MetaFilter posts tagged with sex and gender

Marching through the claims like Sherman through Georgia

cashman — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:30:09 -0800

Neuroscientist Lise Eliot finds that claims of sex differences fall apart. In one study, scientists dressed newborns in gender-neutral clothes and misled adults about their sex. The adults described the "boys" (actually girls) as angry or distressed more often than did adults who thought they were observing girls, and described the "girls" (actually boys) as happy and socially engaged more than adults who knew the babies were boys. Dozens of such disguised-gender experiments have shown that adults perceive baby boys and girls differently, seeing identical behavior through a gender-tinted lens. "Eliot immersed herself in hundreds of scientific papers (her bibliography runs 46 pages). Marching through the claims like Sherman through Georgia, she explains that assertions of innate sex differences in the brain are either "blatantly false," "cherry-picked from single studies," or "extrapolated from rodent research" without being confirmed in people. For instance, the idea that the band of fibers connecting the right and left brain is larger in women, supposedly supporting their more "holistic" thinking, is based on a single 1982 study of only 14 brains. Fifty other studies, taken together, found no such sex difference—not in adults, not in newborns. Other baseless claims: that women are hard-wired to read faces and tone of voice, to defuse conflict, and to form deep friendships; and that "girls' brains are wired for communication and boys' for aggression." Eliot's inescapable conclusion: there is "little solid evidence of sex differences in children's brains.""

Caster Semenya and sex varification controversies

serazin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:23:59 -0800

South African runner Caster Semenya wins a gold in the 800 meter amid controversy and accusations about her sex. Analysis of Semenya's situation and more information on sex verification in sport.

Beneath the burqa

tavegyl — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:36:43 -0800

Shuttlecock burqas to fetish wear. Some snapshots of Pakistan's struggles with its sexual identities. Sex, love, dating and marriage* in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In Peshawar, a vibrant porn scene coexists with conservative Islam and tribal traditions. Writers talk about being gay in Pakistan. In Lahore, where the Mela Chiraghan festival celebrates a Muslim sufi poet's love for a Hindu man, openly gay women have just launched Chay, the country's first magazine dealing with sexuality. Begum Nawazish Ali, a bisexual transvestite TV host, uses her transgressive persona to throw politicians off balance on air (previously). Meanwhile, there is a long history of hijras belonging to the third gender in Pakistan and neighbouring countries (photographs) (previously). This is also the country where Mukhtaran Mai was gang raped to punish her brother for a sexual transgression, the historical sex trade is no longer a respectable occupation, the Taliban flog a teenaged girl on film (warning: graphic), bans a Bollywood movie for "propogating homosexuality" and women are still killed for honour and subject to acid attacks. * Alys Faiz, the foreign wife of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, on marrying a Pakistani, just before the Partition

I can't take my eyes off of her.

Optimus Chyme — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:57:45 -0800

"Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves." Also: male gaze on the Gender Ads Project. Laura Mulvey's original 1975 essay on Male Gaze in cinema.

Gender "Cheats"

Kadin2048 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:22:22 -0800

In late 2006, Santhi Soundarajan took the Silver Medal in the Women's 800m at the Asian Games in Qatar. Less than a week later, she was stripped of her medal by the Olympic Council of Asia after a chromosomal test. According to the Times of India, "the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said the 25-year-old had failed a sex test, implying she had deceived the sporting world by competing as a woman when she was actually a man." The disqualification ended her athletic career, and several months after returning to her rural village in Tamil Nadu, India, she attempted suicide. Apparently as a result of Soundarajan's disqualification, Beijing Olympic authorities have set up a new lab at Peking Union Medical College Hospital "to test female Olympic athletes suspected to be males." Tests will include chromosomal (principally SRY detection), hormonal, and appearance-based examinations. (Also see: NY Times Blog, RussiaToday.)

Should we worry?

FunkyHelix — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:40:24 -0800

Mercedes Allen looks at who's in charge of deciding the fate of Gender Identity Disorder in the DSM-IV. The APA (American Psychological Association) has announced it's intention to revise the DSMV (Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The expert they've named to chair revisions on sexuality and gender is Kenneth Zucker. Zucker is the major remaining proponent of Reparative Therapy for LGBT folks. Zucker has named Ray Blanchard to work with the group that will re-write the section on Gender Identity Disorder. Blanchard is connected with 'ex-gay' organizations, and believes that all transpeople are really sex offenders.

There are two guards: one always speaks the truth, the other gouges the eyes out of people who ask tricky questions.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:10:23 -0800

All men are liars. Start with the follow-up to this much-discussed article.

