I’ve seen a lot of people fooled because someone tells them something’s a biological fact that’s backed up by research. But here’s the thing: even if something is backed up by research it can still be a gigantic load of bullshit. Examples are in italics. Warning for mentions of rape and rape culture.

You can generally dismiss someone’s remarks to biology if:

• They are using it as justification for prejudice. Women are inherently not as strong as men due to biological factors, therefore we should protect them from certain freedoms.
• They ignore any possibility of deviation from the “norm.” Because there are only options of XX (female) and XY (male) chromosomes (and there’s no possible way they would be anything different), there is obviously a need for gender roles.
• They use it to justify violence. Men are programmed to be dominating and aggressive, so rape is okay in some cases.
• They think that just because it’s “science,” it’s obviously right. Differences between men and women are backed up by so many studies that they MUST be biological in nature.
• They refer to anything deviating from the norm as an “accident,” or treat deviation as something that only happens in rare cases, when really absolutely every aspect of life deviates from the mysterious “norm.” Intersex individuals are very rare, and shouldn’t be considered when discussing this.
• They disregard anything that proves biology wrong. Even though this and other studies prove that societal gender roles and institutionalized sexism have a huge impact on behavior, I’m going to ignore it.
• What they’re saying just sounds absolutely fucking stupid. Males like shorter females because pheromones come from the tops of the females’ heads, so men are more attracted with more pheromones.
• They forget that while biology plays a big role in our lives, we still have free will and we are still able to control our instincts and make our own decisions. It’s not his fault he raped her. You shouldn’t fault someone for just doing what they’re biologically programmed to do, even if they hurt someone.
• They start talking about “Evolutionary Psychology.” Evolutionary psychology is generally a whole bunch of sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist bullshit. Sometimes it’s not! But usually it is.