Does biological sex determine Gender?
Anatomy is Destiny'(Sigmund Freud). Does biological sex determine Gender?In humans there are some obvious physical differences in reproductive systems and physique but also some less obvious differences in physiological processes i.e. the sex hormones testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone. Women produce oestrogen and progesterone from their ovaries men produce testosterone from there testis; however both men and women produce all three hormones as androgens from the adrenal glands. They are not gender specific. Other differences are in cognition, behaviour, genetic make up V XX-XY. There is also a difference in disease susceptibility stemming from these differences in DNA, such as colour blindness and other recessive allele sex-linked diseases. As males only have one X chromosome they are more likely to have the faulty recessive allele as their only functioning gene. Women with two X alleles can carry the genes for a sex-linked genetic malfunction but their harmful effects are usually masked by the dominant (normal) alleles on their second X chromosome. Males have approximately 2% less DNA overall, compared to females. We are born into our sex either male or female; however, there are cases where abnormalities arising
, the extent to which gender is an important factor in the way that they interact with people. In the Balkans (Serbia and Montenegro) the Muskobanja (female to male cross gendered) are raised as males in families without sons, undertaking the male roles, dress and social identity, as sworn to virginity they are highly honoured in their communities. Baby girls are called sweet and pretty, baby boys are called handsome. people with Downs syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21, these three copies leads to mental retardation, developmental and behavioural abnormalities. In the Zuni tribe, some children who were gender ambiguous were called Berdache (two spirits); they believed that gender was given by spirits to the child, if the mother dreamt of a gender then it was because that was the gender assigned to the child from the spirit world. In India the Hijra are the third gender. Gender is considered to be socially constructed/socially acquired as apposed to sex which is biologically given. Gender Schema Theory classifies people into two groups - those who are gender schematic, and those who are gender aschematic. We can choose a different path in life which isn't dictated by the norms. Sigmund Freud explained this with the theory penis envy, where the daughter shows resentment about her social role as being a girl, wanting the freedom of her other male siblings. This shows the extent to which that individual is willing to use gender to view the world - i. Visually we associate them to be different from a very early age. The environment that we are brought up in plays apart as most genes are affected to some degree by the environment i.
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