Signature Assignment

Gill 1

ANTH 1020 Human Origins

Signature Assignment
Kealey Gill
Salt Lake Community College
June 2016

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Humans often reject or condemn what they dont understand. Society has developed a set
of false perceptions about sex, gender, race, and ethnicity that have no basis in reality and can be
scientifically disproven. The two articles, Genes and Hormones: What Make Up an Individuals
Sex and Climate-Related Morphological Variation and Physiological Adaptations in Homo
sapiens, discuss various ways that sex, gender, race, and ethnicity perceptions conflict with
scientific reality.
Sex and Gender
In the article entitled Genes and Hormones: What Make Up an Individuals Sex, Crocetti
mentioned several disorders stemming from gender: intersexuality or DSD, AIS, and
Klinefelters. Intersexuality, commonly referred to as disorders of sex development (DSD), is
diagnosed when an individuals gendered development deviates from the statistical norm. These
individuals have consistent gender identities but may suffer from the stigma of the medical
treatment they receive during childhood. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) is a syndrome
in which the XY chromosomes do not produce a recognizable male. As the body develops,
Wolffian structures and male gonads form internally, while externally female genitals and
secondary sex characteristics develop. The most common symptom is sterility. Approximately 1
in 2000 people have been diagnosed with AIS. In Klinefelters syndrome, individuals have three
chromosomes, XXY, with the primary symptom being infertility. It is estimated to occur in 1 out
of 700 people. These disorders are often treated with hormone replacement therapy and in some
cases the surgical manipulation of childrens genitals to conform to social expectations.
Surgical manipulation of a childs genitals seems to be an extreme reaction to a cosmetic
diagnosis. I would consider it to be invasive, especially at such an age when an individuals body

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is not fully developed, nor is their self-identity fully developed. Surgical manipulation and
misuse of medical terminology may impede on the self-identity of individuals, by influencing
individual perceptions with no basis on anything other than personal bias and superficial
perspectives of gender. Given their position, medical practitioners should be held to a higher
standard of accuracy. Personally I would never do such a thing to my child, I would let them
make such decisions on their own once they have reached adulthood. Its profound that the
medical field can perform such procedures based on societal expectations, regardless of benefit
or lack thereof to the patient. We get plastic surgery, mutilate our bodies, in hopes of appearing
as attractive as the models and actors in the media. As a result of these expectations,
individuals without the means to afford such surgeries, or who differ from these expectations
suffer greatly from self-dissatisfaction and societal ridicule.
These disorders reveal how commonly gender varies, and that biological variety can
still produce a healthy body. Hormones are not gendered. Gender is not recessive or dominant,
there is no definitive correlation between heredity and gender. The very idea of a disorder, in
this scenario, is a societal construct, based on perception and hearsay. Therefore, to label an
individual with a disorder based solely on genital conformity seems inaccurate and harmful to
these individuals. I know what it feels like to be labeled as damaged goods, which is
essentially the label we are giving these individuals, and damage is done whether it is said
outright or merely implied. Individuals must find worth in themselves, despite what labels we
may be throwing at them. Biologically women have been defined as the default gender, due to
estrogen and progesterone, hormones that are associated with negative female traits such as
weakness, mania, and hysteria. Conversely, men are associated with high sex drive, strength, and
rationality, all positive traits. It is commonly believed that in complex organisms, sex

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development is taken over by hormonal influences, defining the gender of the zygote. In
reality, hormones are shown to have multiple effects on the body unrelated to gender, in the case
of fat ratio, cardiac health, bone density, etc. This association with female hormones and negative
traits has most likely evolved into the pervasive gender biases we see today. The idea that female
is the default gender suggests that developing into a man is more noteworthy than remaining
female. 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. According to
American culture the ideal body is male and white. (Crocetti, 2013)
Race and Ethnicity
Just as the female gender is socially perceived as lesser, so too are many races seen as
lesser based upon their skin color. Human populations which migrated from Africa and colonized
the rest of the Earth were darkly pigmented, thus the variation in skin pigmentation seen among
indigenous populations in Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and the Pacific is a
product of natural selection. There is latitudinal variation in skin pigmentation among indigenous
populations, with more darkly pigmented populations generally living near the equator and
tropical areas, while more lightly pigmented populations live nearer the poles. There is a
correlation between UV exposure and native skin color. Populations with more concentrated UV
rays tend to produce populations of natives with darker skin color. As populations continued to
migrate farther from the equator individuals began to produce less melanin due to decreased UV
exposure, which resulted in lighter skin colors. There is also a correlation between the
temperature of a region and the body type of the population in that region. Given this
information, it is clear that an individuals phenotype is not something that they can control, it is
based on the geography of their ancestors. (James, 2010)

