Real Talk

A podcast about Diversity, mental health and everything in-between.

Real Talk

Gender

February 22, 2023 • Dr. Africa Rainey • Season 2 • Episode 1

Today we will examine each area of gender and how perceptions of gender identity and expression may vary from culture to culture. As our culture has evolved so has the construct of gender allowing for a broader range of gender identities and expression. Today, we’ll learn ways to support, embrace and respect these identities!

Gender is quite a broad term covering three primary areas: biological, or the idea individuals assigned male have an xy chromosome and individuals assigned female have an xx, chromosome, sociological which are outward expressions of identity, roles, and societal expectations and psychological or how an individual perceives and expresses themselves that change over time.

Thank You to the artists at Epidemic Sound for their incredible music:
Nightcap
Ballpoint
Ooyy feat. HDBeenDope
Netzy
Lawd Ito feat. Tilden Parc

References

Denworth, Lydia. “Is There a Female Brain.” Scientific American, no. September, 2017, pp. 38-44.

Drexel IT-VCAP. Two Spirit People: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Now and Then. 2012, https://vimeo.com/79920103. Accessed 3 February 2023. Video.

Iantaffi, Alex, and Meg-John Barker. How to Understand Your Gender: A Practical Guide for Exploring who You are. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018.

Montanez, Amanda. “Beyond XX and XY.” Scientific American, no. September, 2017, pp. 50-52.

Olson, Kristina R. “When Sex and Gender Collide.” Scientific American, no. September, 2017, pp. 44-50.

“Seven Things About Trans People That You Didn't Know.” Human Rights Campaign, https://www.hrc.org/resources/seven-things-about-transgender-people-that-you-didnt-know. Accessed 19 February 2023.

“The World's Women 2020: Trends and Statistics | United Nations.” the United Nations, 20 October 2020, https://worlds-women-2020-data-undesa.hub.arcgis.com/. Accessed 19 February 2023.

Gender - Real Talk with Dr. Africa Rainey

Introduction

Hello and welcome to season 2 of Real talk, a podcast about diversity, mental health and everything in-between, I’m your host Dr Africa Rainey. On our first episode of the season we'll be talking about Gender. Today we will examine each area of gender and how perceptions of gender identity and expression may vary from culture to culture. As our culture has evolved so has the construct of gender allowing for a broader range of gender identities and expression. Today, we’ll learn ways to support, embrace and respect these identities! Stay tuned!

Part 1

All humans begin life as the same, female. Every single person begins their development as female and around the six week gestational period, genes on the Y chromosome turn on, causing the fetus’s ovaries to descend and form the testes, the labia majora become the scrotum and the clitoris emerges and fuses together to form the penis. Every human male on this planet transitioned from female to male with the use of hormones, in utero.

Gender is quite a broad term covering three primary areas: biological, or the idea individuals assigned male have an xy chromosome and individuals assigned female have an xx, chromosome, sociological which are outward expressions of identity, roles, and societal expectations and psychological or how an individual perceives and expresses themselves that change over time. Let’s begin by examining the biology of gender.

Part 2

Our culture has a long legacy of determining the treatment of an individual based on their physical appearance. The decision to treat someone humanely or disrespectfully solely based on physical attributes. When we are born we are assigned a sex based on the determination of medical professionals. The assignment we are given determines the outcome and quality of our lives, how we are treated, the jobs we attain and how much income we make. For some, it can mean the difference between living a life of freedom or abuse and servitude for the rest of one’s life. Only 28% of managerial positions globally are held by women, a percentage that has been stable since 1995. In 2020 only 47% of women of working age were in the labor market compared to 74% of men. Of that, only 7.4% of Chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies were held by women. On average, women spend about three times as many hours on unpaid domestic care 4.2 hours compared to 1.7 hours of men. Around one third of women worldwide have experienced sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner. The United Nations estimates 137 women are killed by their intimate partner or family member every day. It is time for this to change as we develop a new understanding of gender roles and expression to include creating more opportunities and a safer culture for women overall.

Part 3

Let's begin by examining the biology of gender. The idea that people and most animals are either a girl or a boy with an xx or xy chromosomal makeup and reproductive organs associated with each makeup. The process of development is very complex and can be influenced by numerous factors which can alter sexual development within the womb causing a child to not be who they seem at birth. Androgen-insensitivity syndrome, for example, is when an individual does not respond to the hormone androgen which regulates the development of male characteristics like sex organs and facial hair. Some individuals do not respond to this hormone in utero causing them to never develop male characteristics and even appearing as female despite having an XY chromosomal makeup. The term intersex refers to individuals who may appear to have ambiguous genitalia, or a different genetic makeup than what they were assigned at birth due to differences in responses to hormones despite their genetic makeup.

In 2015, a 46 year old woman was admitted to a hospital in Australia, upon getting an amniocentesis for her baby, who was fine, she finds out her body is built from the cells of two individuals, likely twin embryos who merged in utero. One set of cells carried the normal xx and another set of cells in her body carried xy, making her partly biologically male. She had two other children and was pregnant with her third. Researchers have also found XY cells in a 94 year old woman and a womb in a 70 year old man who fathered 4 children.

The human brain, once thought to be female or male. Research in 2015 out of Tel Aviv University has uncovered the brain to be more of a mosaic of both male and female that is continually changing based on an individual's life experiences to include their gender identity expression.

Many animal species live without two distinct genders. One well known species is the starfish, who will produce a male reproductive organ in their immature stages and then transition to a female organ as they mature. Hamlet fish found in the Gulf of Mexico, have both male and female organs therefore are both male and female simultaneously. If the Hamlet fish finds a male mate then it will change itself to female or vice versa. There are animal species where all individuals are female and reproduce by virgin birth such as the New Mexico whiptail lizard which is one of few female only species giving birth through a process called parthenogenesis. Next up let’s examine the sociological dimension of gender.

