Nature vs. Nurture in Gender Identity

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Recommended: Are gender differences biologically predisposed or socially constructed

Nature vs Nurture

The idea of nature vs nurture when it comes to gender identity is a controversial and highly debated topic. However I feel that one side is supported by science and research, while the other is supported by unproven theories. We are all born with unique DNA, and this DNA is what makes us, us. While our society or environment can influence our views or thoughts, it cannot change our DNA; it cannot change us enough to make us question or physiological makeup.

Our gender identity comes from the our DNA; the nature side of this argument. However that is not to say that the environment we grow up in can’t affect our views. As children, we learned through observation and reproduction. We would watch others, our parents, teachers, peers, and then try and reproduce those actions. If a young boy sees his father at the gym lifting weights, or if a young girl sees her mom in the kitchen making dinner, these kids may try and follow in those same paths. In addition, with new technology, parents have an influence over their child long before they have been delivered. With ultrasound, parents can find out the sex of the baby, and then plan for the delivery based on the results. Gender specific names, clothes, toys, and even aspirations are prepared for the child before they even enter our world. So these kids arrive to an environment that is seemingly predetermined for them.

But at the end of the day, our physiological makeup will trump all social factors involved in gender identity. In the body, the ovaries and testes produce hormones, including androgen. The testes produce higher levels of androgen than the ovaries. (There are medical conditions where this is not the case, but in a healthy, normally functioning human...

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...b. 9 Feb. 2014. .

"Intersex: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. .

"Is a person who is intersex a hermaphrodite?." Intersex Society of North America. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. .

Kane, Emily W. ""No Way My Boys Are Going To Be Like That!"" The Kaleidoscope of Gender. By Joan Z. Spade and Catherine G. Valentine. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008. N. pag. Print.

"Learning About Klinefelter Syndrome." Learning About Klinefelter Syndrome. National Human Genome Research Institute , 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. .

Volmer, Mary. Crown of dust. New York: Soho Press, 2010. Print.

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