Using the definition of gender as being either male or female, inherited sex chromosomes at conception, along with the release of certain hormones during the foetal process can be used as a case for important factors influencing gender identity. This factor is however too simplistic and has a number of flaws. Genetics does not answer the question of why can peoples gender identities change over time. Your genes are inherited and if it is agreed that they cannot fluctuate over time, then there is no genetic answer for those that start with a gender at birth, defined by their genetic make up, and grow to alter their gender identity due to other factors.
The fact that we have gender specific words which can apply to both male and female, must imply that gender identities are not solely exclusive to genetic or biological appearances. The words we associate with masculine; ‘macho’, for example can be given to women, however the women who exhibit and fit into the definition of the word are seen more like men than women. These women are still biologically women but display ‘manly’ features. Can this be what gender is? Is gender not just what a person is biologically; can it be the way a person behaves? If so then how human have’s come to decide what is acceptable behaviour for the opposing genders.
From a very young age, once a child has been identified as being male or female, the parents of that child along with all the other social characters it may interact with treat the child according to its gender classification. Boys play with guns, girls play with dolls. If a baby in a pram wears a blue outfit it is commonly assumed to be a boy. The possibility that the baby may be wearing clothes that belonged to an older sibling is not usually considered.
At school, teachers expect young boy’s to be boisterous and clumsy, while girls are expected to be quiet and diligent. The nursery rhyme which calls girls ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’, while the boys were ‘frogs and snails and puppy dogs tails’; this shows the expectations of boys and girls from an early age. Even as adults, people whose gender identities do not conform to the gender roles that their sex should have are stigmatised in our society. “When did Girls get so Brutal?” (Daily Mail May 16th 2000), an article depicting the violent assault, robbery and murder of an OAP, showed how these acts were seen as so much worse because they were committed by young girls.
These stereotypes that occur shape the way the different genders are perceived and expected to behave. These are our gender roles and gender identities that don’t conform to these roles are seen as abnormal. It is however notable that the way society treats an individual can still not fully shape their gender identity. Society does play a major part in influencing gender identity but there is an argument that hormones released into the body at certain time, be normal or abnormal, can greatly influence the gender identity of a person.
A case that gives evidence for this argument is that of identical twin boys. During circumcision, at 5 months, the penis of one of the boys was burned off. Deciding that the child could not function as a boy the doctors performed a sex change operation. The child was renamed and then socialised by the mother as a girl. This ‘boy’ took on the gender role of a ‘girl’, but during puberty the ‘girl’ was having problems with ‘her’ sexuality. Studied again later ‘she’ was now living very happily and comfortably as a ‘man’ (Diamond and Sigmundson, 1997). This person had not only changed their perceived gender role, but had rejected the gender identity that had been formed for them.
There are two syndromes that can affect genetic girls. One PIH (Progesterone induced hermaphroditism). This is a mild case and causes slight changes to the external genitalia and some behavioural changes. Female behaviour is not uniform and can range form ‘tom boy’, to ‘girly girl’. PIH girls sit at the ‘male’ extreme, yet have no problems with their gender identity. CVAH (Congenital virilizing adrenal hyperphasia) is a more serious syndrome. The adrenal gland produces steroid hormones, which in large doses act as androgens; ‘male makers’. This happens at the early stages of development and persists. At the mild end they are very like PIH girls, and the changes to the external genitalia can be corrected. However, at the extreme end it is difficult to know how to categorise the child. These are usually brought up as boys but are very confused about their gender identity and are often extremely unhappy and depressed.
Another case is that of Pseudo-hermaphrodites. They are genetic males with male internal genitalia but due to the foetal tissue being non responsive to testosterone, their external genitalia is predominantly female. At puberty the sex organs do begin to respond and the external genitalia begins to resemble that of a male. These ‘machehembra’, as they are sometimes called, are raised as girls but at puberty switch to being men (Imperato-McGinley et al., 1979). This study suggests that social environment is not important, but due to the fact that all the cases were of related individuals it is not altogether clear.
From the evidence what influences gender identity is very complex. This is because gender and gender identity are not the same thing. One’s gender can be allocated as being inherited and controlled by the sex chromosomes; however gender identity seems in some cases to be unstable. It can be influenced by many things. In the case described earlier; the botched circumcision, when found living as a ‘man’, the subject claimed to have always felt something was wrong. At a young age his sex organs had been changed to make his gender female but he felt that the identity that came with this was not suitable for him. It seems like foetal hormones play a big role in gender specific behaviour and perhaps there is some influence on gender identity as well, but that is too simple a solution. So many factors come into affect making it a very subjective phenomenon. People see their own gender identity as something that is appropriate to their own bodies, and there is no simple answer to a governing body that can determine a person’s gender identity.
References
Dow-Nelson. P, (2003) Gender Identity and Sex Typing
Introduction to Psychology 14th Edition: Lecture Outlines, 17
Corning. H.K., (1921) Development of the internal Sex Organs
Lehrbuch der Entwicklungsgeschifte des Menchen, Munich
Spaulding. M.H., (1921) Development of the external genitalia
In Contributions to Embryology, Vol 13
Diamond. M., & Sigmundson. K. (1997) Sex reassignment at birth: Long-term review and clinical implications
Archives of Pediatric Medicine, 151, 298
Imperato-McGinley. J., Peterson. R. E., Gautier. T., & Sturla. E. (1979) Androgens and the evolution of male gender identity among male pseudohermaphrodites with 5 alpha reductase deficiency
Journal of Medicine, 300, 1233-1237