Gender? It's A Gray Area!

[CJ]

Hi all,

Lydia,

You wrote: The human organism is not simply a bag of DNA, nor is it a complete tabula rasa on which all experiences are written. I totally agree. But, again, that agreement would be premised solely on my own experience as an individual in a society of like individuals and not on any in-depth knowledge of the science behind the statement.

Still, having said this, and if for no other reason than that I enjoy discovering what people think about such matters, I love these kinds of discussions--even when I feel I can contribute little of value to them.

I work in the mental health field; I've been clobbered with so many studies regarding human behaviour--all of which are open to countless interpretations--that I tend to be cautious and to prefer a more humble hermeneutical stance.

My beef is not with any given study per se but with the motivations behind them or with the perceived need to conduct such studies. Not that I don't care to know what drives us as human beings. I'm as curious as the next crossdresser in this regard. I'm just wondering about what we're really saying about ourselves when we search for explanations to our behaviours that lie outside the scope of our own ability to effect changes in our lives. Like Sartre said, this is living in bad faith.

I'd much rather acknowledge that, for whatever reasons, I feel this need to express the feminine components of my personality by dressing as woman and that it's up to me--and to no one else--to determine what I'll do with this need and where I can go from here. That's all we can ever do, I think.

Now, I know that it does matter whether or not our, ah, "condition," (as transfolk) is a result of factors beyond our control. It matters to insurance companies; it matters to legislators (especially regarding employment and social assistance measures); it matters to anybody that hasn't had a chance to personally know who we are as human beings--human beings that are otherwise valuable and productive members of a society that cherishes its own fear of difference and individuality. But I still maintain that it shouldn't matter to us; we shouldn't lay all our bets on outcomes that will never guarantee us that we'll be free from the prejudice and intolerance of others. There are no such guarantees and, human nature being what it is (assuming there even is such a thing as "human nature"), there never will be.

As for the false dichotomy, Lydia, yes, I agree. And, in my books, false dichotomies are almost as bad as false prophets (whether these hail from the hallowed halls of academe or from dubious dungeons pop cultural myth).

Love,
CJ

[Virginia]

Ok, in layman's terms, it is either scientific, or socio-economic -right?
Well as for the socio-economic aspect, I know how I was brought-up, I dare say none of my sisters here experienced the childhood that I did - HEY!!!! I'LL BET EVERY ONE OF MY SISTERS HERE COULD SAY THAT!!!!
So can we say," where is the "common thread" of unity among us based on socio-economic back ground!" Just asking?!!!
How come for some of us this "Gift" and I will always refer to it as a Gift! does not manifest itself in us in a recognizable manner until later in life??
Yes, my sisters here challenged me to look back on my life and see what experiences I might have had that would condone where I am today! I did and I did have -- well more than I imagined! However, ignorance of, lack of understanding, embarrassment - whatever prevented me from even beginning to accept this Gift, back them -- Hell, I was more macho than most! I flew US Navy figher aircraft (women do it now as well, but not then) I got to train with the first few classes of Navy SEALS, I played college football, was on the gymnastic team and could do an "IRON CROSS!" Now I have Virginia - she was evidently always there, but in my life up to the time when she made herself known by telling me I needed her help, I had supressed, repressed, ignored whatever the fact that I had this beautiful gift inside me and now it has blossomed and I would not change it for the world.
Will science every figure "US" out - I think so! when?? Not in any of our lifetimes! What to do!? For me I am absolutely loving my "Magical Mystery Tour!" and if I can help any of my sisters enjoy theirs - it is my desire.
I love reading your posts, girls, you are articulate, intelligent, thought provoking and just all-round great gals!!!! and I am so so proud to call you my sisters!!!!
I love you all,
Virginia

[Lydia]

Hi DonnaT,

Thanks for the links. I was peripherally familiar with such studies, but your references are excellent and to the point. Genetic studies in human are difficult and especially difficult to do any controlled experimentation.

However, to me, the most obvious conclusion from such research is that there are many genes that control sex, gender, endcrines, etc., and that many of these genes are located on chromosomes other than the traditional X & Y. This makes the study of human genetics an increbibly complex situation to deal with.

OOPS. I ended a sentence with a preposition. A syntactical sin. When Winston Churchill was accused of doing this, he replied,"That is the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put!"

Hugs,

Lydia

[Absaroka]

I agree that for us acceptance is what we need to do. However for some of us understanding the whys is part of the road to acceptance.

As for all the studies there is not only the issue of the particular researchers ax to grind but the problem that we sometimes learn more and more about less and less. Not to mention the issue of discovering the obvious. Remember the joke that a sociologist will spend $100,000 for a study to find out that there is a whorehouse on the corner when any taxi driver could have told him the same thing for free? Or the recent one which got a couple of pages in Time where (gasp...awe...shock) it was found that most teenage boys have feelings for their girlfriends and are often upset if the relationship ends?

Nonetheless I think that all these studies are in general useful. A lot is learned and quantified. And there is the extremely valuable subtext for gender issues that this is something with causes rather than just a question of individual self indulgence and all those other negative moral things we get accused of.

Absaroka