Gender issues (from social and scientific perspective)

Gender impacts every aspect of human life, from brain development to lifespan, from general health to housing choices. Scientists are only now beginning to understand the implications of gender on human personality, thought patterns, health, and more. Society is just beginning to understand that gender is but one aspect of human life. Gay, lesbian, and transgender issues are coming to the forefront in our culture, as studies lend further credibility to a genetic basis for variations in patterns of human sexuality and gender.

Biological gender is defined chromosomally. Females have an XX chromosome pattern; males an XY chromosome pattern. Occasionally, intersexed individuals occur, who may bear some typical characteristics, including chromosomal patterns, from both genders. Hormones secreted while baby is secured in the housing of mother’s womb have a lasting effect on development, personality, and gender identity into adulthood.

External sexual characteristics are in fact determined by the hormone dihydrotestosterone. Male and female embryos begin physically similar, and this hormone triggers differentiation of male genitalia. Gender, however, is comprised of far more than simply chromosomes and hormones. Nature and nurture combine to create the multifaceted scientific and cultural force of gender.

Socially, gender determines what clothes we wear, who we marry, how we behave, and more. Individuals who do not fit typical cultural gender roles may struggle to find their place in life. This is perhaps most obvious in nonstraight individuals. As more and more studies find genetic and physical basis for a wide variance of human behaviors with regards to gender and sexuality, past societal discrimination on the basis of gender or gender-related issues seems both outdated and especially sad.

Gender, gender variances, and gender-related issues often impact every aspect of daily life. It is only recently that being female was not a definite and distinct disadvantage in the workplace, or even in the real estate and housing market. Today, being gay, lesbian, or transgender is likely still a social disadvantage with few legal protections. Discrimination of gay, lesbian, and t.g. individuals is today still only tolerated with regards to sexuality and gender issues, causing problems with employment, housing, and real estate, and even occasionally endangering life.

Gender is a scientific phenomenon and a cultural one. Are we more than the sum of our chromosomes or are we not? How much is nature and how much is nurture? These questions remain to scientists today and tomorrow. Gender may in the future be a self-determined criterion, as we each choose what best fits our individual wants and needs, based on not only physiology but also personal determination of what personality lives within the housing of our bodies.