Psychology Addict # 30 | What Makes a Boy a Boy & a Girl a Girl?
In the therapy room, the clinical psychologist says to the child “when you were born a long time ago your mum and dad had a little boy called Sebastian. Right now, how would you describe yourself?”
“I am not a boy and a girl anymore ... and not transgender ... I am a girl.”
This is a 5 year-old-child that refuses to see himself as a boy and as such has been living as Camille, a girl who loves dresses, dolls as well as the colours pink and purple.
Of course I don’t remember in great detail the level of awareness I had towards my own sex/gender when I was that age. However, it is common knowledge in my family that I always preferred to play with my brother’s plastic soldiers and animals than with my tea set. Still, I grew up to be what society consider a woman. So, the first question that popped into my head when I saw Camille was “Does she feel she is a girl because she likes dolls? Does the whole environment around her perceive her now as Camille - and not as Sebastian anymore - because she wears dresses?”According to Judith Buttler’s idea of Performativity this would indeed be the case. As she puts forward the notion that what gives meaning to sex/gender is the everyday performance of pre-existing conventions which yields certain sets of behaviour.
Buttler’s, clearly, is not an opinion that fits the biopsychosocial model. In her notion she forgets to take into account features that are biologically and psychologically pre-determined.
So, what do you think? Are boys and girls intrinsically different or are their distinctions a result of culture and gender beliefs?
This is when studying non-human animals becomes handy. For example, through studying our primate cousins, psychologists can pinpoint sex/gender differences in behaviour that are not consequential of the pre-existing conventions pointed out by Buttler. Even though, mothers and other members of the group treat their young with a certain level of sex-bias, the actions of these animals are not determined by human’s ideas of how boys and girls should behave.
Therefore, you will, perhaps, be surprised to discover that even without such social influences non-human young primates show behaviour strikingly similar to that of human infants.
But, before we go any further, I would like to remind you that it is paramount to keep an unprejudiced view when discussing this sort of topic. The following discussion about sex/gender differences does not imply that one is superior or better than the other. Therefore, there is no room for discrimination or stereotyping within the debate that is about to unfold here.
So, let us see what these naughty little monkeys are up to!
Females play nanny & Males play fight
Despite the (valid) argument that boys are brought up to be the super-heroes and girls are nurtured to be princesses, which many argue to be the leading cause for them to, let’s say, play fight and dress up, respectively. A similar as well as consistent contrast in preferences during play time is found in primates such as olive baboons, rhesus macaques and macaque monkeys
Research conducted in the latter species observed 34 little monkeys 1 for full six months immediately after they were born. It turns out that males initiated play more than the females, and also went for rough ‘games’ such a wrestling and gentle hitting, while female Rhesus Macaques, up to one year of age, preferred to play parent - a popular choice also seen among infant blue monkeys, lowland gorillas and vervet monkeys females.
See you soon mother
An observational study carried out in 40 chimpanzees 2, from when they were born to the age of 5, unveiled that males began to explore around, and move away from their mothers before females. This causes them to encounter more dangerous situations as they reached greater distances on their own; and consequently behave in a riskier way later on in life. As opposite to the young females, who remained closer to the adults putting in practice their social skills.
What I found particularly interesting about this research is the striking similarity in behaviour seen in these non-human infants, and in human boys and girls from across the world as the study named Behavioural Sex Differences in Children of Diverse Cultures demonstrates.
During middle childhood, boys reduce contact and interaction with other adult females, and are observed at greater distances from home than are girls.
The lesser proximity to their mothers that male monkeys enjoy when compared with the females may result in the fact that the little boy monkeys end up emulating their fathers while the girl monkeys do more so with their mothers. This sort of behaviour can be observed in wild tufted capuchin boys that, following their father’s taste for food, go for more of a carnivore diet than one that favours more fruit, a taste more popular among the females; who, even extract the seeds of their fruits in the same manner their mothers do.
Why are these studies important?
Camille’s situation, and that of many other children, deliver the perfect opportunity to understand why psychological findings such as this are relevant. Not only do they offer insight into human nature but they also provide understanding towards the role evolved sex differences play in our lives through aspects that above all include mental health.
In the United States, children as young as Camille are able to receive support from an entire team of professionals(e.g, doctors and clinical psychologists); which accompany them, at the appropriate time ‘block’ their puberty, and then give them hormones that will direct their body’s development towards the sex/gender they feel they belong to.
