Abstract

How many sexes are there? How many genders? Answering these questions is not just challenging: It is about as silly as trying to determine how many kinds of stories or how many species there are: Where? And when? And, most importantly, in what sense? Instead, I suggest taking a closer look at the double historicity of phenomena and concepts of sex/gender: Research concepts of sex and gender are context-dependent, plural, and historically dynamic; and so are the phenomena that these concepts refer to. For reasons of both scientific accuracy and justice, understanding the double historicity of sex/gender transforms the “How many are there” questions. Instead of absolutist single-answer approaches of the “There are x number of sexes/genders” style, it demands a research ethos that involves contextual awareness regarding concepts and phenomena; reflective distance from one’s own analytical research concepts and aims; and epistemic humility.