Gender: A Proved Amalgamation

 Anabel Garcia Hernandez

November 20th, 2017

Composition I

Dr. Holland

Gender: A proved Amalgamation

        The complexity of gender and sex has been broadly discussed by researchers of several medical fields. In his analysis and commentary “A Conceptual Overview and Commentary on Gender Dysphoria”, the professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral science, Fred S. Berlin gives a consolidated explanation of the term Gender, and how it can be better understood (246). Robin Marantz Henig, a freelance science writer, and Norman Spack, a Pediatric Endocrinologist, have   recently treated the subject objectively.  The work of the three of them agrees that there is a disparity between sex and gender, they don't have a direct correspondence. The complexity of Sex and Gender is not commonly known by society, which tends to misunderstand people who do not stand in the binary gender (Gender identity), not proclaim themselves as a female or a male (Biological sex), and not express themselves in a feminine or a masculine way (Gender expression). I argue that gender is not defined by the appearance of the external genitals because it is an amalgamation of several elements: chromosomes, anatomy, hormones and psychology.

        Berlin discusses the entanglement of Sex and Gender, whether when it comes to people whose genitalia are inconclusive or conclusive at the time of birth. “When a child is born with ambiguous genitalia (i.e., when it is hard to determine from appearances if that child is a boy with micropenis or a girl with an enlarged clitoris), difficulties can emerge in assigning that child’s gender” (247). Berlin refers Reiner and Gearhart Cohort’s research about cloacal exstrophy (severe diminution of the penis, sometimes absent), where 16 genetic males were compromised (247). Of the males, 14 were operated to create a vagina so they could be raised as females; the other two were not operated regarding their parents decision. Of the 14 at the age of  16, a 57% had being living as self-declared males and 43 % were still living as females. These results proof that nature (the sex which they were born with) influenced their gender identity post-puberty, but it also proves that nurture can as well influence feelings of gender identity. Whatever sex the person is born with, that will not define entirely how they define themselves as. Dr. Spack mentioned  “there is nothing that is definable at the time of birth that will define you”(Spack). This statement basically means a doctor will not say “It’s a gay boy” or “It’s a lesbian girl” when the baby is born. Over the individual’s experience in life he/she would discover who they feel attracted to, and how they see themselves as. That is indeed the difference between Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity.

The results of the research of Cohort brothers bring to discussion the next question: Can science explain how the differentiation of genitals develops and does this process affect the sexual differentiation of the brain?  The answer is certainly yes. In fact, science has been able to explain why people might belong to a nonbinary gender, and what is intersex, as well as what are the conditions in which this biological sex -that stands between male and female- develops during pregnancy. Henig says, “Sex differentiation is usually set in motion by a gene on the Y chromosome, the SRY gene, which makes the proto-gonads turn into testes” (Henig). Proto-gonads are undeveloped organs that transform later into female or male gonads. The SRY gene is one of the most important elements during the sexual differentiation process, since its presence or absence will decide the sex of the baby. If it is present, the testes will secrete testosterone and androgens, with these hormones released, the fetus then develops male anatomy. As to its absence, the proto-gonads become ovaries that secrete estrogen, and the fetus develops female anatomy (Henig). However, this does not occur -just as it is explained- all the time. The gene might be missing or undeveloped, nor functional. Then, we might be in presence of an XY embryo (normally presents male anatomy) that fails to develop male anatomy. Similar to what happens to XY embryo, XX embryo (normally presents female anatomy) the disfunction of SRY gene in the X chromosome might develop a male anatomy.(Henig)

In this situation, a person who presents XY chromosomes will be born as a girl and a person who presents XX chromosomes will be born as a boy. These cases are known as intersex, where the internal genitals do not go acord to the external genitals (These are mostly infertile)(Henig). Then, it can be said that it is possible to be XX and mostly male in terms of anatomy, physiology, and psychology, just as it is possible to be XY and mostly female in the same terms. When these individuals reach puberty they might choose to stay as they were raised (as a girl or a boy), or they might start to identify themselves as the opposite sex, after all the chromosomes present in their bodies are the ones of the opposite sex. This is a clear example of how biological sex might not define gender identity, in matters of intersex individuals.

It can also exist the case where a person, during puberty, starts to feel uncomfortable with their body, even though they were born with a conclusive anatomic sex. Berlin says, “Feelings of gender identity do not ordinarily emerge as a consequence of a self-made decision(...) Overtime, I discovered the sense of being a male to be present within me”(248). Gender identity it is not something someone can choose easily within a day. Alternatively, it is a definition of how the person feels most comfortable, as a woman or as a man, even sometimes they might not feel comfortable as either. Concordantly with Berlin’s idea Dr. Spack says “[at] the time that puberty begins(...) the child who says they are in the absolute wrong body is almost certain they are transgender, and is extremely unlikely to change those feelings, no matter how anybody tries repetitive therapy or any other noxious things”(Spack).  This means, there is also a psychological element that implies the self-defined gender. No matter what sex the individual is born with, they might feel more comfortable as the opposite sex, as the natural sex, as none and maybe both (transgender, cisgender, gender nonconforming, genderqueer).There exist more complex situations where people who are born with the chromosomes and genitals of one sex realize they are transgender(Henig), meaning they have an internal gender identity that aligns with the opposite sex-or even, occasionally, with no gender at all. That is why gender is an amalgamation of several elements: chromosomes (those X’s and Y’s), anatomy (internal sex organs and external genitals), hormones (relative levels of testosterone and estrogen), and psychology(self-defined gender identity).