Brendan Bain | Why change words related to human sexuality?

Over the past 50 years or so, some researchers from the disciplines of psychology and the social sciences have proposed separating the meaning and use of the words sex and gender even though for many years, these terms have been used interchangeably. The idea of new definitions of gender has led to the promotion of change in some jurisdictions.

Implementation of these changes has been promoted by influential national and international agencies. For example, in recent publications, the World Health Organization explains gender as follows: “Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls, and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours, and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl, or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.”

New gender classifications are being publicised in different parts of the world based on the idea that observed behaviours and self-reported feelings that are not regarded as matching a person’s genetic or biological sex may be acknowledged and accepted as these persons’ genders. In some of these classifications, genders are regarded as “fluid” and changeable over time as self-perceptions change. Fluidity or changeability includes allowance for movement from one position to another along a gender spectrum. A special category called “questioning” or “queer” is included in some classifications.

In some countries, children (pre-teens and adolescents) are announcing their gender identity to their parents and other adults. These children can request and sometimes insist that their announcements must be accepted by parents, local authorities, including schoolteachers and citizens’ bodies, even when their parents disagree.

SEVERE NEGATIVE SANCTIONS

In some places, the changes that are described are being strictly imposed, and in certain instances, severe negative sanctions are reportedly being applied to persons and agencies, including parents, schoolteachers and members of the general public that do not adopt them.

New words or terms have been introduced to facilitate the new gender classifications. One such term is “non-binary “, which allows the idea of multiple genders to be accommodated. However, crossing of the terms sex and gender sometimes occurs and can cause confusion, for example, in cases where persons are described as being bi-sexual rather than bi-gendered.

Another example of new terms included in the current gender lexicon is the introduction of the prefixes cis- and trans-. As explained in an article published by US-based National Public Radio (NPR), “Cis-gender and trans-gender have their origins in Latin-derived prefixes of ‘cis’ and ‘trans’ – cis, meaning ‘on this side of’ and trans, meaning ‘across from’ or ‘on the other side of ’ ”. In gender language, the prefix cis- is used to describe persons whose self-identified gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth while the prefix trans- is used to describe persons whose self-identified gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth.

For a long time, historically, the biological classification of humans into two sexes was used universally. The arrival of modern science with advances in genetics has reinforced the biological classification of sex or biological gender, which was based previously on observation of physical features at birth, physical growth, and development, and behaviours that were considered typical of one or other sex. The connection between our genetic (chromosomal) sexual building blocks (technical term, genotype, based on acknowledgement of the part of our DNA that codes for maleness or femaleness) became clearer. It is now understood that specific parts of our DNA – called the X and Y chromosomes – code for the physical and developmental characteristics that are recognised as male or female, respectively (technical term, phenotype). A very small number of persons in the population are classified as “intersex” because they are born with a difference in their sexual chromosomal patterns that results in physical and developmental features that create an ambiguous or androgynous (literally ‘both male and female’) condition.

VAST MAJORITY

Based on the areas of the DNA that code for physical sexual body parts and functions, the vast majority of individuals are identified at birth as either male or female. As persons grow from infancy through each developmental stage of life, physical and behavioural characteristics are observed and appreciated as either male or female.

The biological classification of sex in humans has been used on birth certificates and other documents such as passports and drivers’ licences as well as other forms of personal identification. Recognising and classifying the sexes in this way – male, female, and ‘intersex’ – is also used with reference to a majority of animals and some types of plants. In some instances, authors have used the words sex and gender interchangeably. Until recently, the interchangeable use of these two terms has become standard in many countries and often appears in official personal documents.

Here are some questions about the language related to human sexuality, which need careful answers:

1. Do descriptive studies based on self-reports from individuals provide sufficient basis for the separation of the terms sex and gender?

2. Should the biological definitions of sex and gender be kept?

3. Are the proposed changes in the definition of gender necessary in nation states and globally?

4. Are the changes in definition of the term gender being proposed for adoption too hastily by national and international organisations?

5. Does changing the definition of the term gender create clarity or cause confusion within families and communities?

Brendan Bain is a specialist in internal medicine, former head of the Department of Community Health & Psychiatry at The University of the West Indies. Send feedback to medical.educational2015@gmail.com