Gender and Sex – Part 2 – Adult Manifestations

The first part of this blog explored the more scientific aspects of gender. It is one that is well understood and accepted, with the exception of Intersex which is usually left out of most arguments. These next aspects will get increasingly controversial as we move away from the scientific to the “feeling” aspects.

The Gender Expression Aspect

Gender expression is defined as the external appearance of one’s gender, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine. (http://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-terminology-and-definitions)

Since these “socially defined behaviors and characteristics” can change over time or across cultures, this is a bit of a moving target. Let me give a few examples:

·         Many may have known (or been) a “tomboy” when growing up, i.e. a female who wore jeans and a t-shirt and preferred playing ball with the neighborhood boys instead of playing with dolls.

·         In days when horseback riding was popular, a woman who wore pants and straddled the horse instead of riding side-saddle was frowned upon.

·         If a male has a weak handshake he might be considered “effeminate” where if a female has a strong handshake it is likewise not typical.

·         Men wearing a kilt in Scotland are fine, but men wearing a skirt in other cultures are not.

·         Recently Toys R Us was criticized for having segregated toy sections with pink and purple Legos in the girls section.

·         I remember individuals of my parents’ generation being aghast at the Beatles in the early-1960s. Even though they wore matching suits and ties, they had their hair over their ears and that was socially unacceptable!

·         Some religions require that individuals have certain standards for appearance – such as certain hair coverings, not shaving of beards, etc.

Summary – there are no absolutes in the area of gender expression. What may be unacceptable to one group of people may be perfectly acceptable to others. While we each may feel more or less comfortable being with individuals who are outside of our own “social norms”, the above examples show how that may change over time or across cultures.

The Sexual Orientation Aspect

Sexual orientation is the pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to the opposite sex/gender, to the same sex/gender or to both sexes/genders. The term sexual preference is sometimes used, but that term may only indicate a preference of one over the other when the person’s orientation may be bi-sexual. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation).

Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they believe it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal and environmental influences. There have been conflicting studies with different results along the “nature v. nurture” continuum.

Most cultures and major religions have historically condemned all but heterosexuality and violation is still subject to penalty of death in some countries. But the fact that mention of it occurs in historic writings (e.g. the Torah/Old Testament) indicate that it is not a new phenomenon.

There has also been some discussion recently about “fluid sexuality”, i.e. where one’s sexual orientation may change over time and under different circumstances. (See http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/7155946/This-is-the-fascinating-reason-women-have-evolved-to-become-bisexual.html).

Summary – there is wide variation in the estimates of those with non-heterosexual orientation and considerable disagreement in current society on whether it is acceptable or not.

The Gender Identity Aspect

Gender Identity is one’s “inner concept of self”, how a person perceives and calls themselves. If this identity is in conflict with one’s biological gender, then one is diagnosed with “gender identity disorder” (GID) or “gender dysphoria (distress)” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dysphoria).

Scientists believe that there may be a number of causes for this disorder/dysphoria. Some of them may be related to the factors that were mentioned earlier as part of genetic/biological aspects of gender, such as genetic variation and the impact of hormones during the development of the brain in the pre-born child. Also, individuals who fall into the intersex area of biological gender may be more prone to GID. I have seen estimates of the number of people who consider themselves to be transgendered range from a high of near 1% to a low of .03%.

However, some of the causes of GID may be due to psychological or behavioral issues rather than biological ones. Lack of understanding as well as lack of a definite causal connection for GID accounts for some of the emotional reaction that people have in discussions on this topic.

When GID is diagnosed in young children there is some controversy as to whether/how to treat it. Some clinicians report that a significant proportion of young children who are diagnosed with GID later do not exhibit it. Some prescribe hormones, known as a puberty blocker, to delay the onset of puberty until the child is old enough to make an informed decision about whether to treat it through hormonal/surgical gender reassignment.

Until the 1970s, psychotherapy was the primary treatment for GID and helping the patient to adapt rather than attempting to change the patient’s gender identity to reflect birth characteristics.

Some of the concern about the recent “guidance” from the Obama administration about accommodations for gender identity in schools was not due to gender identity itself (which has been with us in the past and has not caused any issues), but with other parts of this guidance. In particular, the cover letter from the administration stated, “A school may not require transgender students to have a medical diagnosis, undergo any medical treatment, or produce a birth certificate or other identification document before treating them consistent with their gender identity.” Thus, rather than making accommodation for individuals who are actually diagnosed with GID, the school is required to accept an individual’s word for it – opening up the door to individuals who want to masquerade as someone of the opposite sex but who do not really have GID. I will discuss this further in the final section of this blog.

Summary – until recently, much like those with homosexual tendencies who were “in the closet,” those with GID were relatively unknown. Studies showed that over 40% of those with GID had attempted suicide. Only in the last few decades has there been much discussion in the public arena about this topic.


Continue to part 3 - https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2016/05/gender-and-sex-part-3-other-related.html