Katch, for example, a 36 year-old male who at birth was assigned the female sex/gender, wishes he had the same opportunity that children like Camille have nowadays, as he claims he would have had a more fulfilling life.
But, what inspires my interest is how a child becomes so aware of their gender/sex at such a young age. Camille doesn’t present most of the pattern of behaviours expected from her, when taking into account evolutionary behaviour, and clinical psychologist Diane Ehrensaft says that children as young as 2-3, as soon as they are able to speak, will express to their parents “No mum, I am a girl!”, in response to “You are a good boy.”
Gender Indentity Dysphoria
The condition of feeling one's psychological identity to be opposite to one's biological sex/gender.
This is when exams like the one conducted in the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience becomes extremely relevant 2. We live in a fast-changing world that seems to have a solution for every issue. So, after speculating social influences and exploring the sex/gender psychological differences that are regarded to be innate in children let’s finally have a look into what goes on in the functioning brain of adolescents with gender identity dysphoria (GID).
Through functional MRI, 41 teenage girls and boys with GID had their hypothalamic responses to a specific steroid – androstadienone – examined. Noteworthy that the hypothalamus of men and women react differently to the properties of this steroid, which is pheromone like.
The findings revealed that the boys with GID showed hypothalamic responses very much like those of girls and girls with GID showed hypothalamic responses similar to those of boy’s. Nonetheless, the findings did not come out as clear when 39 prepubertal girls and boys underwent the same exam. And this is what makes me even more interested in Camille and other young children like her, who seem so aware of their sex/gender.
The biological, the psychological & the social
Studies like the ones carried out in the young non-human primates propose that sex/gender behavioural differences stem from our evolutionary heritage and biological mechanisms. But, of course, it is also largely known that environmental interactions and experiences shape brain networks, and these are aspects they may push Camille to enjoy the life of a woman after all.
All in all, it doesn’t really matter what makes a boy a boy and a girl a girl. We live in times where more than ever before we need to free ourselves from set-in-stone concepts, as they appear to proliferate bullying, discrimination and stereotypes. A reality that Camille and her loving parents, and many other families in the same situation, face on a daily basis.
[Original Content by Abigail Dantes - 2018]
Reference list :
Louis Theroux - Transgender Kids
Is there something unique about the transgender brain?
Clinics to start hormone therapy services for transgender people
The Psychology of Sex Differences
Sex Differences in Children of Diverse Cultures
The development of behavioural sex differences in infant rhesus macaques
Sex Differences in Wild Chimpanzee Behavior Emerge during Infancy
Dear Reader,
Psychology is a field that exposes us to a vast variety of topics, many of which might go as far as to challenge our understanding of the world around us. Unfortunately some people, struggle to venture beyond the boundaries of their beliefs, and this is why children like Camille and her family have their lives stained by bullying and discrimination.
So, in order to counterbalance that, what positive words would you leave for them? 😊
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to read my work! I wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Ps: To broaden your view even further, please take the time to explore yet another perspective of sex/gender differences, through the lens of Anthropology. @Zest's post will provide you with just that: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender.
@abigail-dantes, you simply do not post enough. Your posts are so interesting to read.
Where to start with this one.
Firstly, I think that the Loius Theroux documentary you reference is one of the best he has done. I found it quite confronting. As a parent I tried to place myself in the shoes of the parents in the show and I really don’t know what I would do. On the one hand, the early intervention available is so effective at smoothing the transition for these children when the time comes. It almost seems an obvious solution to act as early as possible given it gives such good outcomes for those who are able to commence their transition before puberty. On the other hand though I can’t help but wonder if a child of that age is capable of making such a significant decision with such long term consequences. I truly don’t know what I would do if I was in the parent’s shoes.
On another topic you raise though, primatology is such a fascinating field. My primary interest in psychology to date has been in the areas of morality and ethics. Issues such as where do concepts like altruism and empathy originate from and how can they be reconciled with traditional evolutionary theory is fascinating to me. The ability of primatologists to draw such insightful conclusions in relation to nature vs nurture arguments from the study of primates is incredible.
In this instance I would be really interested to see what controls were in place in the studies you quote to control for gender differences in the species that were studied. It could be argued that gender differences are less relevant in the study of morality and ethics as these concepts are largely gender insensitive. The different traits of the species of primate studied assist the primatologist to draw conclusions based on gendered differences as to the origin of traits such altruism, empathy and violence.
