Fausto-Sterling

723 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The concept of Gender identity

Anne Fausto-Sterling is a Professor of Biology and Women’s Studies at Brown University. Sterling wrote, “The Five Sexes Revisited” between July and August of 2000. Sterling is responding to the scientists in the same profession. As well as intersexual and transgendered people in-between male and female. Fausto-Sterling argument is that sex and gender best understood not as a continuum, but rather as a multi-dimensional space. The first thing that Fausto-Sterling claims when arguing that sex and gender best understood not as a continuum, but rather as a multi-dimensional is gender development between “sex at the genetic level and cellular level” (Fausto-Sterling 22). Fausto-Sterling on multi-dimensional space is that sex and gender are …show more content…

Anatomical level involves the “genitals and secondary sexual characteristics” (Fausto-Sterling 22). During the anatomical level not all the genitals will allow a person to become distinctly identified as a male or female. Many people would use both sex, gender and gender traits to judge individuals as either male or female on a single spectrum. Gender identity of being identified as a male or female can be “poorly understood interaction with environment and experience” (Fausto-Sterling 22). People with gender identity issues are confused on the fact of how society views their sexuality either as a male, female or both. Gender identity is a way for a person to identify themselves with what they believe is their true identity; despite the physical characteristics. The gender development levels show that “masculinity and femininity is in almost every possible permutation” (Fausto-Sterling 22). Masculinity and femininity has a lot of variations between the chromosomal, hormonal and genital level. “A chromosomal, hormonal and genital male emerges with a female gender identity” (Fausto-Sterling 22). A transgendered male is still prone to

Show More
Related

  • Sex Differences & Gendered Bodies

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Connell: Chapter 4 “Sex Differences & Gendered Bodies”: I found this entire chapter quite intriguing, but I really appreciate the way that Connell approaches the ways in which males and females differ, and yet she also points out how there is no significant difference in brain anatomy and function between sexes. I found the statement by neuroscientist Lesley Rogers incredibly interesting, she states, “The brain does not choose to be wither a female or a male type. In any aspect of brain function that we can measure, there is considerable overlap between females and males” (p.52). This statement when paired with information about the affect social processes have on the body is mind boggling to realize, as Connell states, “biology bends to the hurricane of social discipline” (p.55). It is unnerving to think that I am merely a product of my society.

    Read More

  • Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Keller, Evelyn Fox. Reflections on Gender and Science: 10th Anniversary Edition. New Haven and London: Yale University, 1995.

    Read More

  • The Issues of Race, Class, and Gender

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    " The Social Construction of Gender" touched on how Western society views gender. This article pointed out historically how women and men appear to be separate species entirely. And that even though physiologically we are similar, male and female, we are of an opposite class. The male and female class should not be labeled how our bodies function for we are all individual and unique. If a scientist views a female to be female based on the fact that physiologically she menstruates, than what is a female that ceased menstruation or never began to? Is she only half woman? Is a male not a ...

    Read More

  • The Five Sexes Revisited Summary

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    As we discuss the articles of Anne Fausto- Streling, “The Five Sexes, Revisited” and Marjorie Garber, “The Return to Biology” in class we came to see how these two articles could bring up such controversy. As they question our perspective on human nature as we have always known it to be, from “The Five Sexes, Revisited” stating “absolute dimorphism disintegrates even at the level of basic biology” (176), to “The Return of Biology” saying “Society mandates the control of intersexual bodies because they blur and bridge the great divide” (184). We see many different aspects on how human biology or culture is more than what meets the eye. All I can begin to say is everything we, as the human species, do revolves around dimorphism no matter the questions or contradictions that may arise. The idea that only two sexes exist is still firmly maintained in our society as how things are suppose to be aka the “norm”.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Fausto-Fausto-Sterling

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    1) Fausto-Sterling is examining the relationship between discourse and public policy surrounding women’s bone health, since bone frailty is considered to be more common in women. Fausto-Sterling asks why bones are more likely to break in certain populations, and if bone health and fragility are considered effects of sex-related traits why are there so few studies conducted on females specific health issues such as pregnancy and childbirth. Her hypothesis states that by using the existing framework to analyze social categories can help improve health conditions and treatments of individuals.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dueling Dualism By Anne Fausto-Sterling

