xx
Explanation
The Joke
A priest or theologian is explaining to a bishop or cardinal that in parthenogenetic animals most closely related to humans, when they reproduce asexually, the offspring have XX chromosomes — meaning they are genetically female. The implication being raised is that if the virgin birth of Jesus were a real case of parthenogenesis (reproduction without fertilization by a male), Jesus would have been genetically female, or at least had XX chromosomes.
The bishop's response is to gesture toward a furnace and say "Let's go ahead and hand those notes to Mr. Furnace over here" — ordering the destruction of this theologically inconvenient scientific observation.
The caption below reads: "What if Jesus was only assigned male at birth?"
The Humor
The comedy comes from the collision between rigorous biological reasoning and religious dogma. The comic takes the theological claim of the virgin birth completely seriously as a biological event and then applies actual genetics to it. In real parthenogenesis among vertebrates, offspring are indeed typically female because no Y chromosome is contributed. If Mary conceived without a male partner, there would be no source for a Y chromosome, so Jesus would logically have XX chromosomes.
The bishop's reaction — immediately ordering the evidence burned — is a classic joke about institutional religion suppressing inconvenient truths. Rather than engaging with the argument, the authority figure simply destroys it, which is both a historical reference (the Church's history of banning and burning books) and a commentary on how institutions handle information that threatens their foundational narratives.
The caption adds a layer of modern cultural commentary by invoking the language of gender identity — "assigned male at birth" is terminology from contemporary discussions of transgender identity. This connects an ancient theological question to a very modern cultural debate, suggesting that the Church's relationship with gender has always been more complicated than it acknowledges.
Context
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in some reptiles, fish, and invertebrates, where an egg develops into an embryo without fertilization. In species closely related to mammals, parthenogenetic offspring are typically female (XX) because there is no paternal contribution of a Y chromosome. The virgin birth of Jesus (the doctrine of the Incarnation) holds that Mary conceived Jesus without sexual intercourse, through the Holy Spirit. The comic applies biological literalism to a supernatural claim for comedic effect. The phrase "assigned male at birth" (AMAB) comes from modern gender studies and transgender discourse, adding a contemporary cultural dimension to the joke.