy the gatekeepers of cultural orthodoxy. But, of course, it doesn’t. There will always be rare cases that the human entity will have to accommodate.

Unfortunately, fundamentalists of all types often have a limited vision of the great variability in God’s creation, where nothing is by accident.

God is the creator of all things, and He is the guardian and disposer of all affairs.

Quran 39:62

Before you comment, spend some time familiarising yourself with epigenetics, as those of us granted an atypical karyotype have had to. You may learn something new.