Part 4

Gender is a social construct that dictates one’s roles in society and is ever changing as the years go by. Gender socialization begins in humans begins at birth. By age 1, an infant can distinguish people by sex. By a year and half, a toddler begins to understand gendered words like boy and girl. By two years, children know gender stereotypes, like the belief that all women wear lipstick. Many religions also heavily emphasize gender roles within the religious context and may even segregate the sexes.

Anthropology and sociology has uncovered cultures throughout time who have had an array of diverse gender experiences and expressions. The Mahu and Tahitian cultures consist of a third gender. These individuals are respected as teachers holding traditional social roles within their cultures.

In Indian culture, Hijras, who are born assigned the gender identity male but view themselves as female and live their lives as female, are a legally recognized third gender in India and have been recognized for thousands of years. They held specific cultural, spiritual, and social roles in India, which were impacted by gender constructs of British colonialism. Classical Judaism recognized six genders. The Bugis people of Indonesia recognize five genders. Indigenous Americans had 3, 4, 6, even 8 genders. Indigenous gender minorities are often referred to as 2 spirit taking on both male and female gender roles within communities. The role of 2 spirit individuals within these communities was to help bring balance and harmony within the society.

Indigenous/First nation communities in North America believed when someone was born different they were celebrated for who they are.. These communities held an understanding that nature needs diversity to thrive and when someone is born different then they are celebrated, due to the belief that it is the spirit which dictates one’s role in society not one’s outer appearance.

Part 5

Gender is diverse, occurring across a continuum with many variations. We live in an ever changing culture of language, constructs and experiences where gender roles have been continually evolving to allow for greater self-identity and expression of variations of gender to include individuals who may not exist on the gender continuum at all.

The use of language can shape our experiences and adversely impact our experience of others. Individuals, particularly minorities can feel included and connected or excluded based on how language is used. Using more inclusive language like “person” or “human” rather than man or woman. Using phrases like husband and wife can be limiting vs life partner, companion or spouse. While the use of new language can feel uncomfortable, demonstrating respect for others means using inclusive language to convey respect for all individuals. Today we will cover just a few of the many different gender identities.

Part 6

Earlier I used the term intersex which describes an individual who is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definition of male and female. Intersex conditions can be seen at birth but not always, it is not uncommon for a person discovering this once they reach puberty and even much later in life. Some are never aware they have intersex conditions at all and go on to live healthy lives. Approximately 1% of the population in North American is Intersex. Intersex individuals are a reflection of the broad range of the variation of biological gender.

Transgender individuals who are assigned one sex at birth, and as young as age 3 realize they are not the sex they were assigned and have a deep need to be the opposite sex. Many individuals will begin hormone therapy and undergo surgery to look more like the opposite gender. Transgender individuals have been recorded in history as early as 5000 BC.

Gender non-binary individuals are individuals whose gender expression is not on the gender binary. These individuals prefer use of the pronoun “they” as the most appropriate description of their gender. Non-binary people each have their own unique way of expressing themselves, which should be honored and respected. Non-binary people have been seen in many cultures, some of which were mentioned today. Gender non-binary individuals include individuals who are what’s called Gender-fluid. Gender-fluid are individuals who identify as both genders and move across the diverse gender continuum daily, or even hourly.

Cross dressing/drag queen/ drag king or transvestite is an individual who prefers to dress up as the opposite sex, often for entertainment but not always.

Cisgender - is a term to describe a person born assigned how they currently identify. For example, Cis-female is an individual born assigned female and identifies as female.

Gender questioning - an individual who is currently exploring their gender identity and is unsure how to identify Up next, ways you can begin to demonstrate respect to individuals with different Gender identities.

Part 7 Conclusion

Each person in the world has their own experience of gender, regardless of how they identify. How we treat individuals should not be dependent on how they express their gender to us. It should be dependent on the content of their character. The science of anthropology and sociology has been clear in that gender variations have existed across numerous cultures throughout human history. We have arrived at a point in our own cultural development where we can now become more accepting and embracing of individuals with different gender identities. Four things to do to demonstrate respect for gender variety.

Check to see another person’s preferences before assuming them based on appearances. The phrase “How do you identify?” can be very helpful in respecting other identities.
If you misgender someone, apologize and correct yourself. Keep in mind gender conditioning starts as early as birth, so it will take some practice to get used to, especially if you’ve known someone prior to their coming out as a gender minority.. Do practice by always using a person's correct gender, and name, even if they are not in front of you. Do not use a person's dead name or the name they may have had prior to transitioning. Doing this is deeply hurtful and should be avoided in demonstrating respect for trans and gender non-conforming individuals.
Individuals who identify as transgender may not disclose their status to others if they are not out. It is rude. disrespectful and dangerous to the well being of trans individuals to out them without explicit permission.
It is disrespectful and hurtful to ask about an individual’s reproductive organs or sexual genitalia. If they don’t bring it up, as with anyone, don’t ask about it.

As our culture and world change, it’s important for us to open up our minds, hearts and language to a new way of accommodating these changes. One in five adults in the United States knows someone who uses non-binary pronouns. Being a diversity ally means being open to connecting with the experiences of others and acknowledging and honoring the preferences and experiences of others, even if they are different from our own. Recognizing our differences, learning and growing from them are what diversity is all about. I’m Dr. Africa Rainey, thank you for tuning in! Have a beautiful day! Bye bye