CHAPTER 13
Gender and Sexuality
Theme: The sexes are more alike than different. Sexuality is a normal and healthy part of human behavior.
Preview
That Magic Word
Sex\seks\ n 1. One of the two divisions of organisms formed on the distinction of male and female.
“Sex” has many meanings: reproduction, lovemaking, sexual identity, and much more.Of the various meanings, the simplest would seem to be biological sex.What, really, could be simpler?
Females are females and males are males, right? Wrong. Even something as basic as biological sex is many sided.
The complexity of sexual identity is illustrated by Dr. Renée Richards’ attempt to enter a women’s tennis tournament. Dr.
Richards is a transsexual. Formerly she was Dr. Richard Raskin, an ophthalmologist. As a man, Richard Raskin was a modestly successful tennis player. After a sex-change operation, Dr.
Richards tried to launch a new tennis career as a woman. Other women players protested. Officials finally decided to use a genetic sex test to decide whether Dr. Richards could compete.
She, in turn, protested the test. Genetically she is still male, but psychologically she is female—she has female genitals, and she functions socially as a female (Hyde & DeLamater, 2000). Is Dr.
Richards, then, female or male?
You might view Renée Richards as an unfair example because transsexuals seek to alter their natural sex. For most people, the indicators of maleness or femaleness are in agreement.
Nevertheless, it is not unusual to find ambiguities among various aspects of a person’s sex.
Sex is probably a topic you already know a lot about. It should be interesting, then, for you to compare your knowledge with the information that follows. Sex and gender have a tremendous impact on relationships, personal identity, and health.
¡ Male and female are not simple either/or categories. Sexual identity is complex, multifaceted, and influenced by biology, socialization, and learning.
¡ Women and men are more alike than they are different.
The core of humanity in each person is more important than superficial gender differences.
¡ Androgynous individuals have both masculine and feminine gender traits, a combination that tends to be adaptive and desirable.
¡ All sexual orientations have similar underlying factors (heredity, biology, and socialization).
¡ An understanding of human sexual response contributes to responsible and satisfying sexual behavior.
¡ Adults normally engage in a wide variety of sexual behaviors.
However, coercive and/or compulsive sexual behaviors are emotionally unhealthy.
¡ Each person must take responsibility for practicing safer sex and for choosing when, where, and with whom to express his or her sexuality.
¡ Solutions exist for many sexual adjustment problems, but good communication and a healthy relationship are the real keys to sexual satisfaction.
¡ Most touching is nonsexual. However, touching tends to be highly restricted in North America because of social norms and fears that touching will be perceived as erotic or inappropriate.
Gateways to Gender and Sexuality
What are the basic dimensions of sex?
How does one’s sense of maleness or femaleness develop?
What is psychological androgyny (and is it contagious)?
What are the most typical patterns of human sexual behavior?
To what extent do females and males differ in sexual response?
What are the most common sexual disorders?
Have recent changes in attitudes affected sexual behavior?
What impacts have sexually transmitted diseases had on sexual behavior?
What are the most common sexual adjustment problems?
How are they treated?
What is the role of touching in personal relationships?
Key Questions
Sexual Development— Circle One: XX or XY?
One thing we never forget about a person is his or her sex.
Considering the number of activities, relationships, conflicts, and choices influenced by sex, it is no wonder that we pay such close attention to it. Contrary to common belief, classifying a person as male or female is not a simple either/or proposition.
Being male or female is partly a matter of biology and partly psychological. The term sex refers to whether you are biologically female or male. In contrast, gender refers to all the psychological and social traits associated with being male or female (Crooks & Baur, 2002). In other words, after we establish that you are male or female, gender tells us if you are masculine or feminine (as defined by the culture in which you live). Two important aspects of gender are gender roles and
gender identity, which we will discuss soon. For the moment, let’s begin with two basic questions: Biologically, what does it mean to be female or male? How do male and female differences develop?
Female or Male?
Males and females differ in both primary and secondary sexual characteristics. Primary sexual characteristics refer to the sexual and reproductive organs themselves: the vagina, ovaries, and uterus in females and the penis, testes, and scrotum in males. (See œFigs. 13.1 and 13.2. Also see ¡Table 13.1.) Secondary sexual characteristics are more superficial physical features that appear at puberty. These features develop in response to hormonal signals from the pituitary gland. In females, secondary sexual characteristics include breast development, broadening of the hips, and other changes in body shape.Males grow facial and body hair, and their voices deepen. These changes signal that a person is biologically ready to reproduce.
Sex One’s biological classification as female or male.
Gender Psychological and social characteristics associated with being male or female; defined especially by one’s gender identity and learned gender roles.
Primary sexual characteristics Sex as defined by the genitals and internal reproductive organs.
