Category: Gender

What is Intersex?

24/4/2013

What is intersex? Are 'male' and 'female' the only sexes? What defines sex: genitals, hormones, chromosomes, something else? Can you be intersex without knowing it? Is the surgical alteration of ambiguous genitalia in infancy a form genital mutilation? What is it like to be a parent of an intersex child in a gender-binary focussed society? What are some of the experiences of intersex persons?

The existence of multiple sexes has great implication for the way we conceptualise sex and gender as well as for the lived everyday experiences of 'sexed' persons. The following BBC documentary explores some of the above questions:

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The Biology of Dads

16/4/2013

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Biologists and evolutionary psychologists have frequently proposed that the male strategy to get as much of one's genetic material into next the generation as possible has centred on men maximising their number of mates and minimizing their parental investment in their young. In relation to this strategy, proposed female strategies have often centred on women securing mates that will provide them with resources to raise their young. Traditional gender roles have often complied to this view of parenting in which mothers are primarily in charge of bringing up their children ("barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen") while fathers are responsible for providing an income for their family. Gender roles, however, are constantly in flux and fathers' involvement in the parenting of their children is on the rise.

The following BBC documentary introduces some interesting research on the biological reactions fathers have to being a parent and the unique qualities that fathers bring to parenting. Some of these findings include:

A foetus responds more to its father's voice than its mother's voice
While their partners are pregnant fathers may experience dramatic hormonal changes that may bring on symptoms similar to morning sickness
Directly after the birth of their child fathers' testosterone levels may drop to the lowest they will ever be (other than before puberty)
Paternal involvement may particularly boost children's language development
The children of single fathers having been found to be more independent than the children of single mothers
The early involvement of fathers may be related to children having more self-confidence and higher academic achievement as well as a decreased probability of participating in delinquent behaviour
The different disciplinary style of fathers may be of great significance in parenting adolescents
Absent fathers may be linked to girls physically maturing faster, having earlier an sexual début and being at an increased risk for teenage pregnancy
Girls' experiences of their fathers may significantly impact of their choice of intimate partners

These findings have interesting implications on how fatherhood is constructed and in understanding the important roles that fathers may play in their children's development (especially their early development).

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The Teenage Brain

8/4/2013

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Adolescence is often seen as a turbulent time, especially from the perspective of parents. During the teenage years the individual goes through various social changes within their family, peer groups and culture as well as physically and emotionally. In the following video, Lisa Kudrow (yes, she was biology major!) interviews Abby Baird (a psychology professor at Vassar College in New York) about the teenage brain. Baird provides an interesting discussion about how the adolescent brain can be viewed as an adult brain in practice and how fluctuations in abilities such as decision making can be attributed to this practice. The discussion is aimed at the lay person but also deals with important - and often complex - neuropsycholology and may be a useful resource for parents, teacher and adolescents (among others) to better understand the biology underlying "typical" adolescent behaviour. Baird also makes some important points about applying with caution general findings to individuals (especially around gender) and how key it is for parents to understand their children's own idiosyncrasies.

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Transgender Basics

25/3/2013

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What does it mean to be transgender? What is the difference between sex, gender and sexual orientation? What is gender queer? The following video answers these questions and explores how much more complex gender is than often thought.

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What is Intersex?

The Biology of Dads

The Teenage Brain

Transgender Basics

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