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the text "The Sexing of the body" Sterling argues that scientist should not only worry about the physical feature to determine someone's sexuality but also on the characteristics. Sterling writes," But behaviors are generally social activities, expressed in interaction with distinctly separate beings. Thus, as we move from genitalia on the outside to the invisible psyche..."(Sterling, 29). When a scientist steps out of that box of determining gender based on the physical feature it can change the perspective of how gender is viewed in society. In the same way, The Text "Baboons with Briefcases vs Langurs with Lipstick" by Susan Sperling shows how scientist should overlook physical features and DNA to determining what is gender. Sperling writes, "Other things shape behavior besides genes and Shape it in important ways for the organisms in question..."(Sperling, 250). Our behavior can say a lot about the gender we are but Sperling demonstrates that even the behavior aspect of determining gender should be furthered studied. Both of these Authors show how scientist try to construct and validify the our sexuality is already with us and it not constructed by society. When viewing how scientist makes their studies there is some type of biased and gender stereotypes connected to these

    Read More

  • Caster Semenya: Hermaphrodite

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993, April) The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough Retrieved from http://moodle.csun.edu

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Christine Delphy's Article: Rethinking Sex And Gender

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    With this week’s readings, many interesting articles were discussed but the one that struck me the most would be Christine Delphy’s article, “Rethinking sex and gender.” This specific article brought about points and perspectives that I had never experienced before prior to the reading. What was even more shocking, however, was when I discovered that some of the fallacies that Delphy had mentioned in the article were already ingrained in myself. For example, within Delphy’s first examination she points out that there is a hidden assumption that sex precedes gender since it is a biologically derived characteristic and this was an assumption that I found to make myself. Even though I thought that this article would just be another simple read for me, it turned out that it was quite the enlightening experience as it provided insight into how gender roles and classification developed as well as providing a lot of interesting arguments. However, what I connected with most would be the later part of the article that specifically focuses on the topics of hierarchy and division.

    Read More

  • Gender Dysphoria In Children, Adolescents and Adults

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the DSM-5, gender dysphoria is “the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one’s experienced or expressed gender and one’s assigned gender” (American Psychological Association, 2013). Even though studies have shown that not every individual suffers from distress, it is still possible that an individual might suffers from distress due to the hormonal treatment or surgical procedure(s). In the past, gender dysphoria has been referred to as “gender identity”. However, gender identity, by the DSM-IV definition is “a category of social identity and refers to an individual’s identification as male, female, or occasionally, some category other than male or female” (American Psychological Association, 2000). Individuals that identify themselves with another gender tend to change their sex, which has been proven to be a hard and long process.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Transgender Today

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clinically speaking, a person who was assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man is referred to as a transsexual man, or transman, or female-to-male (FTM); a male-to-female (MTF) person is a transsexual woman or transwoman (Glicksman). Some people drop the transgender label after they have transitioned to their new gender. However, they want to be referred to only as a man or a woman. But what if our gender identity, our sense of being a boy or being a girl, does not match our physical body? From a very early age we will start to feel increasingly uncomfortable. For some this is a mild discomfort, for others it is so traumatic they would rather die than continue to live in the wrong body. Unfortunately as transsexual people are a small minority of the population the condition has been labeled by Psychiatrists as "Gender Identity Disorder". With the transgendered, the disordered assumption is that the

    Read More

  • Gender Neutrality in Children

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Society today suggest that revealing the “gender” or “sex” of a child from the moment of conception forward is a necessity. But, in all actuality to some this is an invasion of their privacy and beliefs. Many believe that raising a child gender specific is not important to their upbringing or to their growth and development. Gender is defined with several different meanings such as the behavioral, cultural or psychological traits typically associated with the one sex. The sex of an individual, male or female, based on reproductive anatomy (the category to which an individual is assigned on the basis of sex) and the personal traits or personality that we attach to being male or female. Sex is defined as the biological distinctions determined by our genitalia.

    Read More

  • Gender Identity: A Child's Identity

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a child grows and conforms to the world around them they go through various stages, one of the most important and detrimental stages in childhood development is gender identity. The development of the meaning of a child’s sex and gender can form the whole future of that child’s identity as a person. This decision whether accidental or genetic can effect that child’s life style views and social interactions for the rest of their lives. Ranging from making friends in school all the way to intimate relationships later on in life, gender identity can become an important aspect to ones future endeavors.

    Read More

  • The Social Construction Of Gender

    3360 Words  | 7 Pages

    In order to grasp the concept of social construction of gender, it is essential to understand the difference between sex and gender. Biologically, there are only two reproductive genital organs that are determinants of sex: the vagina and the penis. Sex is established solely through biological structures; in other words, genitalia are the basis of sex. Once a sex category is determined, gender, a human categorization socially attached to sex, is assigned based on anatomy. Gender typically references social or cultural differen...

    Read More

  • Sexual Dysfunction Essay

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sexologist are indecisive between gender explanations based on nature and culture. John Money’s he claimed, to divide pre- ad postnatal influences and attribute them to biology and culture respectively, since social influence enter the brain and are therefore also physiology.

    Read More

  • Sex and Gender

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...

    Read More

More about Fausto-Sterling

Open Document