Why a person feels male when biologically female, or vice versa, is still unclear. But scientists are working to solve the puzzle
Few questions in science are as fraught as those around gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
. At worst, the politics deters researchers and funders, and leaves people needed to take part in studies feeling wary. As a result, most of the answers science has provided are on the less contentious basics: how girls are born girls, and boys are born boys. Why a person feels maleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XY), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. penis, testicles). when they are biologically femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus)., or the other way around, for now remains uncertain.
“This is the key question at the moment,” says Qazi Rahman, a lead investigator into LGBTAcronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans people; GLBT mental health at King’s College London. “We know much more about how nature shapes sexual orientationPatterns of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to groups of people (e.g. men, women, trans people), a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions; for example pansexual, bisexual, LGB, heterosexual., and my view of the science is that nurture does very little, if any, shaping of sexual orientationPatterns of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to groups of people (e.g. men, women, trans people), a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions; for example pansexual, bisexual, LGB, heterosexual.. We know next to nothing about how people come to feel transgender• Sometimes used as an umbrella to describe anyone whose identity or behaviour falls outside of stereotypical gender norms. More narrowly defined, it refers to an individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned birth gender. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation (attraction to people of a specific gender). Therefore, transgender people may additionally identify with a variety of other sexual identities as well.
• An umbrella term used to include transsexual people, transvestites and cross-dressers, as in “the transgender community.”
• This is an umbrella term that applies to anyone who does not feel that their gender identity (e.g., identifying as male, female, or other) matches their anatomical/bio- logical sex.
• An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from that of their sex assigned at birth. Transgender people may or may not alter their bodies to better fit with their gender identity through means such as hormones or surgery. Some intersex people identify as transgender but the two are not the same. Identities such as transsexual or transvestite are distinct sub-categories of transgender and should not be used as synonyms. Should only be used as an adjective e.g. ‘transgender people’. The word “Transgendered” is used by some people but its use is discouraged.
.”
Embryos start to become maleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XY), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. penis, testicles). or femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus). at about six to eight weeks. At that time, those with an active gene called SRY, most often found on the Y chromosome, starts to produce the maleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XY), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. penis, testicles). sexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. hormone, testosterone. Without the flood of the hormone, embryos remain femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus).. With testosterone, masculinisation begins. It is the fork in the road that shapes a person’s anatomy and physiology, and potentially their behaviour.
By the time they reach puberty, 75% of children who have questioned their gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
will identify with the one they were assigned in the womb. But for others, what gives rise to an unshakeable feeling of being assigned the wrong gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
? Genes and the substances the foetus is exposed to in the womb probably play a part, but how large a part is unclear.
Brain scans of trans• Trans is an umbrella term used to describe people whose lives appear to conflict with the gender norms of society. Whether this is in their clothing, in presenting themselves or undergoing hormone treatment and surgery. Being trans does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
• Trans is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of people whose gender and/or gender expression differ from their assigned sex and/or the societal and cultural expectations of their assigned sex; includes people who are androgyne, agender, bigender, butch, CAFAB, CAMAB, cross-dresser, drag king, drag queen, femme, FTM, gender creative, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, gender variant, MTF, pangender, questioning, trans, trans man, trans woman, transfeminine, transgender, transmasucline, transsexual, and two-spirit.
people suggest there are biological underpinnings, but even though research has been going on since the 1990s, the data is still sparse. Taken together, studies show the brains of trans• Trans is an umbrella term used to describe people whose lives appear to conflict with the gender norms of society. Whether this is in their clothing, in presenting themselves or undergoing hormone treatment and surgery. Being trans does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
• Trans is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of people whose gender and/or gender expression differ from their assigned sex and/or the societal and cultural expectations of their assigned sex; includes people who are androgyne, agender, bigender, butch, CAFAB, CAMAB, cross-dresser, drag king, drag queen, femme, FTM, gender creative, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, gender variant, MTF, pangender, questioning, trans, trans man, trans woman, transfeminine, transgender, transmasucline, transsexual, and two-spirit.
people are not wholly maleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XY), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. penis, testicles). or femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus)., but have regions and systems that are selectively masculinised or feminised. Whether these differences are short-lived or permanent, or change after treatment with hormonesChemical substances that control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs; see also: sex hormones., for instance, all add to the pile of unanswered questions.
