The Biology Of Identity Essay Research Paper

The Biology Of Identity Essay, Research Paper

THE BIOLOGY OF IDENTITY

(In hopes to find the TRUTH behind sexual anomalies )

Without having any value judgments on sexual deviancy – the word itself many seem to imply disapproval. Whether it be transvestism, voyeurism, exhibitionism, or sadomasochism, sexual deviancy is by many considered unnatural and inhuman. However these two words unnatural and inhuman is exactly what homosexuality is not. The truth is, sexual deviancy is as much a function of biology and as much a product of nature – as the orthodox sexuality which society accepts as natural . Of course some adult sexual orientation is caused by early social conditioning, but through research and hard evidence, scientists have found that sex, gender and sexual orientation are all determined genetically.

Kate Bornstein the author of Gender Outlaw, states that sex, gender and sexual orientation are all interchangeable like the shuffle of cards. As in her case, she was a transsexual man, but still desired only women. As a transsexual lesbian she contends that though you may be born a certain sex (the physical genitalia), your gender identity can be the complete opposite. When Bornstein was still a physical man she stated: I felt I was a woman, and more importantly I felt I belonged with other women. (Bornstein, 24) The problem, in her eyes, is how people treat one another differently because of gender. Throughout her book, she states that society is the cause of the problem. She condemns the social structure that is based around a bipolar gender system. What is a man and what is a woman , in her mind, makes no difference. Her goal is to, …dismantle the (two-gender) system… and do away with any bias people have toward those who do not fit into the gender system that is already created (,such as herself).

However, Bornstein never questions what made her a homosexual. She describes gender and sexual orientation (to what gender one is attracted to) as a choice one makes. This is, however, is contradictory to her own case. She felt that she was a woman (gender wise), trapped in the body of a man (physically). She never said that she made a choice over what sex she was attracted to, or what gender she felt she was. She stated that she was just born a boy, with the gender of a woman. Through this example, one would have to assume that homosexuality is the product of biology, not psychology. Science has proven that, much like Bornstein, sex, gender and sexual orientation are separate and interchangeable, but genetically based.

The East German scientist, Dr. Gunter Dorner, has devoted his life s work to the theory that exposure to certain hormones before birth determines sexual inclination. He claims that potential future homosexual behavior can be detected through amniocentesis, the test of the uterine fluid which can reveal Down s syndrome in the unborn child. Dorner further claims that, with prenatal injections, homosexuality can be prevented. The male hormone masculinises the mind, where in the absence of testosterone the brain develops along a naturally female pattern. (Dorner, 365) Dorner finds that the brain is not masculinises all in one go. Dorner suggests that in men and women it is the presence or absence of male hormones that build the structure of the brain bit by bit into a male or female pattern of sexual identity. It happens, he says, in three stages – the development of what he calls the sex centre, the mating centres, and the gender-role centres of the brain. First, with the sex centre , the hormones set to work on creating the typical male and female physical characteristics. The next, and to some degree overlapping stage, is the transformation of the mating centre . This Dorner identifies as the hypothalamus which, it is now known, is arranged differently in men and women, and controls sexual behavior in adult life. The last stage is when the hormones get to work on the gender-role centres in the brain of the unborn child, laying down the network in the brain which determine our general behavior like the level of aggression or lack of it, our sociability or individualism, our adventurousness or timidity – characteristics which get fully expressed under the hormonal influence of puberty.

Dorner believes that each or these centres can be independently upset at each stage of development. Dorner has proven his theory with the development of the primary sexual characteristics, by taking genetically female foetuses and exposed them to an abnormal level of male hormone will result in the developed male-like organs. The development of the mating centre, the hypothalamus, Dorner argues, can be upset; in a male, the lower the concentration of androgens, or male hormones, the greater the likelihood that the eventual child will have homosexual tendencies. In girls, a higher level of androgens molds the hypothalamus in a manner which will produce same-sex attraction. Finally the gender-role centres, the wiring up of the brain, and the way the functions are distributed, may follow a male pattern in the female, or a female pattern in the male, depending on the abnormal presence of male or female hormones.

The beauty of this theory is that it explains how, for instance, obviously physical males, with obviously male identities and mannerisms, may be attracted to same-sex partners; in that case, only the second stage, the d