In a study that focuses more specifically on gender issues however I think the traits of the primates themselves can’t help but influence the results. As chimpanzee societies are male dominated, violent and aggressive , whereas Capuchin societies are matriarchal and correspondently less violent and chaotic, I cant help but feel the vastly different behavioural norms that exist in how infants are reared, and also the social cues the infants receive would influence the results enormously. Perhaps that’s my next research project 😊
Thanks again for your fascinating post.
Hello @aghunter :) What a beautiful comment this is.
I really appreciate your honesty as a parent. I am not a parent; but I have a beautiful little niece and a very naughty little nephew. I couldn't stop thinking of them while watching Theroux's documentary. As you can see in my post, similarly to you, the question that permeates my mind is whether a child that young is capable of making such a decision!
I am also fascinated by primates and am particularly interested in their general behaviour and cognitive capacities. Like you said, certain traits were more evident in certain species than in others, like for example boy chimpanzees (male dominated and violent) are the ones, across the species mentioned here, more likely to explore new grounds further from their mothers and develop riskier behaviours; while the Capuchin females even have more of a fruit rich diet, which contribute to a more calmer environment.
Still, despite their different traits similar behaviour was seen in the boys and girls across the species mentioned here :) Here is the link to a piece of research that explores the behaviours of a variety of species http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jnr.23862/full; you will most likely find there the controls you are interested in! I hope it can contribute to your next project!
All the best to you and your family :))
Dear Abby,
Happy weekend to you too. Congratulations for successfully venturing where eagles dare not fly, where the lion dare not hunt. Apparently it is the exclusive preserve of psychology to delve into these issues and your treatment of the challenges could not have been more balanced if you placed them on a scale.
As usual, I would like to contribute to these debates from a personal standpoint. Unfortunately for me, in this case, I am biased. I am a black African, born in a Christian family, taught that the Christ was God and he died for my sins. My views in these matters are bound to reflect that of many people from my part of the world. But, and that is a very big BUT: before I was an African, black, Christian, or Muslim, I was intelligent and a sceptic and most of my belief system has come to be based on what I have figured out to be true based on my experience, the experience of others and empirical evidence.
Having said all that, I must begin by stating that I believe traits developed through thousands of years of evolution and natural selection to be largely responsible for the behaviour of both primates male and female offerings and human male and female offspring. Even before they are born, most mothers talk about how a male foetus kicked harder than the female. As they grow up, they naturally tend to take more rusks, leave home earlier, seek earlier independence from parents and so on. Some people would insist that it is nurturing and expectations that is responsible for this state of affairs, rather than argue with them, I prefer to agree with them and use the same argument to support something else: That some of these issues are prominent because of the information we have exposed children to.
There is no arguing it, the environment, expectations and the information a child is exposed to are not sufficient for Sebastian to think she is Camille. There must be some chemical or hormonal and perhaps psychological conditions that predates Camille's conviction that she is a girl and not a boy. But these also, are not enough for her to make the assertion. The supportive environment, the media, the community, the social environment are all things that enables her figure out what is going on with her and how to tell her loved ones about it. This my view of this issue comes from my life experience: I was born in a small town in South-east Nigeria. From when we were very little, we heard tales of the people that had been before us. We were told folk tales imbued with lessons. We heard mythology tales with their own lessons. There was no single tale of a boy that was born with male genitals but who has a right to say that she is a girl because she feels that way!
This is not to insist that in the entire history of the people, a situation such as the one described concerning Camille had never occurred, but it is to suggest that perhaps it had occurred but was swept under the rug as an abomination or worse, the individuals involved struggled through life to live a gender they did not feel they belonged to. They end up surviving and never really living.
I am convinced that this is the case because I have also lived in the major cities of my country. Not too surprisingly, it is easier to encounter teenagers acting out genders which differ from their nature. Of course due to religious and the "abomination" proclamation, these people cannot publicly say how they really feel and which gender they identify as. Here, people can't deal with anything other than the traditional, stereotypical, and narrow classification of gender so much so that identifying a gender that us perceived to be in disagreement your nature could easily earn a person 14 years in jail and this is by law!
In summary, I think there is need to balance societal and parental involvement in a child's identity with a particular gender especially when this is in disagreement with the child's body. In this case, we should not rush to "support" reassignment and other "help" that doctors and other professionals render on hearing the child proclaim their gender. The child should grow old enough to initiate some of the processes they need by themselves. On the other hand, we should not be too rigid in our believe of what is or what should be especially due to our religious beliefs and moral background.
