gender

Gender is very polarised in our society. Male or female: any shades in between can create fear and discomfort, because we are not conditioned by our upbringing to any concept of gender that does not fit neatly into one of the two boxes.

And yet gender is not as fixed as we portray it, and it is treated by other societies in different ways. Some Eastern cultures allow for three genders, and the trans-gendered may be seen as deity and worshipped. In parts of the States the hate that exists towards such people results in a roll of remembrance being kept for those that have been killed. The problem in our ‘two gender’ societies is that gender is understood to be genital. A baby is ‘seen’ to be of a certain gender by its genitals, and is defined from there on by that gender. This definition includes a lot of gender specific conditioning.

In fact, we know better than this. Gender arises in the brain too, with different brain structures. Usually brain gender aligns with physical gender, but occasionally it doesn’t. The result (transsexuality) is a person who may physically appear to be one gender, but carries the internal identity of the other. This is understood to be part of the normal range of mammalian gender: it is seen in all vertebrates and is not a pathology, ie, it is not the consequence of something being ‘wrong’. But treatment to alleviate the distress is often beneficial, and in some cases, life-saving. ‘Sex change’ is a misnomer, it is in fact a gender alignment, but the process does have one of the highest rates of success of all clinical interventions!

There are many other disorders and stresses that may cause gender confusion. It is vital to thoroughly explore any confusion, pain or anxiety around gender, and understand the underlying cause. Intersexuality, transvestism, cross dressing, non-acceptance of traditional gender role or a non-specific discomfort, phobia or fear of your own or the opposite gender, inability to socialise with a particular gender or fascination with transgender people. These are all aspects of gender that can explored, talked over, taken apart. Acceptance, alleviation or understanding all start with the open discussion.