Let my ligand bind your G protein... Oh baby, I swear, you'll experience a cascade of reactions.
I understand gender as a biopsychosocial phenomenon. Its biological basis has to be reconciled with an individual’s cognitive processes and then culturally contextualized. While gender is a psychosocial construct, it is heavily influenced by human biology. For example, higher levels of testosterone provide a biological inclination towards deeper voice, more hair and larger muscles—characteristics that Western culture perceive as masculine. To this effect, I can’t help but think of Gaston from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as the epitome of Western masculinity (see this video for reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhG9hKiplfQ&noredirect=1).
This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective as well. The concept of gender, whether explicitly or implicitly understood, has been around for a while now as masculine and feminine traits are a good indicator for the quality of genes. The male’s masculinity most likely indicates the quality of his sperm and his ability to provide for his family, while the female’s femininity is typically proportional to her fertility. Thus, gender’s usefulness in a sociosexual context causes it to persist in cultures where it men and women have distinct yet complementary roles.
From my heteronormative perspective, gender defines the individual overall as either male or female and traits as either masculine or feminine.
However, my understanding of gender breaks down when considering what some cultures call the “third gender” or genders that deviate from male or female such as transgendered individuals. Despite this break down, I think that the brain’s chemistry gives rise to an innate understanding of gender identity, while culture determines the appropriate label for this identity.
Put simply, my own gender identity is male. My identity is biologically innate, psychologically understood, and socially reinforced. I consider myself as a male and so do those around me. Even though I appreciate feminine qualities, I would never label myself as female and I doubt that anyone would. Even if you were to put me in a dress and makeup, I would still be unmistakably male.
I found your theory of gender as the result of biopsychosocial phenomenon to be fascinating. I never really thought of it that way; I feel most of us believed it to be mostly psychological, with influences socially.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one thing is disagree with is your last sentence. Although you may see yourself as being "unmistakably male" in a dress and makeup, I don't necessarily believe that culture/society itself would identify you as such. Depending on the severity of your appearance, if you changed to the extent of appearing to be a women, most would likely label you as female. Thus, despite your own "innate understanding" of yourself as male, that couldn't reflect society's own opinion of you. The question is, how much impact does society really have on determining our gender, especially considering the emphasis you place on the biological and psychology processes that assist in determining gender? Great post!