XX and XY for gender identity: not so simple

LETTERS

Judging by the recent Roasts & Toasts and Letters to the Editor, there seems to be a lot of confusion with regards to what determines gender and especially at what age does gender identity start.

There is much more to gender than just the X and Y chromosomes! In addition to these chromosomes, there is much more at work. For instance, some with XX chromosomes produce high levels of male hormones in the womb and some with XY ones do not respond to these hormones in the usual way. Therefore some children with XX are mostly male and some with XY are mostly female. And these manifestations become apparent well before puberty.

I urge everyone who would like to have a better understanding of these “anomalies,” and how they affect children’s attempts to come to grips with them, to read the National Geographic Special Issue entitled “Gender Revolution,” January 2017, available at the Lethbridge Public Library. Some of the research highlighted is that of University of Lethbridge professor Dr. Paul Vasey, who incidentally will be presenting a talk entitled “Beyond the Binary: What the West Can Learn from Non-Western Approaches to Gender Diversity” on Jan. 25 at the Lethbridge Lodge as part of U of L’s PUBlic Professor series.

It must be realized that in our western society, which has traditionally not accepted gender “anomalies” due to religious or cultural beliefs, these children have a very difficult time to realize and come to grips with their situation. Many would be terrified to reveal this to their parents in their belief that the parents would just not understand. Hopefully, Bill 24 will at least allow them to converse with their peers without the fear of their parents’ possible, and in many cases, certain wrath.

Mark Goettel

Lethbridge