Why not six billion?

Editor:

I found the article by Jesse Fillerup ("Why not 5 genders?," Sept. 13) interesting but she missed the point.

I strongly believe that there is a difference between gender and a sexual orientation. The gender is the state of being masculine or feminine.

To be bisexual (attracted to people of both sexes), homosexual (attracted to people of the same sex), or heterosexual (attracted to people of the opposite sex) does not mean that you cannot be a male or a female. I would like to think that while the first category (gender) is a reflection of what you were born with (a vagina or penis) the second category (bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual) is more a reflection of what you would like to do in your sex life.

Maybe my friend Fillerup was confused between certain traits of our different personalities and our gender. If gender and personality are the same, why not ask for 6 billion genders instead of 5? After all, we are 6 billion people.

Seydou Coulibaly

Ph.D. Candidate

Range Management

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