Discuss the role of genes and hormones in Gender Identity Development

According to the biological approach to gender development, hormones can also play a role in gender development as during the early stages of prenatal development hormones are produced, and according to this approach these hormones affect gender. Males during prenatal development produce a hormone known as testosterone which has a significant effect on the development of male genitalia. Likewise females during prenatal development produce a hormone known as Oestrogen which has a significant effect on the development of secondary female characteristics such as wide hips and breasts. Due to this effect of hormones, any imbalance of these hormones during the prenatal stage of an individual can have significant effects. For example, a male embryo exposed to low levels of testosterone can result in an individual with poorly developed testes which can be mistaken for female genitals. Likewise, a female embryo is exposed to high levels of testosterone can result in the development of ambiguous genitals causing the genitals to be mistaken for male genitals. These hormone imbalances can result in conditions such as Androgen Intensity Syndrome or Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.

Furthermore the biological approach to gender development states that hormones also influences the differences in gender we see today. For example testosterone is said to be linked with aggression, which explains why males are more aggressive that females. Male hormones have also been linked to the development of parts of the brain, for example the right side of the brain controls spatial skills and brain scans have shown that this side of the brain is more developed in males than females, thus explaining why men are said to be better drivers. Lastly, brain scans have also shown that the left hemisphere that controls speech and language are is more developed in females than males, which explains why women are said to be better communicators that men. The biological approach believes that these differences in brain scans are due to the differences in male and female hormones, thus having effect on the development of gender.

Support for the biological approach to gender development comes from a case study by Money et al who looked at the case of a man known as Bruce Remier. Money et al followed a family who due to complications of a circumcision procedure, decided to raise up their son as a girl despite hormones and his biological sex. Money et al found that despite the social factors and influences on the Bruce Remier, Bruce later in his life claimed to have never been completely happy and never truly felt like a girl. This resulted on him changing back into male. This case study supports the biological approach to gender development as it provides evidence for the role and significance of hormones and genes on gender. However we must be cautious when using this study to support the biological approach to gender development as this study is a case study, and only provides evidence of the role of genes and hormones in one particular individual. Due to this and the extremity of the study, the results can neither be repeated nor generalised to a wider population. This matters because although the results support the study we cannot be sure if these results are due to the effect of genes and hormones or individual differences, suggesting that more research must be carried out in order to fully support the role of genes and hormones in gender development.

Another supporting study for the role of genes and hormones in gender development comes from research carried out by Young et al who found that female monkeys who were exposed to high levels of male hormones before birth turned out to be more aggressive and be involved in more rough and tumble compared to other female monkeys who had not been exposed to high levels of male hormones. This supports the biological approach to gender development as it provides evidence for the effect of hormones on later behaviours. However we must be cautious when using this study to support the biological approach to gender as it was carried on monkeys. Therefore the results found cannot be generalised to a wider population of humans. This suggests that more research must be carried out in order to support the biological approach to gender development.

In conclusion this biological approach to gender development provides an adequate explanation to gender development which has been supported by various studies however this explanation fails to consider psychological factors and social factors such as the influence of parents or peers on the development of gender which has been evident in research such as Fagot et al. This suggests that an approach that considers both biological and psychological factors will be a better accepted explanation to explain the development of gender.