Some days you get to be the pigeon. Some days you get to be the statue. And some days . . .

jason's_planet — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:50:01 -0800

[NSFW] Much of contemporary liberal thought rests on the idea of the Social Contract. In this scheme, we agree to give up a certain amount of freedom in exchange for the protection and opportunity that society provides. Our individual lives mirror this. We defer to others when politeness requires it. We assert ourselves and our needs with pleases and thank yous. Most of daily life has some power dynamic to it, expressed with the subtlety that civilization demands. And what is implicit in daily life is made explicit in the role-playing of BDSM, based on the idea of a Power Exchange, where one party explicitly agrees to give up a certain amount of power to another. For most people who are into this, the “scenes” are circumscribed by rules, usually discussed beforehand, such as appropriate safewords, time limits, etc. For a small subset of this group, the typical safeguards are cast aside and the slave surrenders all aspects of his or her life to the master. The female submissive Polly Peachum has written about this lifestyle in her essay “Violence in the Garden” about her life as a 24-7 slave and the sexual dimensions of that relationship.

Near Ovulation, Your Cheatin' Heart Will Tell on You

anyokerin — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 02:56:21 -0800

Near Ovulation, Your Cheatin' Heart Will Tell on You "New research from UCLA and the University of New Mexico suggests that members of "the gentler sex" may have evolved to cheat on their mates during the most fertile part of their cycle — but only when those mates are less sexually attractive than other men."

Gender Based Brain Research

peacay — Tue, 03 May 2005 18:18:36 -0800

A review of the current state of gender based brain research shows that women and men differ both in the way their brains are constructed and in how they function.

..correlation between brain region size in adults and sex steroid action in utero suggests that at least some sex differences in cognitive function do not result from cultural influences or the hormonal changes associated with puberty--they are there from birth.

Treatment for such things as schizophrenia and depression will likely have gender specific variations in the future. Previously, brain research that examined gender differences was considered controversial because it was argued that the results might give rise to more sex discrimination against women. That view may be changing.

Bridging the gender gap in computer gaming.

joaovc — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 06:48:07 -0800

Bridging the gender gap in computer gaming. Computer games often portray women as victims or prizes . But things seem to be changing. Some see hope in the growing number of games where women play the leading character, especially when the game (NSFW) completely focuses on the character herself. Change, however, may be more apparent than real. If this is real change, it may reduce gender drift (.pdf) in gaming. Women are getting out of the closet (discussed here). Their motto: They grow stronger !

Girls, Girls, XXs...

lilboo — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 09:34:13 -0800

Girl Power or: Partnership status and the human sex ratio at birth: a paper by Karen Norberg

Could the sex of a child be influenced by the status of the parents' relationship at the time of conception? In a sample of 86,436 births in the United States, we find a small excess of sons among births to parents who were married or living with an opposite sex partner before the child's conception, compared to births to parents who were not. This is the first evidence that household arrangements can affect the human sex ratio at birth, and could explain the fall in the proportion of male births in some developed countries over the past thirty years.

(Data published on FirstCite registration required) via The Economist

(special note for mathowie: No word yet as to whether or not those single moms can also reliably produce offspring with an astigmatism.)

LITERAL Truth? No, in context! No....

troutfishing — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 09:46:29 -0800

Same Sex Relationships in The Bible "The Bible describes three emotionally close relationships between two people of the same gender. They appear to have progressed well beyond a casual friendship."

stbalbach — Wed, 28 Aug 2002 09:19:43 -0800

According to scientists who study sex we can toss some common misconceptions: there is no battle of the sexes; the Mars and Venus book is misleading; extreme body builders are not sexy; breast size isnt always sexy; men and women cheat equally; the notion of man "spreading his seed" is a cultural invention; thin is not sexy. All thanks to our caveman brain.

jennak — Thu, 26 Apr 2001 13:17:26 -0800

Jane Want Relationship, Tarzan Want Sex. A study seems to confirm what women have long suspected -- women seek security in relationships, while men stick around for the sex.

The study says that in most species, monogomy is the top choice when fertility is hidden. Wonder if they took into account the Pill? ;)

ZachsMind — Sun, 04 Jun 2000 15:07:01 -0800

Brig asked the weblog world for a gender check. Four percent said it's not anyone's business. Well if it's not anyone's business why take the poll? 621 people think it's no big deal. And it is no big deal. In fact, who cares what plumbing is behind all these blogs? Why am I even posting this?? Somebody just shoot me.