Human orgins

How genes and hormones affect us as individuals and as a whole is something that
intrigues many and can be studied broadly. We see very clearly the roles genes and hormones
play in society, in medical and individually in the article written then Daniel Croccetti. I see
Daniels point in needing to see clearly the separation between sex and gender and making that
separation a widely known thing. Because so much plays into both it is necessary to see the
whole picture as well as little portions. This is a dichotomy between sex and gender of humans
and how it is viewed.
In the chapter about genes and hormones Daniela Crocetti addresses the separation
between gender and sex. What goes into each one and what it means to people individually as
well as how we speak and see gender and sex affecting how others feel about it personally. This
is very important because they way words are formatted can effect an individuals life. Crocetti
wrote that the identity problems that are reported by patients are caused by the language the
doctors choose. This is extremely important because without even noticing it really a doctor
could be changing a person entire life with just a few sentences. If the doctor believes
chromosomes dictate sex and gender, the doctor might tell the patient they are biologically or
genetically a man but physically a women.(Crocetti) This can be very problematic as it can be
very hard to grasp as a patient and therefore being told something like this can confuse the
patient even further. Doctors who discover AIS will often lead to them recommending the
removal of the gonads, their reasoning is that it they are trying to avoid identity problem in the
women who has been diagnosed. This its is an issue because by recommending these gonads be
removed it is almost saying there is something very wrong with them and the women shouldnt
have them in her body. This then lead to the women not clearly understanding what they are then

having removed which could lead to identity problems itself because now the women is left even
more confused and not knowing what is truly going on.
Another issue is that people are so used to using the words gender and sex
interchangeably but it is time we realized just how different they are. Sex refers the genitals and
gender referring to identity, sexual orientation and such. We are originally taught that there is
only the XY and XX chromosome but we forget or even discard the many variations that can
occur. As Crocetti discusses there are many different formations that happen in individuals. In
fact, variation in the biological manifestations of the gendered body as is the case of DSD are
believed to occur in 1 in 2,000 people.(Crocetti) These numbers are always increasing and its
incredibly that so little people actually acknowledge this fact. The gendered body is what is so
controversial because everyone has an idea of what it is and what it should be. Most people
though will not look past the black and white version we all know. Genital appearance is
intensely private but also highly relevant to how we think about gendered bodies. (Crocetti) We
are so preprogrammed to all these things regarding sex that sometimes it difficult to wrap our
minds around just how much more is really out there.
The expectations of what a female body and a male body are supposed to do and feel like
are based on concepts that adapt social gender roles to biological material. (Crocetti) Crocetti is
very justified in saying this because thats what places the biggest role in gender and sex, society.
Everything we do and expect from our bodies is based on what we socially deem as right or ok.
Crocetti writes about how sex drive and energy is whats targeted in hormone therapy in the male
body but this is very different in a female body. Hormone therapy is females is for reproductive
activity and ranges to chemically induced mood swings. Women are almost very going to make
hormone therapy for a higher sex drive because socially it is not a desirable trait for women and

therefore not found necessary. Actually sex drive in women is found so unnecessary that in
things such as birth control, the fact that it lowers your sex drive isnt even really mentioned.
It is so important how we as humans view things so if we all learn to view gender and sex
separately we can then work towards making individuals feel more comfortable. We can do this
is wording as normal everyday people speaking to each other and as doctors speaking to patients.
We must become more aware of our terminology and become more aware of all the different
types of biological manifestations that are truly out there. A lot of our ideas of sex and gender
come from social constructs that we have created as a whole but that does not mean all bodies
will and should fit into two categories. We must come to this realization and spread awareness to
others.

References
Crocetti, Daniela. Genes and Hormones: What Make Up an Individuals Sex