Well, Abby, this is not my field so I may be completely wrong in my observations but this is how I see it. The things that made Camille feel like Camille are biological, psychological, environmental, political and societal and it is neither right nor wrong. The only thing that needs to be watched closely is the way the adults in his life interfere or support.
Thank you, Abby for such an important topic. Like wine, you get better (but I hope, not more expensive :)) with time!
Hello my dear, dear @churchboy :)) I trust you have had a good week, because, my Gosh ... you were inspired when you wrote this comment! Your rationale of this subject in simply magnificent, and your conclusion just says it all. Well, at least for me, and we seem to share the same view about Camille's situation.
This is a controversial topic indeed. Also, as I have been saying, it is new territory to me (transgender kids). However, while I feel that we have come a long way, as a society, in accepting and dealing with situations like those of Camille's, there is still some sort of taboo surround this subject. I believe that challenging ourselves to think about it and familiarizing with this topic is a good start. You say you are not an expert, you say you are biased; yet that did not come across in your discussion.
I love learning about your culture. As much as I was fascinated by the mythological tales that are passed down from generations to generations, I was surprised to see people can be imprisoned as a consequence of the gender psychological identity!
I suppose in the end it doesn't matter which factor weighs heavier in determining Camille's sex/gender; as long as she can enjoy a lifetime of mental stability and subjective well-being, at least most of the time. And not like you said, surviving rather than really living.
Once again, thank you for this wonderful, wonderful insight! :) Oh by the way, the way you started your comment made me smile, and the way you finished it made ma laugh out loud!! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH
Lots of love to you and all your loved ones!
:*
Thank you, Abby, as usual for taking the time to reply. I remember, as a teenager, I had a feminine appearance and liked feminine preferences in colour. Purple was and still is, my favourite colour. The girl I was pining over had no interests in me (her loss). But I didn't know it at the time and I decided it was a bright idea to just be alone. Not so bright. This decision made me attractive to gay guys, perhaps, due to my physical appearance. At first I didn't understand why these guys were so nice to me. I chucked it up to my being not very sociable. With time I realised they were hitting on me, at which time I walked away, with speed.
One guy said, "If girls are not working out, why don't you try guys."
Perhaps, with more persuasion and support from the society, I would have tried out guys. On the other hand if I really felt like a girl and the society forbade it, then I would be stuck in pretending to be what I'm not. Balancing these issues is a surprisingly tricky business. In the end, as we agreed, what matters is the individual's success or failure at living a mentally stable life.
Im glad that I have made you smile. Lots of love to you..
The difference between the male and the female is clear and can not be accepted scientifically or instinctively
And this leads us to search for ways to achieve justice between them and not equality between them there is a difference
Thanks for sharing this with us
Thank you for stopping by @slimanepro
Thanks @ abigail-dantes, this new publication is very educational, it is a controversial topic, because socially there are many opinions regarding sex / gender. Knowing if that condition is born or made, is something that many people who love to know.
Sadly there are still many homosexual people who have felt or perhaps are feeling responsible for their sexual orientation. Due to the misinformation and confusion surrounding this issue.
Biological theories try to explain the origin of homosexuality based on factors of an organic nature. According to the type of factors in which they are centered, we find three groups. Those that put the emphasis on genetic factors (Kallman, 1952), which emphasize the role of hormones as predisposing elements of future sexual orientation (Kolodny, Masters, Hendryx and Toro 1971, Dorner, 1976) and those that seek to demonstrate the existence of structural differences in the brain of homosexuals and heterosexuals (Swaab and Hofman, 1990, Le Vay, 1992)
In the end, the theories and prejudices regarding this issue are very diverse, but it is us that as people we should respect the sexual orientation of each individual and leave the discrimination, each being is unique and we are not the ones to judge anyone, so that families that have this kind of situations can confront it before society, I think they should seek professional help to help them accept themselves without any feeling of guilt and teach them techniques to deal with social damage. post as these are of great help to parents and society, thank you.
Oh my, my @urbano579 ! Thank you so much for the referenced information your shared with us here today! I will note them down to look into these studies with greater detail! I truly appreciate you taking the time to write this down here my dear! 😊
All the best to you.
Your contribution is invaluable to our discussions.
Thank you once again!
many thanks to you @ abigail-dantes for each of your post that we teach every week
Untangling the complexity of gender is no easy task but I really enjoyed how you outlined it and backed it up with the monkey study.
The mix of biology and culture, how much is weighted, and where the lines are drawn is pretty fascinating stuff. Definitely looking forward to new studies and ideas coming out about this topic.
