Personal Conception of Oneself as Female or Male - Essay Example

? RUNNING HEAD: Gender Identity Topic: Gender Identity of the Under the guidance of: APA Format Gender Identity Introduction Gender identity may be described as a personal conception of oneself as female or male (Ghosh, 2012). The concept of gender identity is related intimately to the gender role concept as the outward manifestations of personality that basically causes reflection of gender identity. In almost all instances, gender identity is self-identified as a result of combination of various extrinsic and inherent factors (Ghosh, 2012). On the other hand, gender role is a manifestation within the society by various observable factors like appearance and behavior (Ghosh, 2012). What exactly determines gender identity is a much debated issue (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). While some researchers argue that gender identity is mainly because of prenatal exposure to male hormones, other opine that social factors like rearing have an impact on gender identity and behavior. The role of nature and nurture in gender identity and gender role is yet debated in biopsychological circles and enormous research has been conducted in this regard. In this essay, the influence of hormones on gender identity and behavior will be discussed. Role of biological factors like hormones on sexual differences, behavior and gender identity Maturation of gender identity or gender development in a child begins in the intrauterine stage. Primary role is played by sexual dimorphism induced by hormones in the growing fetus. It is a fact that all human fetuses are actually primed to have a female sex and the default pathway is to have a female anatomy. However, during the 8th week of gestation, fetuses that have Y chromosome and have a functional locus for testes determining factor known as SRY gene, undergo testicular development. During this process, a steady surge of testosterone produced by the testes occurs and conversion of the inherently female fetus into a male fetus happens. The main virilizing hormone during gestation is dihydrotestesterone that occurs from testosterone (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). Certain other gene products also may be involved in the masculinization of the inherently female fetus. Another important factor that eventually leads to male phenotype is the production of antimullerian hormone that inhibits formation of mullerian ducts leading to development of female genitals (Ghosh, 2012). In this process, even the fetal brain is affected. Magnetic resonance imaging studies in animal and human models have revealed that certain parts of brain, like the amygdala, cerebellum, corpus callosum and preoptic hypothalamus are larger following exposure to intrauterine testesterone. On the other hand, in the female fetuses which are anyway deprived of testesterone, the corresponding parts are smaller. The follicular stimulating hormone which triggers the development of female genital tract and ovaries is present in both males and females, but its effect is superseded in males by the testesterone surge. Role of nurture on gender identity and gender behavior The environment in which the child is reared following birth has an influence on gender identity even much before the child is born. Parents and relatives create an environment in the house and buy clothes and toys appropriate for sex of the to-be-born baby after antenatal detection of sex has occurred. Even the names are different for boys and girls. Following birth, after appropriate assignment of sex has been made, environment plays a significant role in gender identity development. The parents rear the child as boy or girl and inculcate appropriate gender specific interactions. Some researchers have argued that gender identity is actually malleable in the first year of life, following which it is irreversible (Ghosh, 2012). This aspect has however been challenged. Researchers have argued that gender identity is typically an inborn characteristic and that it reaches a critical point during childhood. Mammalian development is influenced by several factors and this multifactorial nature allows molding of the inherent brain bias towards a selected gender identity (Ghosh, 2012). As the development of gender progresses, personal expression and acceptance of gender identity occurs. This is known as core gender identity. This expression takes place by 2- 3 years of age. But the gender role is usually not well defined until 5 years of age (Ghosh, 2012). In infancy, gender identity is actually incomplete and exists as it s at birth (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). Parental decisions play a major role in gender role. There is scientific evidence to describe behavioral changes during interaction of parents of either sex interact with female babies versus male babies. While male babies are encouraged to play with toys and balls, female babies are cuddled and touched. The disparity is more with fathers than with mothers. Thus, the gender concept develops gradually. The child is able to differentiate between the 2 genders. Gender constancy is achieved by 6 years of age (Ghosh, 2012). In early childhood and school-age years the gender role reinforces the gender identity of the child. By 3-4 years of age, children will develop preference for same-sex play mates. While boys become physically more aggressive, girls avoid aggressive situations and remain quiet. They mainly enjoy imagination and fantasy. In adolescence, factors which influence gender identity and gender role are