New and Looking

[sesame]

I say wise-girl this sounds a little contradictory.

how a person can have an identity contrary to their sex has to do with hormone levels in the womb after brain development and before sex expression

Since we know that sex is determined during the union of sperm and ovum. As the cellulor nuclei combine and fuse their genetic content during zygote formation, sex is determined by the type of chromosome in the donated sperm.
If the sperm is Y type, then the resulting cell will become XY (as the egg is always X) and a male baby will ensue.
If on the other scenario, the sperm is X type, the baby will be female or XX.
The rest of the nine months of pregnancy is just duplication of the same cell bearing the same resulting gene to form the millions of cells that construct this body. Although cells take up different functions and form different tissues and ultimately the various organs, etc. Brain cells, heart cells, bone cells, muscle cells and so on.
My point is sex is NOT determined after brain development, it is done immediately after the fusion of the sperm and ovum.

[Bionca]

Originally Posted by sesame

I say wise-girl this sounds a little contradictory.

Since we know that sex is determined during the union of sperm and ovum. As the cellulor nuclei combine and fuse their genetic content during zygote formation, sex is determined by the type of chromosome in the donated sperm.
If the sperm is Y type, then the resulting cell will become XY (as the egg is always X) and a male baby will ensue.
If on the other scenario, the sperm is X type, the baby will be female or XX.
The rest of the nine months of pregnancy is just duplication of the same cell bearing the same resulting gene to form the millions of cells that construct this body. Although cells take up different functions and form different tissues and ultimately the various organs, etc. Brain cells, heart cells, bone cells, muscle cells and so on.
My point is sex is NOT determined after brain development, it is done immediately after the fusion of the sperm and ovum.

At it's most simple, yes. But XX/XY are not the only chromosome combinations, XXY and XYX for example, an estimated 20% of the population does not have a tidy XX/XY chromosome combination.

Even so, what I was talking about was called "estrogenation". The foetus, developing as normal, will sometimes be exposed to higher than normal levels of estrogen. The theory is this affects the way the foetal brain develops since this. Extreem estrogenation is thought to be one of the reasons for intersex births (children born with "ambiguous genitalia" or rarely hermaphrodytism). Perhaps a less extreem change in the hormonal soup that surrounds a developing foetus would cause the conditions that lead to Gender Identiy Disorder or Gender Dysphoria.

Good conversation.. I like this

[sesame]

Ya ya doctor, but not all that comes out of those luscious lips are true.
Exhibit some reliable references and I will agree. As I am offering you.
1) Prior to & during pregnancy, a hearty diet consisting of lots of sugar, rich in nutrients, Na (sodium), Ca (calcium), Vit-C, E, B12 increase chances of having a male child. ~ {study, published in the U.K. journal, the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Related to: Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter in England }
Actually this diet tampers the ph level , the acid-alkali balance is taken to an optimum condition which encourages the Y-gened-sperms to flourish easily inside the uterus. (and perhaps hinders the X-sperms?) (actually some sperms even meet the ovum inside the Fallopian tube!)
Ref site.

2) In ayurveda and yoga books some are of opinion that if the blood of the mother is Alkaline during mating, the child will be male; and acidic will lead to female.

[Bionca]

Sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain starts during fetal development and continues after birth (Kawata, 1995; Swaab et. al., 2001). It is hypothesised that in humans, in common with all other mammals studied, hormones significantly influence this dimorphic development although, at present, the exact mechanism is incompletely understood. It is also postulated that these hormonal effects occur at several critical periods of development of the sexual differentiation of the brain during which gender identity is established, initially during the fetal period, then around the time of birth; and also post-natally. Factors which may contribute to an altered hormone environment in the brain at the critical moments in its early development might include genetic influences (Landèn, 1999; Coolidge et. al, 2002) and/or medication, environmental influences (Diamond et. al., 1996; Whitten et. al., 2002), stress or trauma to the mother during pregnancy (Ward et. al., 2002; Swaab et. al., 2002).

http://www.gires.org.uk/Web_Page_Ass...ion_signed.htm

You seem to be making a point about biological sex. However, this is not the same as Gender. One's gender is part of their personal identity, the way we understand ourselves on a fundimental level. I'm not sure if you are making a point that Gender Dysphoria is has no biological cause or if you are stating that the male/female sex can be modified during gestation.

[sesame]

In my last post I didnt say anything for or against alteration of or influence on human sexual behavior caused by hormonal disbalance or medicinal or chemical induction. What I said is that the embryo being male or female is just not a whim of nature, not some silly permutaion of genes, or "chance". It has a reason or science behind it. And the more we learn, the more we know about the laws of nature. Otherwise we humans would still be sitting in front of caves and eating raw meat from the last woolly mammoth hunt!
I also want you to know that I strongly believe: we are basically Human. Man is the same as woman, give and take a few hormones. Also, its all a matter of the mind. We are what we believe.

[Bionca]

Then we have essentially been talking about two different things. The cause of a person's sex (M/F) is understood to a greater degree, along with the host of variable X and Y chromsome combinations, than the cause of a person's gender. s gender simply a social construct? Are there biological differances aside from physicality between the sexes? What causes a person with a typical sex understand themselves to be a member of the other?

You are correct in that we are all human and individuals. Our commonalities are far greater than any differances.