Secondary sexual characteristics Sexual features other than the genitals and reproductive organs—breasts, body shape, facial hair, and so forth.
476 CHAPTER 13
Reproductive maturity is especially evident in the female
menarche (MEN-ar-kee: the onset of menstruation). Soon after menarche, monthly ovulation begins. Ovulation refers to the release of ova (eggs) from the ovaries. From the first ovulation until menopause (the end of regular monthly fertility cycles in the late forties or early fifties), women can bear children.
Sex Hormones
What causes the development of sex differences? In general, sexual characteristics are related to the effects of sex hormones. (Hormones are chemical substances secreted by endocrine glands.)
The gonads (or sex glands) affect sexual development and behavior by secreting estrogens (female hormones) and androgens
(male hormones). The gonads in the male are the testes; female gonads are the ovaries. The adrenal glands (located above the kidneys) also supply sex hormones. At puberty, adrenal hormones add to the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
Interestingly, everyone normally produces both estrogens and androgens. Sex differences are related to the proportion of these hormones found in the body. In fact, prenatal development of male or female anatomy is largely due to the presence or absence of testosterone (tes-TOSS-teh-rone: one of the androgens, secreted mainly by the testes) (Breedlove, 1994).
Then is biological sex determined by the sex hormones? Not entirely. As suggested by the chapter Preview, sex cannot be reduced to a single dimension.
Dimensions of Sex
At the very least, classifying a person as female or male must take into account the following biological factors: (1) genetic sex (XX or XY chromosomes), (2) gonadal sex (ovaries or
Seminal vesicle Prostate Rectum Cowper's gland Scrotum Urinary bladder Pelvic bone Vas deferens Urethra Epididymis Glans penis External urethral orifice Testis
œ Figure 13.1 Cutaway view of internal and external male reproductive structures.
Fallopian tube Labia majora Ovary Urinary bladder Pelvic bone Clitoris Labia minora Urethra Uterus Cervix Vagina Rectum
œ Figure 13.2 Cutaway view of internal and external female reproductive structures.
TABLE
13.1 Female and Male Sexual Anatomy
Female reproductive structures
Cervix (SER-vix) The lower end of the uterus that projects into the vagina.
Clitoris (KLIT-er-iss) Small, sensitive organ made up of erectile tissue; located above the vaginal opening.
Fallopian tube (feh-LOPE-ee-en) One of two tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
Labia majora (LAY-bee-ah mah-JOR-ah) The larger outer lips of the vulva.
Labia minora (LAY-bee-ah mih-NOR-ah) Inner lips of the vulva, surrounding the vaginal opening.
Ovary (OH-vah-ree) One of the two female reproductive glands; ovaries are the source of hormones and eggs.
Uterus (YOO-ter-us) The pear-shaped muscular organ in which the fetus develops during pregnancy; also known as the womb.
Vagina (vah-JINE-ah) Tube-like structure connecting the external female genitalia with the uterus.
Male reproductive structures
Cowper’s glands Two small glands that secrete a clear fluid into the urethra during sexual excitement.
Epididymis (ep-ih-DID-ih-mus) A coiled structure at the top of the testes in which sperm are stored.
External urethral orifice (yoo-REE-thral OR-ih-fis) The opening at the tip of the penis through which urine and semen pass.
Glans penis (glanz PEA-nis) The tip of the penis.
Prostate (PROSS-tate) A gland located at the base of the urinary bladder that supplies most of the fluid that makes up semen.
Scrotum (SKROE-tehm) The sac-like pouch that holds the testes.
Seminal vesicles (SEM-in-uhl VES-ih-kuhlz) These two small organs (one on each side of the prostate) supply fluid that becomes part of semen.
Testis (TES-tis, singular; testes, plural) One of the two male reproductive glands; the testes are a source of hormones and sperm.
Vas deferens (vaz DEH-fur-enz) The duct that carries sperm from the testes to the urethra.
Related structures
Pelvic bone One of the bones at the front of the pelvis (the pelvis connects the spine with the legs).
Rectum The lowest section of the large intestine.
Urethra (yoo-REE-thra) The tube through which urine drains as it leaves the body. In males, semen also passes through the urethra.
Urinary bladder The sac that collects urine before it is eliminated from the body.
GENDER AND SEXUALITY 477
testes), (3) hormonal sex (predominance of androgens or estrogens), and (4) genital sex (clitoris and vagina in females, penis and scrotum in males). In addition, an important nonbiological part of a person’s sexual makeup is (5) gender identity
(one’s subjective sense of being male or female). To see why sex must be defined along these five dimensions, let’s trace the events involved in becoming female or male.
