What is Gender and Who is Transsexual / Transgendered?

Marsha McMallow

Hey everyone. In my quest to find out more about trans gender identities I was linked to this paper by a friend. You've probably seen it before, but if not, please take a look. It's a really interesting read.

But, my review of current research and experience with gender dysphoric, gay and traditional clients has led me to see gender not as a bimodal male or female dichotomy but as a matrix—a possible mix of male and female development within the same individual.

Genetic Gender — Our chromosomal inheritance.

Physical Gender — Our primary and secondary sexual characteristics.

"Brain Gender" — Functional structure of the brain, along gender lines.

"Brain Sex" — Love/sex Patterns, How we relate to others on a social and interpersonal as well as sexual level. "Love Maps."

Gender Identity — Our subjective gender, our sexual Self-Map, how we feel ourselves to be: male or female.

Physical Gender does not always indicate "Brain Gender," while most physical male and female infants have Brain Gender matching their physical gender, a significant (but unknown) percentage do not. And in transgendered individuals, the Physical and Brain Gender are the opposite, and begin to express themselves at birth.

Even a few hours after birth, significant behavioral differences are noted between morphologically "normal" boys and girls. Newborn girls are much more sensitive to touch and sound than their male counterparts. Several day old girls spend about twice as long looking back at an adult face than boys, and even longer if the adult is speaking. A girl can distinguish between the cries of another infant from other extraneous noises long before a boy. Even before they can understand language, girls do better at identifying the emotional context of speech.

Conversely, during the first few weeks of infant life, boys are inattentive to the presence of an adult, whether speaking to the infant or not. However, baby boys tend to show more activity and wakefulness. At the age of several months, girls can usually distinguish between the faces of strangers and people they know—boys usually do not demonstrate this ability.

As infants grow into children, the differences seem to intensify and polarize. Girls learn to speak earlier than boys and do a better job of it. Boys want to explore areas, spaces and things, girls like to talk and listen. Boys like vigorous play in a large space where girls like more sedentary games in smaller spaces. Boys like to build, take things apart, explore mechanical aspects of things and are interested in other children only for their "use" (playmates, teammates, allies, etc.). Girls see others more as individuals—and will likely exclude a person because they're "not nice," and will more readily include younger children and remember each other's names. Girls play games involving home, friendship, and emotions. Boys like rough, competitive games full of "'zap, pow' and villainy." Boys will measure success by active interference with other players, preferring games where winning and losing is clearly defined. In contrast, girl play involves taking turns, cooperation and indirect competition. Tag is a typical boy's game, hopscotch is a girl's game.

As we grow into adults, these differences become both more subtle and entrenched.

Female brained individuals are naturally socialized, tend to prefer cooperation, group discussions and compromise, but are rigid rule followers. Male brained individuals need to be forced into a social conscience, see everything as winning or losing, and are very territorial (my idea, my place, my person, etc.). Competitive and keenly aware of their place in the pecking order, males view rules as something to avoid, ignore or use against others. (The legal profession is very male.)

Female brained individuals are very aware of emotional states, both in themselves and others, and have a gift for, and need to express themselves in language. These two needs/abilities combine so that there is a great deal of discussion and description of everyday things (food, experiences, involvements and other people) with an emotional context and value judgment.

Male brained individuals have great difficulty identifying emotional states of any kind beyond anger, fear and lust, either in themselves or others. Language tends to be restricted and used sparingly, and hardly ever to describe emotional states. But male brains do have superior spatial and non-verbal skills, such as mathematics, map reading, 3-D conceptions, and with increasing intelligence, abstractions.

In fact, for reasons not understood (at least by this writer), gender differences seem to decrease as our IQ points increase. One study indicated that one-third of physical females in graduate school had brains wired more like a typical male brain.

Around eight or nine years of age, the differences between male and female behavior become obvious. In order to fit in, the physical male with a female brain begins to mimic and then perfect (as much as they can) a male response, leaving their natural female self unexpressed or underdeveloped.

Some transgendered physical males are very good at this subterfuge and produce a flawless macho male persona. Others are less successful, and some produce a "Swiss cheese" persona where glimpses or whole chunks of their natural female thinking showing through. But, no matter how efficient an individual is in hiding their natural gender from others, they will always be aware (at least at times and to some degree) of it themselves.

The non-transgendered would typically be able to live with their female gendered brain (most writers, artists, actors), forming some sort of truce or overcompensation which even they would usually come to accept as being true. But, alas, the transgendered also have a female gendered Brain Sex and Identity.

When referring to female and male brained individuals in this section, I will be referring to their Brain Sex regardless of the physical or Gender Brained states.

Female brained individuals cannot and do not separate how they feel about a person (good, bad, nice, boring, etc.) and how they see them sexually. They must feel positive about a person as an individual in order to sexually desire them. Male brained individuals have a distant disconnect between feelings about a person as an individual and as a sex object. Males can easily, sometimes preferably, have sex with a person they don't know, don't like or even actively dislike. Love and sex are two different worlds for the male brained. These two worlds can come together, and for most this is preferred, but it is not necessary, and for some, not even desired.

For female brained individuals, environmental factors are very important when it comes to sexual contact. Such things as lighting (candles, soft lighting), smells, sensual bedding, music and a "romantic" ambiance are important to erotic feelings and fantasies. Males can have sex anywhere, any time, any place with equal gusto. Sex in the bed, car or dark room with a stranger are all equivalent.