There is evidence that social conditioning may have some role to play in gender identity• One’s innermost concept of self as male or female or both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different than the sex assigned at birth. Individuals are conscious of this between the ages 18 months and 3 years. Most people develop a gender identity that matches their biological sex. For some, however, their gender identity is different from their biological or assigned sex. Some of these individuals choose to socially, hormonally and/or surgically change their sex to more fully match their gender identity.
• The gender to which one feels one belongs.
• Internal and psychological sense of oneself as a woman, a man, both, in between, or neither.
, too. When a person is born intersex and has treatment at an early stage to make them femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus)., they tend to grow up feeling femaleA sex, usually assigned at birth, and based on chromosomes (e.g. XX), gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy (e.g. vagina, uterus)., and vice versa. “A lot of conditioning might occur very early on, and it could be that it’s already started in late foetal life,” says Robin Lovell-Badge, the head of stem cell biology and developmental genetics at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
The delicate nature of sexual politics makes research difficult, but it is not the only hurdle scientists face. The proliferation of words used to describe gender identity• One’s innermost concept of self as male or female or both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different than the sex assigned at birth. Individuals are conscious of this between the ages 18 months and 3 years. Most people develop a gender identity that matches their biological sex. For some, however, their gender identity is different from their biological or assigned sex. Some of these individuals choose to socially, hormonally and/or surgically change their sex to more fully match their gender identity.
• The gender to which one feels one belongs.
• Internal and psychological sense of oneself as a woman, a man, both, in between, or neither.
adds a further complication: scientists need to know if such terms are stable psychological constructs, Rahman says. “That doesn’t mean they are not real or important to people, but researchers need to interrogate these constructs more thoroughly to see if they represent a real ground shift, and are connected in some real sense to non-heterosexual or transgender• Sometimes used as an umbrella to describe anyone whose identity or behaviour falls outside of stereotypical gender norms. More narrowly defined, it refers to an individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned birth gender. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation (attraction to people of a specific gender). Therefore, transgender people may additionally identify with a variety of other sexual identities as well.
• An umbrella term used to include transsexual people, transvestites and cross-dressers, as in “the transgender community.”
• This is an umbrella term that applies to anyone who does not feel that their gender identity (e.g., identifying as male, female, or other) matches their anatomical/bio- logical sex.
• An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from that of their sex assigned at birth. Transgender people may or may not alter their bodies to better fit with their gender identity through means such as hormones or surgery. Some intersex people identify as transgender but the two are not the same. Identities such as transsexual or transvestite are distinct sub-categories of transgender and should not be used as synonyms. Should only be used as an adjective e.g. ‘transgender people’. The word “Transgendered” is used by some people but its use is discouraged.
identities.”
The situation could yet become more complex. A person’s sexual identity can be thought of as a product of four related factors: their biological sexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.; their sexual orientationPatterns of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to groups of people (e.g. men, women, trans people), a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions; for example pansexual, bisexual, LGB, heterosexual.; the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
they feel; and the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
that dominates the way they behave. “There are going to be people on any part of any of those four different spectra,” says Lovell-Badge. “So it’s difficult to have terminology which is going to really fit with everyone.”
Rahman says the key lies in the crossover between physiological and psychological factors. “In some deeper sense, showing brain differences, or finding genetic differences, would not at all be surprising. The big question is how these biological influences shape the felt sense of gender identity,” he says.
“How do prenatal sex hormonesHormones, such as oestrogen and testosterone, affecting sexual and reproductive development or function. shape the developing brain circuitry which controls your sense of gender identity• One’s innermost concept of self as male or female or both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One’s gender identity can be the same or different than the sex assigned at birth. Individuals are conscious of this between the ages 18 months and 3 years. Most people develop a gender identity that matches their biological sex. For some, however, their gender identity is different from their biological or assigned sex. Some of these individuals choose to socially, hormonally and/or surgically change their sex to more fully match their gender identity.
• The gender to which one feels one belongs.
• Internal and psychological sense of oneself as a woman, a man, both, in between, or neither.
? Where is that network? How does it work to make this happen and how does it map out over time, from early childhood to middle childhood through to adolescence and young adulthood? And how does that become different in some people to the sexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. they were assigned at birth?”
“The answer is, we don’t know.”
© 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.