I just watch The Danish Girl last weekend, and it did an excellent job of showing some of the struggles of a transgender person in the early 1900s. Sometimes we need to feel what other people feel to get the message, and it was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Highly recommend it.
Hey @cizzo :D
Aren’t the little monkey studies fascinating?! So glad to hear you enjoyed reading it. Human sexuality is a complex and fascinating topic indeed! I sas The Danish Girl last year, I smiled, I suffered and cried with them! What a pair!!! Oh my God! Beautiful story, beautifully acted movie!
All the best to you always :)
Regardless of the origin of this situation ( Dysphoria of Gender Identity ), the important thing is to accept and support all the people who present it and their closest relatives who also need help and guidance, very important the topic that is worth investigating to expand our knowledge about him. Thanks Abigail for educating us always with your important posts.
Hello Sir @pedval25 :)
I am so glad to see you here! You have my most profound respect for being open-minded enough to explore this controversial topic. If more people had this same attitude there would not be so much discrimination in this world and families like that of Camille’s would not have to struggle so much! Like you said support and guidance are the way to go :D
I wish you all the best!
Thank you Abigail friend, I admire you and respect you very much for your great work through this means, may God bless you for such a praiseworthy work for the benefit of society to make a better world for all.
I'm sorry I am late in reading your blog dear @abigail-dantes I was so sick yesterday I spent the whole day in my room. Im glad it was holiday so I didnt have work. It is not surprising already that your article would be very remarkable. This time you wrote about gender differences and as usual it is a blast! This issue is very timely and extremely significant because this is common to young kids nowadays. I think that young kids like Camille are influenced by social media,social interactions to the environment or is encouraged by the society to come out from her shell which is I think not a bad thing as long as this is what she really loves to do. Gender Sensitivity should be taught in school because kids like Camille can be a target for bullying and destructive criticisms since it is still not widely accepted by everybody. But if I would be given a chance to leave inspiring words to her this is what I a going to say:
Have a wonderful weekend my dear @abigail-dantes. Continue posting such amazing articles about psychology. You really are a blessing not only to me but to everybody. 😙
Hello my dear @sakura1012
You are never late :) whenever you have the time to leave you always insightful comments is the right time! Your contribution is invaluable to me. I am so sorry to hear you were feeling sick 😞 I hope you are fully recovered now? I am just asking myself here, though, if you fell sick after the emotion of being Curied 😝 I was/am SO happy for you when I saw it! Congratulations!!
Thank you for the touching thoughts you left us here about society, judgements and being confident about our own choices! Beautiful.
I wish you a wonderful Sunday and a great week ahead! 🌷
Yes dear I am fully recovered now,my mom took care of me and nagged me the whole day just for me to drink meds. (My mom is the best rapper in the world if she gets angry hehe,well I guess all moms are). .
Thank you so much dear for the greetings. I could've not done it without you. As I always say you are my inspiration in writing and in staying in this platform. I will always support you every step of the way and I sincerely do.
All the best my dear @abigail-dantes, and I wish you all the desires of your heart. 🌻
Mi estimada y bella amiga @abigail-dantes, tema bastante controversial.
Desde mi punto de vista, fui una niña criada entre puros varones y te doy garantía que prefería mil veces jugar con carritos, soldaditos, volar un papagayo jugar con canicas que las muñecas, pero siempre estuvo presente ese patrón femenino que era mi madre donde me incitaba en todo momento que era niña y bueno que habían cosas de niñas que eran las que debía hacer (ojo nunca me prohibió los juegos de niños siempre tuve esa libertad) y no se si es cuestión de creencias o sencillamente porque son patrones pero difiero de esos tipos de comportamientos y menos en los niños ( sin ánimos de discriminar a nadie) pero considero que todo esta bajo la dirección de los padres y que tanto educamos a nuestros hijos con respecto a su genero/sexualidad. Ahora soy madre de 2 niños y el mas pequeño mira muchos videos en youtube y en muchas ocasiones ve algunos de niñas, ya con 3 años el me sabe asociar cuando algo es de varón o no, siempre dando la oportunidad como madre si esta bien que los vea continuamente o no ya que considero que de allí empieza su educación conociendo el sexo opuesto y lo que uno hace del otro.
Quiero aclarar que tengo muchos amigos ninguno transgénero pero si bisexuales y homosexuales y son personas admirables por muchos aspectos, pero mantengo una fiel creencia que todo erradica desde la educación de los padres.
