German developmental biologist Dr. Christiane Nüsslein Volhard has slammed transgender ideology as “nonsense” and “wishful thinking” in an interview with German feminist magazine EMMA.
Volhard, aged 79, earned a PhD for her research into protein-DNA interactions in 1974, before later going on to win the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research on genetic control of embryonic development.
She has also won the Sir Hans Krebs Medal for outstanding achievements in biochemistry, the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Price for outstanding achievements in scientific research.
In a recent interview, Volhard was asked about comments by the German government’s queer commissioner, Sven Lehmann, who claimed that “To believe that there are two genders is unscientific. There are many genders.”
She responded that “this is unscientific,” adding “perhaps Mr. Lehmann missed the basic course in biology.”
All mammals have two sexes, and humans are mammals,” she continued.
“There’s the one sex that produces the eggs, and has two X chromosomes. That’s called female. And there’s the other one that produces the sperm, has an X and a Y chromosome. That’s called male. And when an egg fuses with a sperm, a new being is born.”
At this point Dr. Volhard was asked about strange instances in the animal kingdom of some creatures seeming to have unconventional genders, such as snails.
“These are hermaphrodites,” she said.
“They have both: sperm and egg cells. So they can fertilise themselves. However, they usually mate with another snail. Because when mating with itself, the offspring are absolutely equal inheritance. However, if two different organisms mix their genome, there is a greater range of variation and the offspring are usually more viable.
“That is why this principle has prevailed in nature. The fact that there are hermaphrodites does not change the fact that there are two germ cells, eggs and sperm, and therefore two sexes.”
She also contested the idea that “intersex” people – those with both male and female parts – are somehow a third gender.
“Intersexuality is caused by very rare deviations, for example in the chromosome set,” she said.
“But intersex people also have the characteristics of both genders, they are not a third gender.”
When asked if a man could become a woman or vice versa, she replied “That’s nonsense! It’s wishful thinking.”
“There are people who want to change their gender, but they can’t do it,” she said.
“You remain XY or XX. The bottom line is that whether or not you have a Y chromosome has an effect on the development of the embryo during pregnancy and of course also in the adolescent. Boys therefore have different sex characteristics than girls and this cannot be undone. People retain their gender for life.
“Of course, hormones can be used to make a girl who takes testosterone, for example, get a deep voice and grow a beard. But from this, the girl will not grow testicles and will not produce sperm. And biological males do not produce eggs, even with hormones, and cannot bear children.”
She warned that this is why “irreversible” medical decisions were, in her view, a bad idea.
“The problem with this arises when irreversible interventions occur. With the operations anyway,” she said.
“But the hormones also add something to the body that is not intended there. Hormones cause a great deal in the body – on a wide variety of levels, both physically and psychologically. I think it is extraordinarily daring to dose it properly and take it constantly. The body cannot handle it well in the long run.
“Every hormone you take has side effects. Taking hormones is inherently dangerous.”
The Professor went on to warn against teenagers – particularly teenage girls – being allowed to determine their own gender, calling it “madness.”
The interview can be read in full here.