Prashant Kumar delves into the mysteries of functional sexuality which is the combination of both biological and psychological factors. Although biological gender can be easily found out and corrected if need be, genetic and brain gender cannot be corrected because they are as much a part of an individual as are the colors of our eyes, hair, skin and allergies.
This is a genuinely vast subject – actually a science in itself. Sex as a concept is the need of all animal species and is needed in order to continue the process of natural selection and evolution. So, no wonder sex is important. But, humans are not just animals and since, they can think, they have an additional component to sex and that is psychological. So sexuality becomes the aggregation of both biological and psychological sexuality. It is worth noting that most animals can’t think about sex like human beings. Their urges and sexual cycles are dictated by natural biological clocks, but in humans we have a great gift of controlling, simulating and understanding sex as more than a biological process, it is a social nuance too. Now we all know that genetically, sex is decided by the father’s contribution of X or Y chromosome. X leads to a girl embryo and Y makes a boy embryo. This is the Genetic gender of the embryo. But, what it’s to be gender is, shall be decided by a number of other factors. As of now the embryo is unisexed and not differentiated. It is known that brain cells develop much before the sexual organs of the fetus. So, fetus asks the mother body for an indication as to which brain to develop, a male or a female brain.
The gender benders
Interestingly, mother’s body is full of estrogen which becomes the default texture of the embryo’s brain. Problem arises when the mother’s body delays the supply of testosterone due to abnormalities caused by trauma, poor nutrition or medication. In such circumstances, even the male fetus develops a female brain. If a female fetus receives testosterone, it develops a male brain. These neuron connections and brain develop the same way for rest of the life. This is the brain’s gender. Finally, comes the time when the fetus develops sexual organs. This is the physiological gender.
Most animals can’t think about sex like human beings. Their urges and sexual cycles are dictated by natural biological clocks, but in humans we have a great gift of controlling, simulating and understanding sex as more than a biological process, it is a social nuance too.
Sometimes, pregnancy abnormalities lead to the new born having ambiguous organs, both male and female organs or wrong organs. At times, these change as the child grows and at times they don’t and are accompanied by endocrine (hormonal) dysfunctions; then the organs have to be cosmetically created. Moving further, there is social and parental grooming that gives a child its initial gender identity, this is the psychological gender. Interestingly, functional sexuality is the combination of these and the one that prevails taking all these influences in mind. Although biological gender can be easily found out and corrected if need be, genetic and brain gender cannot be corrected because they are as much a part of an individual as are the colors of our eyes, hair, skin and allergies. In the end no one can decide the sexuality but for an individual alone. It is beyond an individual’s control to manipulate sexuality. It all depends on and as to what are you comfortable with and nothing else. For all we know, most people might not be perfectly male or female. It is important that early in adolescence gender identity or one’s sexuality is determined, accepted and endorsed. Suppression of various flavors of sexualities tends to create psychological barriers and disorders.