interaction with peers, personality disorders or traits, sexuality factors and anxieties. Schoolmates, teachers and playmates strengthen the nascent gender identity (Ghosh, 2012). Nature versus nurture on gender identity Whether gender identity is influenced by environmental factors or hormonal factors is a much debated issue. According to the Darwin's sexual selection theory (cited in Hines, 2010), "competition for mates and discriminative mate choices have shaped the evolution of sex differences." In 1955, the theory of sexual neutrality was proposed according to which, at birth, the sexuality of human beings is undifferentiated (Hines, 2010). The differentiation occurs as the individual grows and experiences various aspects. The concept was well accepted initially because; both female and male infants express dimorphic behavior sexually from birth. The argument to support this hypothesis was that in individuals with chromosomal abnormalities and ambiguous genitalia, gender identity was related to the sex of rearing. During the time that this hypothesis was developed there was not much information about the role of hormones in the development of gender identity. The studies did not emphasize on the role of androgens in the gender identity. Thus, data pertaining to gender identity was not complete because it did not include hormonal characterization (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). The dominance of socially acquired gender identity concept was defeated by studies on individuals with 5-alpha reductase-2 deficiency (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). According to these studies, despite unambiguous female sex of rearing, following puberty, male gender identity and male gender role evolves in males following puberty. These studies demonstrated the importance of androgen exposure in utero and at puberty for the formation of male identity in males. From the data pertaining to these studies, it was evident those hormones play a major role in the determination of gender identity and that both environmental factors and hormonal factors act in the process of determination of male gender identity. Until 3-4 years of age, gender identity is not fixed; it firmly gets fixed after adolescence (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). Some researchers are of the opinion that direct action of male hormone testosterone on the developing nerve cells of the fetus in the intrauterine period causes development of the fetal brain in the male direction (Hines, 2010). This process is probably different from the sexual differentiation of the genitalia because; genital formation occurs in the first 2 months of pregnancy but sexual differentiation of brain occurs in the second half. Also, in case of ambiguous genitalia at birth, the degree of masculinization of brain is different from that of genitalia (Savic et al, 2010). Various traditional developmental psychological theories have proposed that "children acquire sex-typical behavior through social learning, and through cognitive developmental processes that lead to gender identification and valuing of behaviors associated with one’s gender." (Hines, 2010). Thus, girls and boys receive different responses when they interact and play with toys like dolls that are sex-typed and they develop a tendency to choose objects that are labeled of their own sex or they have seen others of their own sex choose them. Other behaviors which show differences in sex like core gender identity, sexual orientation, motor performance and also personality characteristics are influenced by the hormonal influences (Hines, 2010). Various motor and cognitive abilities are thought to be related to prenatal testosterone. In one study, it was evident that women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia showed more male-typical behavior in the form of accuracy in throwing darts and balls at targets (Yuan-shan and Li-quin, 2006). However, this was not accounted for muscle strength. Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia tend to show physical aggression and are less empathetic. Dominance and assertiveness however, are not dependent on prenatal testesterone. Some other features like performance in arithmetic tests, visuo-spacial performance, mental rotations, perceptual speed or verbal fluency are also not dependent on hormones. Fine motor performance, however, is linked to hormonal variation (Hines, 2010). Conclusion Gender identity and behavior appears to be a complex interaction between nature and nurture. Hormones have a significant influence on the gender identity right from gestational period. Nurture, in the form of rearing practices and social interactions further emphasizes the role and behavior of gender. The debate still goes on, as to which influences gender identity and behavior, nature or nurture. But the most likely theory is that interaction of both nature and nurture influences gender identity and behavior. References Ghosh, S. (2012). Gender Identity. Medscape Reference. Retrieved on 8th May, 2013 from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/917990-overview#showall Hines, M. (2010). Sex-related variation in human behavior and the brain. Trends Cogn Sci., 14(10), 448–456. Savic, I., Garcia-Falgueras, A., Swaab, D.F. (2010). Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Prog Brain Res., 186, 41-62. Yuan-shan, Z., and Li-qun, C. (2006). Effects of male sex hormones on gender identity, sexual behaviour and cognitive function. J Cent South Univ, 31(2), 149- 153. Read More

 

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