We Aren't Confused About Sex When It Comes to Cats

So stop pretending that it's complicated in humans

My female dilute calico cat, Buddha

Did you know that almost all calico cats are female? This is because two X chromosomes are needed for a cat to have this unique, tricolor coat.

Male calico cats do exist but they are exceedingly rare—so rare that, when they are discovered, they often make the news. They are considered the “unicorn” of the cat world. This is because, for a male to have a calico coat, he needs to have two X chromosomes in addition to his Y chromosome. It is estimated that only 1 out of every 3,000 calico cats is male (some estimates even say 1 out of 10,000).

Essentially, male calico cats have Klinefelter syndrome, and they are almost always sterile.

What I find interesting is that every time I see people talking about the unique genetics of calico cats, there is never any confusion about the sex of the cats. Male calicos are often initially assumed to be female because of their coloring, but a quick closer inspection always reveals the truth. They aren’t considered anything other than male just because they have an extra X chromosome, and no one starts going off on how their existence somehow proves sex is a “spectrum.”

I saw no such discussions in my search for news stories about male calicos and I did a quick search on Twitter for the words “male calico.” Again, no confusion.

When it comes to humans, however, we have quite a different story.

I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve seen someone try to counter the statement that there are only two sexes with “what about people who are XXY?”

(There are other chromosomal intersex conditions, but Klinefelter seems to be a go-to, possibly because it is the most common one.)

Here are just a few recent examples I found with quick Twitter search for people using this argument:

Just for fun (yes, this is was I do for fun), I also did a search for people mentioning it to me, specifically.

Funny that a genetic condition which is so easily understood when it comes to cats is used to try and “prove” that sex is so much more complicated when it comes to humans. It isn’t. Males with XXY are males, whether cat or human.

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