Un fuerte abrazo mi estimada amiga.
Hello my dear :D It is always very nice to see you here!
This sort of information is very important for me. I am not a parent. So, I don't have this "real life" every day experience with children's understanding of sex/gender. This is without a doubt new territory to me (the topic of transgender children). And as much as I understand the role biology plays in our preferences, like you, I believe this is more a result of the social and psychological, which in your comment refers to the child's upbringing. Particularly when I come across studies such as the one evaluating hypothalamic responses!
Thank you very much for your invaluable input!
Have a wonderful weekend and saludos a su familia :)
Me alegra saber que mi opinión con respecto a la vida con mis hijos sea de utilidad, y en cierto digo que una vez que los padres cumplimos el rol de orientar y guiar nuestros hijos acorde con los temas según avanza su edad no es posible que haya margen de error con respecto a este tipo de temas, los niños son una esponja y lo que le permitamos absorber eso les quedara por el resto de sus vidas.
Siempre muy feliz de ser participe de sus temas, me llenan y me hacen sentir plena en todo los sentidos.
hello my lady how are you? bueno este es un tema bastante controversial que ha sido debatido tanto por la comunidad científica, como por la religiosa.
Científicamente hablando no cuento con los conocimientos ni las palabras que usted expresa en su publicación, pero si le puedo contar un hecho de mi infancia y de mis hermanos, espero le sirva para este estudio de investigación y así seguir recopilando la mayor información posible para que ustedes como psicólogos lleguen una conclusión, ok le cuento!
Soy el mayor de 3 hermanos, siempre se me inculco que tengo responsabilidades sobre ellos de protección por ser el mayor, mi hermano Juan el que me seguía (el segundo) de pequeño tenia actitudes afeminadas (movimientos, posturas) mis padres notaron estas actitudes y lo corregía, mi mama lo hacia con cariño, pero mi papa era mas tosco a la hora de hacer una corrección, con el pasar del tiempo mi hermano fue eliminando esas actitudes entendiendo que así se comportaban o actuaban las niñas, podríamos decir que mis padres formaron la identidad de genero de acuerdo al sexo de mi hermano.
Ahora voy con mi hermana menor @jayoxaju, ella por ser la única niña entre dos hermanos varones, no tenia opciones a la hora de jugar viéndose obligada a participar de juegos varoniles (carritos, canicas, luchas) adoptando una actitud muy varonil, con el pasar del tiempo mi mama le instruía de manera tal que mi hermana comprendió que ella era una niña que juega con niños, con el pasar de los años ella se fue desapegando de los juegos varoniles para ocuparse de las cosas de chicas.
Estas cosas las recuerdo claramente de como mis padres fueron participes de la formación de identidad de genero de mis hermanos.
Ahora con respecto a un aspecto científico doy mi punto de vista y hago una interrogante, es conocido que los seres humanos nos identifica el sexo/genero los cromosomas Xx y Xy, claramente esos cromosomas forman la parte física (genitales, rasgos femeninos y masculinos) podríamos decir entonces, que ya determinado el aspecto físico, entra en juego el aspecto mental o psicológico?
Note los casos de mis hermanos, como usted sabe soy creyente del evangelio, me gustaría saber que tan interesada esta por conocer mi punto de vista con respecto a las Sagradas Escrituras, respetando claro esta todo su conocimiento en el área de la psicología.
Ahahahahaha Hello my Lord! I am very well thank you. A little tired, but fine! 😊
I am absolutely fascinated by your sister and brother's account. Thank you ever so much for taking the time to write this down for me. I have just told @jayoxaju that this is all new territory for me (the psychology of transgender kids) and information like the one she shared about her own children and the one you recalled of your siblings when they were young is absolutely invaluable.
You do raise a valid and accurate point from the biological perspective of gender. However, it is now well established (among psychologists) that human sexuality is a product of the interplay between social, environmental and psychological factors. The view that we are purely pre-determined by our biological characteristics has fallen out of favour. However, I am inclined to conclude, similarly to your sister, that environmental and psychological determinants play more of a part in cases like that of Sebastian's. Particularly when I see studies like the one that examines the hypothalamic responses of prepubertal boys and girls.
Having said that, I am highly interested in hearing your views through the lens of your religion. As they would provide great insight into environmental, social and, consequently, psychological factors. I would appreciate that very much my dear :) (when you have the time!).
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Lots of love to you and to your family! :)