Sex is a Spectrum

Published May 6, 2025

ISBN:: 978-0-691-24941-4

Being human entails an astonishingly complex interplay of biology and culture, and while there are important differences between women and men, there is a lot more variation and overlap than we may realize. Sex Is a Spectrum offers a bold new paradigm for understanding the biology of sex, drawing on the latest science to explain why the binary view of the sexes is fundamentally flawed—and why having XX or XY chromosomes isn’t as conclusive as some would have us believe.

In this lively and provocative book, leading biological anthropologist Agustín Fuentes begins by tracing the origin and evolution of sex, describing the many ways in the animal kingdom of being female, male, or both. Turning to humans, he presents compelling evidence from the fossil and archaeological record that attests to the diversity of our ancestors’ sexual bonds, gender roles, and family and community structures, and shows how the same …

Being human entails an astonishingly complex interplay of biology and culture, and while there are important differences between women and men, there is a lot more variation and overlap than we may realize. Sex Is a Spectrum offers a bold new paradigm for understanding the biology of sex, drawing on the latest science to explain why the binary view of the sexes is fundamentally flawed—and why having XX or XY chromosomes isn’t as conclusive as some would have us believe.

In this lively and provocative book, leading biological anthropologist Agustín Fuentes begins by tracing the origin and evolution of sex, describing the many ways in the animal kingdom of being female, male, or both. Turning to humans, he presents compelling evidence from the fossil and archaeological record that attests to the diversity of our ancestors’ sexual bonds, gender roles, and family and community structures, and shows how the same holds true in the lived experiences of people today. Fuentes tackles hot-button debates around sports and medicine, explaining why we can acknowledge that females and males are not the same while also embracing a biocultural reality where none of us fits neatly into only one of two categories.

Bringing clarity and reason to a contentious issue, Sex Is a Spectrum shares a scientist’s perspective on why a binary view of sex and gender is not only misguided but harmful, and why there are multitudes of ways of being human.

2 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Sex is a Spectrum by Agustín Fuentes

A Focused, Methodical Examination of the Biology of Sex

5 stars

This book methodically works through the biology, and eventually the bio-cultural nature of, sex. Fuentes first looks across the animal kingdom and our evolutionary past, then dives into human complexity. By including research from a wide variety of fields - anthropology, genetics, physiology, sociology, and more - this book demonstrates how the cultural binary that has been imposed on sex is profoundly unscientific and how that approach has created statistical artifacts to reinforce this view. Fuentes doesn't shy away from challenges that this complexity brings to the modern world, instead advocating for embracing this complexity and rethinking how we have embedded sex in social systems. Highly recommend

Ben Waber

rated it

September 12

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