While environmental concerns are low on the male totem pole of desires, sensual attitudes come very high. How their partner looks, feels, even smells, is very important. Males prefer their partner young (or with young features), smooth and "sexy." Looks and sensual components are much less important to the female brain, with social status and acceptance given greater weight.

The importance given to the senses in males and their disconnect between romantic feeling and sex objects, help explain male interest in pornography and their ability to have sex to orgasm almost indiscriminately (sex dolls) and often counter to the stated attributes of a desired partner (sex in prison).

While female brained individuals are highly influenced by what society expects or rejects in regard to their general and erotic behavior; males are often most influenced by what display value and "bragging rights" their behavior and partner possesses.

As for sexual orientation, this is an attribute which I feel to be limited to male brained individuals. I know this is heresy and very socially incorrect in some circles. But, allow me to illustrate my point. While male brained persons are capable (at least while young) of having sex with almost anything (animal, vegetable, or mineral), they are from an early age romantically and sexually drawn to a specific physical type, male or female. No matter what their socially influenced sexual activity may be, or for how long, their basic attraction (even if denied) is not acted on, their orientation does not change.

Female brained individuals, on the other hand, appear to be much more fluid and less physically restricted in their choice of sexual partners. Women routinely become romantically attached to each other, but physical expressions remain atypical for most. While periods of lesbian experimentation is not rare among women, for a straight male to become romantically involved with another male in mid-life without previous gay feelings unexpressed is all but unknown.

Female brained persons are far more influenced by a person's personality and "niceness" than their body, and being great rule followers, they are highly influenced by what "society" expects of them. This society can be anything from the greater society to their neighborhood, family, friends, religious or social group. If a female brained individual meets an emotionally compatible woman in a socially accepting or nurturing environment, a romance can take place. A male might have sex, but never romance.

Gender identity is one's subjective sense of one's own sex. Like pain, it is unambiguously felt but one is unable to prove or display it to others.Gender Identity does not match their Physical Gende

Physically male gender dysphoric individuals have been described, either by themselves or by others, as falling into three distinct groups: crossdressers, transgenderists and transsexuals.

While these categories are the generally accepted classifications both within the gender community and among helping professionals, during my work with gender folk I have come to the belief that there is only one cause, one conflict, one condition — but there are many reactions and adjustments to it. I have gradually come to the conclusion that one's coming to terms with the conflict between one's knowledge of their true gender and one's need to be "normal" fosters the same conflict in all gender folk. Because a child's greatest desire is to be normal (like everybody else), the great majority of transgendered individuals create an artificial self which meets this goal. They are often so successful at this that they not only fool everyone else but themselves as well — at least part of the time, in some way.

Once created, physically male gender folk live in their male role — a 3-D personality with its own goals, likes and dislikes, values, hobbies, etc. Although indistinguishable from the "real thing," it isn't themselves. It is an artificial creation for them to be able to fit in. This is achieved at the expense of denying, locking away, their natural female self. (See Brain Gender and Brain Sex.) Their desire to be "normal" has denied them their natural selves. But, as the nagging reality of the deception becomes harder and harder to suppress, one has to express their true gender somehow, in some way.

For most, dressing is the obvious compromise. If one cannot be female, one can at least express femininity. But the more one expresses one's true self, the desire for more becomes greater. Some individuals continue expressing themselves more and more, others panic and purge only to start again later.

One's gender identity classification (crossdresser, transgenderist, transsexual, etc.) is due to each individual's adjustment to first the conflict between one's natural gender and their need to be "normal," and later to the conflict between one's natural gender and their "male persona." There is no objective "best solution," only a subjective, personal best solution.

After years or decades of living, working and building within their male persona, it is often too "expensive" to give up the life, perks, family, etc., one has built up—in order to go back to basics and have an emotionally 12 year old girl grow up—and live in a once male 40+ year old body.

Ok, so I basically quoted the whole thing there, minus the section on genetics. I probably should have put this on one of the trans threads, but I wasn't sure where it would fit! I'd be interested to hear what people think about it.

wonderfulname

I find this very odd, it talks about the spectrum of gender in the beginning yet only works with the extremes throughout, its very constrained or something... does anyone have a date for this paper? Might explain it.

Links234

Hmm, I find quite a bit of it very off... Transgenderist?

Also, the author seems to take any characteristics they deem female and assume that the person who expresses has a female gendered brain. "Most writers, artists, actors."

It looks like there's a lot of groundless speculation really.

If you want a more serious idea of transsexuality, then Zoe Brain has compiled links to a load of relevant peer reviewed papers on the subject: http://aebrain.blogspot.com/p/reference-works-on-transsexual-and.html

Also, Transsexual gene link identified.

wonderfulname

But, my review of current research and experience with gender dysphoric, gay and traditional clients has led me to see gender not as a bimodal male or female dichotomy but as a matrix

Identity Matrix! :pac:

Had to be said, I'm sorry!

Marsha McMallow

I think it was published back in the 90's, might be worth clicking through to read the whole paper for context with what gender he's referring to and all that. I found it interesting, but don't want to take any of it as being fact. It's difficult to find a good reliable source of information on this topic!

Thanks for the links, Links.

wonderfulname

I did read the whole paper, that's what my comment refers to not the extracts you provided, sorry that wasn't clear, and my comment is just my opinion, which isn't worth much at all!

deirdre_dub

I'd be interested to hear what people think about it.

I've only skimmed what you quoted. I don't see myself in it, and I also see quite a bit of gender stereotyping. It was that stereotyping that prompted me to stop reading.

I don't think it is the place of science to tell me what my gender identity means, to be honest. There is too much diversity for science to be able to talk about people's identities in any meaningful way.