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Why, then, does racism exist? All living organism share common DNA, which renders
skin color irrelevant. Yet, there is a historical perception that lighter skin is somehow superior to
all others. Another aspect of society is ethnicity. Ethnicity is the fact or state of belonging to a
social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. While it is a more abstract concept
than race it is just as significant to an individuals definition of self.
Continuums
In my opinion sex, gender, race and ethnicity all exist on a biological continuum. All of
these have to do with an individuals identity, they come with a certain sense of pride, the
differences matter greatly to society. An individuals identity influences every aspect of ones
life. Ones self-identity changes and expands though out their life, however concepts such as
gender and race typically dont change, they are formed early on in life and are for the most part
constant. For example I have always identified as a white woman, but I have not always
identified as intelligent.
Sex and gender exit on a biological continuum, because contrary to common belief they
are not binary. Variation occurs from generation to generation. Due to the lack of education on
the subject among many individuals I feel that gender should remain binary, male and female,
however the definitions of each should continue to expand with new research. As humans evolve,
so should our definitions of gender. Perhaps gender should rely on self-definition instead of
conformity to perceived traits. Likewise, race and ethnicity exist on a biological continuum
because individuals rarely identify as a single race or ethnicity. Race, or skin pigmentation,
changes from one generation to the next, and is influenced by ancestral traits rather than
individual choice.

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Before reading these articles I had not put much thought into the concepts of sex, gender,
race, or ethnicity. In fact, I had not realized that sex and gender where independent from each
other, nor had I considered the differences between race and ethnicity. Having grown up exposed
to my mothers Hispanic heritage and my fathers white heritage, I never found it necessary to
differentiate between races or analyze these concepts. As a child I was taught that evolution was
a false concept, the belief of which was contrary to religious teaching. I was told that gender is
exclusively binary, demonstrated by the story of Adam and Eve.
Having read these articles I now have a better understanding of the difference between
sex and gender as well as the difference between race and ethnicity. I have a greater respect for
transgender individuals, who have to deal with the false terminology used by doctors. Since little
research has been done on the subject, I assume some medical practitioners are confused and
may not be intentionally using false terminology. They may still be expanding their knowledge,
not yet experts on the subject.
Society puts so much importance on sexuality. We view sex as binary, either male or
female and assume that the base sexuality is heterosexual, or straight. Many religions reinforce
this idea, stating that man was made in Gods image (that being a human male apparently).Then
the first man was said to be split into two genders, that being a man and a woman, who were
intended as partners. Females (XX) are seen as the default gender. This may have been societys
motivation to pay us less, treat us as lesser than men, and condemn us to a life of motherhood
and serving our male counterparts. Many religions have maintained gender roles that limit a
womans potential. They put importance on heterosexual marriage and reproduction from a
young age. This in turn creates a societal stigma against any woman who does not conform to
these expectations, either by choice or due to biological circumstances. Society puts emphasis on

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body image and physical appearance based upon perceived gender. The ideal man is muscular
and tall, while the ideal woman is curvaceous with a flat stomach. Males are expected to be the
breadwinner, protector, powerful, and in control of their emotions. Women are perceived as
weak, overly emotional, irrational, caregivers, and child bearers. Fortunately, society has become
a little more lenient around the ideas of gender and equality among sexes. The existence of small,
family owned business, which pay equally among sexes are mitigating the negative effects of
gendered pay differences. Progress has been made, but there is still room for improvement before
we can claim to be an equitable society. For example women in the workplace have the option of
a six week maternity leave when they have children. However six weeks does not provide
enough time for bonding and is an inadequate amount of time for family adjustment.
It seems that we are making improvement toward gender equality as well, LGBT
individuals have more rights than in the past, gay marriage has been legalized in most states.
LGBT rights have been a topic of discussion in the media and it seems that the country is
becoming a little more compassionate to these individuals, we are giving them a voice and
attempting to understand more about the different gender identities. Most importantly, it is no
longer as stigmatized as it was say, 40 years ago. Education and awareness are the key steps in
making progress toward equality, we need to understand before we agree to accept or reject
something.
Conclusion
Humans often reject or condemn what they dont understand. Just as religions have
condemned evolution or summarize it as the theory that man came from monkeys, we reject
bodies that are different than the norm or do not conform to arbitrary societal standards.
Humans are social creatures, we want to belong and fit in with those around us. We will do so by

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any means necessary even if that means bodily mutilation, emotional trauma, or bias laws and
perceptions. How far will ignorance take use before we draw the line?

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References
Crocetti, D. (2013). Genes and Hormones: What Make Up an Individual's Sex. In M. Ah-King,
Challenging Popular Myths of Sex, Gender and Biology (pp. 23-32). Switzerland:
Springer International.
James, G. (2010). Climate-Related Morphological Variation and Physiological Adaptations in
Homo Sapians. In C. Larsen, A Companion to Biological Anthropology (pp. 153-166).
Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.