Sex, Gender, or Sexual Orientation

[Nat]

Originally Posted by Daryn

Hmmm... can you talk a bit about why you think there is a biological component to gender experience? Do you think it has something to do with the brain (one theory) or hormones that the fetus was exposed to or ?????

The first reason I think there's a biological component is because I think humans are basically animals and that it's possible that every part of us has some biological basis.

I know this is exactly the opposite of much of queer theory.

Though I think gender has a performative element, and the way gender is expressed is tied very much to cultural constructions, the part of gender I'm talking about is the stuff that feels innate. Not "gender identity" or "gender expression" but how one experiences one's own gender and sex.

If I feel like there's a guy side of me, is that my psychology? informed by my experiences? Some people might say yes. Is it something spiritual? I sometimes wonder that. But there is always going to be a piece of me that wonders about my own DNA, my own hormone levels, my fetal development, etc. I will always wonder whether my feelings stem from a biological (chemical, developmental, genetic) cause.

And when people talk about experiencing the "phantum phalllus" - how extraordinary is that in a way? I don't know how common that experience is, but I've had it sometimes. I have known many female-bodied people (many who are woman identified, several who are not butch, but most queer) who experience that all of the time. It's hard for me to not think that's biologically based.

But, whether it can be scientifically ever proven - god knows. And I'm not sure I'd want that proven, because if it were something people could affect or discern early enough, how many queer fetuses would be aborted?

The brain is a part of the body, and I think to say that gender is not biologically based would be to say that gender is a result entirely of nurture rather than nature.

With most people I've known, and with my own personal experience, there is some feeling of always having felt a certain way about their gender. I haven't run into a person who says, "when I found out my dad wanted a boy instead of a girl, that's when I started feeling like a boy on the inside." I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I just haven't been exposed to anybody who says they feel like some life-event or influence changed their gender.

I think this is an area where my opinion may be fiercely disagreed with. It's not the informed opinion of a person who's studied this stuff in school or in private scholarly study. It's just my own opinion based on my own feelings and observations, and beyond that, maybe the reason I cling to it so much is that it's a theory that feels supportive to my own experience.

[Daryn]

Originally Posted by Nat

The first reason I think there's a biological component is because I think humans are basically animals and that it's possible that every part of us has some biological basis.

I don't think knowledge or experiences have a biological basis and both of them shape what is intrinsically part of individual identity.

I know this is exactly the opposite of much of queer theory.

Though I think gender has a performative element, and the way gender is expressed is tied very much to cultural constructions, the part of gender I'm talking about is the stuff that feels innate. Not "gender identity" or "gender expression" but how one experiences one's own gender and sex.

If I feel like there's a guy side of me, is that my psychology? informed by my experiences? Some people might say yes. Is it something spiritual? I sometimes wonder that. But there is always going to be a piece of me that wonders about my own DNA, my own hormone levels, my fetal development, etc. I will always wonder whether my feelings stem from a biological (chemical, developmental, genetic) cause.

And the "nuture over nature gang" would see it totally opposite. But I don't necessarily agree with all of that either. I think it's likely a combination of genetics and environment.

And when people talk about experiencing the "phantum phalllus" - how extraordinary is that in a way? I don't know how common that experience is, but I've had it sometimes. I have known many female-bodied people (many who are woman identified, several who are not butch, but most queer) who experience that all of the time. It's hard for me to not think that's biologically based.

I've been told by a very feminine straight woman that she's experienced it.

But, whether it can be scientifically ever proven - god knows. And I'm not sure I'd want that proven, because if it were something people could affect or discern early enough, how many queer fetuses would be aborted?

The brain is a part of the body, and I think to say that gender is not biologically based would be to say that gender is a result entirely of nurture rather than nature.

With most people I've known, and with my own personal experience, there is some feeling of always having felt a certain way about their gender. I haven't run into a person who says, "when I found out my dad wanted a boy instead of a girl, that's when I started feeling like a boy on the inside." I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I just haven't been exposed to anybody who says they feel like some life-event or influence changed their gender.

I think this is an area where my opinion may be fiercely disagreed with. It's not the informed opinion of a person who's studied this stuff in school or in private scholarly study. It's just my own opinion based on my own feelings and observations, and beyond that, maybe the reason I cling to it so much is that it's a theory that feels supportive to my own experience.

And I am betting the truth is part of both...