Posted: 24 October 2018 at 3:39pm | IP Logged | 1
|
post reply
|
|
Rick Whiting:
QUOTE:
I have a question. Is it possible that transgender (and to a lesser extent, homosexuality) a form of intersex? |
|
|
In a sense, yes.
The modern scientific understanding of transgender people — though the finer details are still being studied in depth, beyond just the big idea — is that they have brain structures that more closely resemble the opposite biological sex, thus creating a sense of personal consciousness of being a person of the opposite biological sex in a mismatched body.
What makes this all really fascinating, from my perspective, is that there are processes going on in each of our own brains, of which we're otherwise not even aware, but which profoundly affect who we are and how we experience the world. Not only am I a biological male, but my brain is formed in a way that I will expect myself to be a biological male.
This does get into some really tricky areas: Transgender people fear that they could be forced into strict biological tests before being allowed to transition, or end up being subjected to experimental "cures" that would damage them. There are also issues involving biological determinism, and whether this could be misused to justify different societal outcomes and achievement levels for men and women.
And, of course, most people don't like being regarded as walking laboratory specimens. But hey, I think that status goes for all of us, equally.
As our host said in this thread (and I'm glad to see JB's thoughts evolving, from the last time I saw anything on this subject years ago) the idea that there are naturally occurring variations in between the two major categories seems to frighten a lot of people — many of them white and male — who like the existing social hierarchies just fine and want to keep things that way.
|