Urinary bladder Vas deferens Seminal vesicle Prostate Rectum Epididymis Testis Urethra Penis Fallopian tube Ovary Uterus Vagina Rectum
(b) Female Chromosomes (c) Male Chromosomes
Clitoris Urinary bladder Urethra Urinary bladder Genital tubercle Female structure Gonad Male structure Rectum
(a) Undifferentiated
œ Figure 13.3 Prenatal development of the reproductive organs. Early development of ovaries or testes affects hormonal balance and alters sexual anatomy. (a) At first the sex organs are the same in the human female and male. (b)When androgens are absent, female structures develop. (c) Male sex organs are produced when androgens are present.
Prenatal Sexual Development
Becoming male or female starts simply enough. Genetic sex is determined at the instant of conception: Two X chromosomes
initiate female development; an X chromosome plus a Y chromosome
produces a male. A woman’s ovum always provides an
X chromosome, because she has two X’s in her own genetic makeup. In contrast, half of the male’s sperm carry X chromosomes and the other half Y’s.
Genetic sex stays the same throughout life. But it alone does not determine biological sex.We must also consider hormonal effects before birth. For the first 6 weeks of prenatal growth, genetically female and male embryos look identical. However, if a
Y chromosome is present, testes develop in the embryo and supply testosterone. This stimulates growth of the penis and other male structures (œFig. 13.3). In the absence of testosterone, the embryo will develop female reproductive organs and genitals, regardless of genetic sex (Breedlove, 1994). It might be said, then, that nature’s primary impulse is to make a female.
Without testosterone, we would all be women.
Prenatal growth usually matches genetic sex, but not always.
A genetic male won’t develop male genitals if too little testosterone is available. Even if testosterone is present, an inherited
androgen insensitivity (unresponsiveness to testosterone) may exist.Again, the result is female development (Breedlove, 1994).
Similarly, androgens must be at low levels or absent for an
XX embryo to develop as a female. Thus, for both genetic females and males, hormonal problems before birth may produce
Menarche The onset of menstruation; a woman’s first menstrual period.
Ovulation The release of an ovum (egg cell) by the ovaries; ova combine with sperm cells to begin the growth of an embryo.
Menopause An end to regular monthly menstrual periods.
Gonads The primary sex glands—the testes in males and ovaries in females.
Estrogen Any of a number of female sex hormones.
Androgen Any of a number of male sex hormones, especially testosterone.
Testosterone A male sex hormone, secreted mainly by the testes and responsible for the development of many male sexual characteristics.
Genetic sex Sex as indicated by the presence of XX (female) or XY (male) chromosomes.
Gonadal sex Sex as indicated by the presence of ovaries (female) or testes (male).
Hormonal sex Sex as indicated by a preponderance of estrogens (female) or androgens (male) in the body.
Genital sex Sex as indicated by the presence of male or female genitals.
Gender identity One’s personal, private sense of maleness or femaleness.
X chromosome The female chromosome contributed by the mother; produces a female when paired with another X chromosome and a male when paired with a Y chromosome.
Y chromosome The male chromosome contributed by the father; produces a male when paired with an X chromosome. Fathers may give either an X or a Y chromosome to their offspring.
Sex-linked trait Traits other than sex that are influenced by genes carried on an X
chromosome (or, rarely, on a Y chromosome).
Androgen insensitivity An inherited disorder in which male embryos fail to develop male genitals because of an unresponsiveness to testosterone.
478 CHAPTER 13
an intersexual person (one who has ambiguous sexual anatomy). For instance, a developing female may be masculinized by the anti-miscarriage drug progestin or by a problem known as the androgenital (an-dro-JEN-ih-tal) syndrome.
In the androgenital syndrome, the child’s body produces estrogen, but a genetic abnormality causes the adrenal glands to release too much androgen. In such cases, a female child may be born with genitals that are more male than female.
Would such a child be reared as a male? Some are, but experts are divided about the best way to treat intersexual children. See “Robert or Roberta?”
Gender Identity
As stated earlier, gender identity is your personal, private sense of being female or male. Gender identity is at least partly learned.
How is gender identity acquired? Obviously, it begins with labeling
(“It’s a girl,” “It’s a boy”) (Burnham & Harris, 1992).
Thereafter, it is shaped by gender role socialization (the process of learning gender behaviors regarded as appropriate for one’s sex in a given culture). Gender role socialization reflects all the subtle pressures from parents, peers, and cultural forces that urge boys to “act like boys” and girls to “act like girls.” By the time they are just 2 years old, children are aware of gender role differences (Witt, 1997). At 3 or 4 years of age, gender identity is usually well formed.
Don’t intersexual children imply that biology also plays a role in gender identity? Yes, they do.
The fact that trying to assign gender is not always successful suggests that hormones may “sex-type” the brain before birth (Breedlove, 1994). Changes in the brain are then thought to alter the chances of developing feminine or masculine traits (Witelson, 1991). Direct evidence for this idea is provided by females exposed to androgens bef...
Januszek66