Week 2 - Sex & Gender Part I (Sex) PDF

Week 2- Sex and Gender Part I Winter 2024 Anthropology 1AA3 Beatrice Fletcher What are we covering this lecture? Key Question- What is Anthropology? Recap: Unifying concepts Recap: Week 1 Readings Defining sex and gender How do anthropologists approach sex/gender? What is “Biological Sex” and is it...

Week 2- Sex and Gender Part I Winter 2024 Anthropology 1AA3 Beatrice Fletcher What are we covering this lecture? Key Question- What is Anthropology? Recap: Unifying concepts Recap: Week 1 Readings Defining sex and gender How do anthropologists approach sex/gender? What is “Biological Sex” and is it binary? Key Question What is the difference between Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology? Unifying Concepts Recap Anthropology 1AA3 Unifying Concepts: Cultural Relativism Unifying Concepts: Biculturality Week 1 Readings Recap Anthropology 1AA3 Chewing Gum Sex & Gender Part I Anthropology 1AA3 Content Warning: Sex/Sexuality This lecture contains diagrams of sex organs This lecture contains discussion of sexual development Definitions: Sex A bodily classification comprising configuration of internal and external reproductive anatomy Sometimes referred to as morphological sex Usually construed as dichotomous Generally assigned at birth based on appearance of the external genitalia Definitions: Gender Folk taxonomy defined by interrelated social role(s) and performed behaviours, customarily associated with bodies based on their primary & secondary sex traits. Gender is culturally constructed and performative. May also be construed as dichotomous Definitions: Folk Taxonomy A classification system for objects & phenomena, based on cultural criteria that reflect social meaning & use Vs scientific taxonomy: classification on systematic patterns of empirical & intrinsic characteristics (intended to be universally applicable) Examples include Masculine vs. feminine clothes; food vs pets Physical Attributes Typically Associated with “Biological Sex” Biological sex refers to the physical presentation of Primary and secondary sex characteristics. Secondary sex characteristics (physical differences not directly related to reproduction) Primary sex characteristics (external and internal reproductive organs) But… are there only males and females? Is the determination of sex a natural binary or a culturally constructed dichotomy? How do we get sex? Developmental Pathway Chromosomes Regulatory genes Hormones (especially androgens and estrogens) Enzymes Timing! Intervention (chemical and/or surgical) Sexual Development isn’t a Railroad Track XX ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> XY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Sexual Development is a Process Shaped by Multiple Events More Hormones Hormones ? ? Chromosomes Regulatory Genes Receptors Variation in the occurrence, order, timing, and magnitude of inputs during the process of development produces variation in outcomes. ? ? Assigned Sex at Birth An alternative for “biological sex” Also known as birth sex, natal sex These terms acknowledge that: Bodies are classified at birth Classification is an act (not an essential state) Individuals have little agency in their birth assignment The classification may change Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) Can involve changes anywhere along the pathway from altered chromosomes to altered hormones May be noticeable at birth, “silent”, emerge at puberty, or only become visible later in life Intersex A general term assigned to conditions normally associated with the presence of both male and female reproductive organs Can be defined as seeing combinations chromosomal, gonadal, and/or other anatomical features that do not fit into the sex binary Encompasses a vast range of differences of sexual development. Turner’s Syndrome Affects ~1/2500 females Chromosomal condition where individuals only possess one X chromosome (XO) Prevents ovaries from developing properly Klinefelter’s Syndrome Affects ~1/500-1000 males (though many don’t show symptoms) Chromosomal condition where males have an extra X chromosome (XXY) Reductions in testosterone and produce little to no sperm Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia XX, with ambiguous genitals Adrenal glands produce androgens (male sex hormones in all of us) In a typical body, androgens are converted to other hormones by enzymes CAH bodies do not produce that enzyme, leading to elevated androgens and altered reproductive tract development. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome XY, sometimes with male & female structures Typical Y chromosome; body produces androgens but lacks masculinizing response Variable manifestations Complete form results in female anatomy indistinguishable from an XX female Medical Framing of DSDs/Intersex Individuals DSD designations are based on a Western set of ideas In other cultural contexts, visible DSDs may be understood differential (ex. normal or supernatural variations of human bodies) The categorizations of DSDs/intersex people have tangible consequences Caster Semenya Intersex middle-distance runner Assigned female at birth, has elevated testosterone levels due to internal testes Should she be allowed to compete in women’s events? Does her condition afford her unfair advantages? Is the real problem with our system of classification? Anne Fausto-Sterling Wrote “The five sexes: why male and female are not enough” (1993) Notes that “Western culture is deeply committed to the idea that there are only two sexes” Notes that this binary system that is enforced by written law, medical practice etc. Argues that sex is “a vast, infinitely malleable continuum” Proposes 5 clinical sexes (male, merm, herm, ferm, and female)- but notes that these are inadequate! Biopower Michel Foucault’s concept, referring to the monitoring and management of populations by governments Applies directly to Fausto-Sterling’s arguments as different bodies are regulated to conformity Why was FaustoSterling’s Work Important?? 20th century Western medicine sought to “correct” intersex bodies through surgery and interventions Fausto-Sterling argues that medicalization and surgical erasure reinforces social stigma Sex and Bioarchaeology Sex is a bodily classification usually based on the appearance of primary and secondary sex characteristics Summary The perceived dichotomy of sex is subverted by multiple examples of intersex people Fausto-Sterling argues that sex should also be understood as a continuum To Do This Week: