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The Science Behind LGBTQQIP2SAA No, this is not the manifestation of smashing one’s head on a keyboard during exam season. This is one of the longer acronyms summating sexual orientations and gender identities. Today, we spill the ‘T’ of this acronym. In this case, taking a deep dive into the science behind transgenderism. Often highly politicised, I’m going to attempt to balance the political side of gender identity with the completely rational. Wish me luck. Note that this is a layered topic with a multitude of terms many readers will be unfamiliar with. I’ll try my imperfect best to navigate us through it all carefully. Hold onto your hats. First, let’s define what it means to be transgender, in the most linguistic of senses. The OED seems like the highest authority on that matter, and concludes that to be transgender is ‘Designating a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond to that person’s sex at birth, or which does not otherwise conform to conventional notions of sex and gender’.
“Men are, on average, taller, have greater muscle mass, and have a lower percentage of body fat. But, they also live about six to eight years fewer than women. Swings and roundabouts” Let’s dissect that a little. What do we mean by ‘sex at birth’? On a basic level, it’s a doctor’s assertion based on what’s between your legs when you pop out of the womb. Male or female. This proves problematic, initially, for anywhere between the 1 in 1500 or 1 in 2000 people who emerge as intersex. Still, though, as an objective standard, it works. Chromosomally speaking, an objective standard
exists again. If you’re an XX, you’re a woman. If you’re an XY, you’re a man. Once more, there are the odd exceptions. An XXY, or a lone X. But these are rare, again. Male and female exist as the core biological categorisations, and certainly have physiological relevance. Maintained until puberty, these two sex categorisations differ in the increased amount of body hair on men, and the commencing of periods in women, both fuelled by hormonal differences. Men are, on average, taller, have greater muscle mass, and have a lower percentage of body fat. But, they also live about six to eight years fewer than women. Swings and roundabouts. This binary division, that between man and woman, lays basis for the term ‘cisgender’, meaning ‘Designating a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds to his or her sex at birth’.
“For the whole of human history, just about, this binary division has gone relatively unquestioned” For the whole of human history, just about, this binary division has gone relatively unquestioned. Even today, in areas of the world where human rights and individual freedom remain repressed, society lacks time to consider gender identity, as the focus remains on staying alive. However, in the Western world, binary distinctions are now being routinely challenged. Our Western society, thankfully, is becoming increasingly accepting of those whose ‘personal identity’ ‘does not correspond’ to their ‘sex at birth’. But, to many, particularly outside the liberal and progressive bubble of university life, it is a radical idea. And, it is science that people tend to cite when expressing concerns about transgenderism. Many point to gender dysphoria, the medical term for the distress felt when this initial mismatch between gender identity and biological sex is first experienced, as a mental health disorder that needs treating so those feelings go away. Current treatment supports transition for the person so they feel more aligned with their gender identity, as opposed to more aligned with their biological sex, which leads to the terms ‘trans man’ (a biological woman identifying as a man) and ‘trans
