Sexual Identity Hard-Wired by Genetics, Study Says - Page 2

[Marlena]

I believe it's for identification purposes.

Most people still subscribe to the notion of dualistic genders, even becoming offended at the notion that gender might not be "hard wired" into one's brain (I think this is largely where the appeal of studies such as that in the OP lie). I personally don't think "most people" are correct about this at all. However, the fact of the matter is that raising a child as "neither male nor female" will likely yield a very unhappy child. Check out the thread about the 12 year old boy who killed himself, and what folks have had to say about teasing.

Forging one's own way re gender is something that children should do themselves after they're old enough (however old or young that might be; it certainly differs from child to child) to do so for themselves. It shouldn't be a path forced upon them by their parents.

You might reply, "why should this dualistic gender system be forced upon them?" If so, then please refer back to paragraph two of this post.

[TiredX2]

I also do not see how this exactlyl applies to gender roles/"proof" of biological basis for homosexuality.

My first post was meant to point out that there should be a lot more info out there about "intersex" babies, so parents realize that they are not the only ones going through this etc...

[Greaseball]

i'd advocate them ONLY in the rare (but extant) cases in which the child's parents are likely to reject the child in the absence of "corrective" surgery.

Perhaps such people shouldn't be parents, if they care that much about having a child that is socially normal. Would anyone really do that? Wait and plan for this baby for 9 months and then reject it if the genitals didn't look right?

Genital surgery should never be done on an unconsenting individual. I don't care how often he-she gets teased in the locker room, why is forceful surgery the answer? What is so darn important that it can't wait until the child wants it done?

Only my child can make the decision to have cosmetic surgery. It's never my choice.

[Marlena]

Perhaps such people shouldn't be parents, if they care that much about having a child that is socially normal. Would anyone really do that? Wait and plan for this baby for 9 months and then reject it if the genitals didn't look right?

I agree. But parenthood is not something which we presently allow or prohibit to anyone based on some test or other prior to conception. And yes, there are in fact some parents who reject their children, whether actually or emotionally, because their genitals are not "normal." While there are only a handful of studies on the subject, and all of them deal with small study populations, they show that there is a significant psychological adjustment that parents need to make in order to accept an intersex child. The studies also show that some of them simply don't make the adjustment. See, e.g., Froukje M E Slijper et al., Long-Term Psychological Evaluation of Intersex Children, 27 ARCH. SEX. BEHAVIOR 125 (1998) (the citation is in law review format, rather than scientific format, incidentally)