Totaal aantal pageviews

vrijdag 27 mei 2011

"Toronto couple defend move to keep baby's sex secret"

BBC News Article, 27th May 2011

So I was reading the news as I do, when I saw the title of this particular article. The first thing I would say is that what must be made clear, is that there are differences in the nature and definition of the terms "sex" and "gender".

After writing a load of stuff here, I stumbled upon the WHO (World Health Organisation) website which had a very simple explanation (rather than me farting around with and pulling apart dictionary definitions):

What do we mean by "sex" and "gender"?

Sometimes it is hard to understand exactly what is meant by the term "gender", and how it differs from the closely related term "sex". 

"Sex" refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.

"Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

To put it another way:

"Male" and "female" are sex categories, while "masculine" and "feminine" are gender categories.

Aspects of sex will not vary substantially between different human societies, while aspects of gender may vary greatly.

Some examples of sex characteristics :
  • Women menstruate while men do not
  • Men have testicles while women do not
  • Women have developed breasts that are usually capable of lactating, while men have not
  • Men generally have more massive bones than women
Some examples of gender characteristics :
  • In the United States (and most other countries), women earn significantly less money than men for similar work
  • In Viet Nam, many more men than women smoke, as female smoking has not traditionally been considered appropriate
  • In Saudi Arabia men are allowed to drive cars while women are not
  • In most of the world, women do more housework than men 

So here we see that there is a difference in the two, and we can add further to that by saying both are intertwined, with the added variable of sexuality, which as a category of identity itself carries several possibilities and each with it's own nuances. Put simply, and in my opinion, sexuality should be viewed as a scale of human sexuality (i.e. homosexual, heterosexual, and everything in between), which each and every one of us at different points on this scale, our positions changing and fluctuating throughout our lives; some erratically and unpredictably, some never.

There are whole schools of thought on gender identity, sex and sexuality and I have no hope of even scratching the surface in a blog post! But I definitely thought this article was telling of our society. We have such a long way to go in educating ourselves about our own bodies and minds, especially the latter. We cannot even say any longer that we have only male and female sexes, as there are people with certain biological characteristics which are different to those usually seen in male and female genetic make-ups; genetically male with some female hormone processes and vice versa, for example? Could this be defined as another sex? Of course here, I use the "definitions" of identities and sexes to demonstrate the existence of the many and extra-ordinary possibilities of humans. [The apparent need to create definitions, labels, categories, etc., I think comes from an age old human desire to understand new concepts, be they abstract or material. Unfortunately, I believe that this doesn't always work for the modern world, and actually has hindered our understanding of new things. Even in physics, where old rules and equations have been called into question as "exceptions" were unexplained. (added 28/05/2011)]

Psychological research over the years has so far said that by the age of 3-4 years of age, gender identity has been formed and is difficult to change after that. If the child in the above article is not encouraged to take any identity, that is fine, however we have to be able to admit that this could be dangerous for the child as the world today still doesn't accept widely enough the ideas I mentioned above. Is the child going to suffer socially as a result? Psychologically? "Everyone else knows what they are, but I don't."  It may well be harder than normal for the child to become comfortable with whatever sex/gender/sexuality they may gravitate towards, simply due to the society in which we live and the restrictions on labels of identity we seem compelled to take on. I know I feel more comfortable being able to define my sexuality with a label, yet I like going on to explain (if people ask and want to know) the nuances of my sexuality. If you feel like your sexuality  is something private that you don't have to explain to anyone, you are right. But I like doing it, and I do it hope that I can educate some people about it. Anyway, back the Canadian kid...

The truth is, I don't believe anyone can be 100% sure what will happen and how the child will develop and grow. One question I might raise is whether it is ethical to be carrying out this experiment on another human being, at the same time possibly jeopardising their future happiness? Or is it an "experiment" at all? Just the right of the parents to raise their child as they wish? 

On second thoughts, I would probably say the latter is most true. However, I would hope that the parents take extra care of their child, give it even extra love, attention, education, and above all, protection. Just because they may raise one enlightened child, doesn't mean the idea will spread, and doesn't mean people will be nice. Still, here's hoping the world changes, and congrats to the parents on their new healthy happy baby, Storm. I should have just done a blog post about how I want that for my middle name.

Lot's of love

Dave Storm Cooper


[see comments to see why BBC News is crap, proving my point for the need of education over the difference in definition of sex, gender, and sexuality.]



4 opmerkingen:

  1. Of course the former skin'ed feminist you used to live with has got maaany opinions on this. I think it's a great idea, they have nursery schools in Stockholm where kids are encouraged to just be themselves regardless of gender. There's still the danger that you could be counter productive and in a way "impose" the non gender conformity on the child but in theory, I like it. I don't think the actual experiment itself will harm the child, but the reactions from society will. Kids can be cruel. Though perhaps if more opinions changed it'd be more acceptable. Oh who knows. I am a dyke, I go by Ms.

    BeantwoordenVerwijderen
  2. p.s. if you've got some spare time you need some Judith Butler and Foucault.

    BeantwoordenVerwijderen
  3. Having just read other news articles (and I'm ashamed to say I wrote the blog post based solely on the BBC article I read), I now know that the baby's sex is not ambiguous. Therefore, the actual news story itself is ridiculous, as the parents are not doing anything that many parents haven't already been doing for sometime now (as Rhian pointed out the example of Sweden).

    Still, it is a lesson learned not to trust just one news source (something I've quickly forgotten since uni) if any at all. Especially the BBC, who can't even distinguish between sex and gender. Disappointment and frustration would be good words to use regarding this.

    BeantwoordenVerwijderen
  4. In response to Rhian, you'll be pleased that I have only been teaching Ms. whilst here. Mr and Ms. That is all

    BeantwoordenVerwijderen