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—— where she will write about how science affects current issues.
