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From Susan's Place Transgender Wiki

This article refers to sexual identity as used by sexologists, rather than to sexual orientation, sexual behaviour, gender identity, gender role or sex

Contents 1 Sexual identity 1.1 Causes of sexual identity 1.2 Differences in Individual Sexual Identity 2 External Links 2.1 Bibliography 2.2 Compare with 3 Discuss

[edit] Sexual identity

Sexual identity is the sex with which a person identifies, or is identified. The term is used by some recent writers in the general area of sexology.

• Scientists such as John Money, Milton Diamond, and Anne Fausto-Sterling have sought to discover and describe the biological processes involved in the formation of sexual identities. A large array of factors have been hypothesized as being determinative, but there is as yet no settled view on these matters.

[edit] Causes of sexual identity

The actual causes of sexual identity are complex. A sexual identity is not the resultant of one discrete thing, but more a gradual process involving many factors that as of yet have not been clearly determined. Some factors are identified as influencing sexual identity, however their actual effect on the development of a sexual identity is not known. There is also the potential of other, currently unknown, factors that have a greater influence on sexual identity. There are several groups of factors that influence sexual identity:

• Genetic factors: Chromosomes play a large part in determining the sexual identity of a child. Normally for humans the configurations are XX and XY for female and male respectively. This however, is not the only factor in an individual's sexual identity. Additionally, there are also chromosomal abnormalities that can be produced (XXY, XYY, etc.). Some chromosomal abnormalities have no outward differences at birth, but may have internal repercussions. However, some chromosomal abnormalities may affect the genitalia, resulting in a condition called intersex.
• Some people believe that there is a "gay gene." This view may well turn out to be too simplistic. On the other hand, an individual's genotype may lead to a stronger sensitivity to hormones as compared to others. One's genetic constitution has a great deal to say about how one will react to environmental factors, especially in the womb.
• Pre-natal factors: The fetus is nurtured within the mother's womb, and the condition of the mother has an important influence on the health and development of that fetus.
• Post-natal factors: Some groups maintain that the socialization of an infant begins almost at birth, and that sexual identity problems may trace back to difficulties during this period of an individual's life.
• Socialization factors: External 'nurture' factors may also play a large part in determining what an individual's sexual identity develops into. These external factors are argued to extend beyond the usual 'family unit' and include friends, neighbors, classmates, parents, and teachers.

[edit] Differences in Individual Sexual Identity

Occasionally there are individuals that do not believe that the sexual identity that is hoisted upon them by society is a true fit with how they see their sexual identity. For these individuals their external genitalia does not match with their internal perceptions of their sexual identity. These individuals are referred to as transsexual or transgendered. When considering the case of transgender and transsexual individuals and their sexual identity, many specialists now agree that the greatest importance ought to be placed upon aligning internal gender identity with outward sexual physiology. Many non-operative transgender and transsexual people can and are usually happy with living as their chosen gender, and yet do not obtain SRS for a multitude of reasons. The causes of transgender and transsexuality are not well known, but preliminary evidence may have been found in areas of the brain's structure and size, i.e., on issues of sexual identity that go beyond the status of the genitalia. The understanding that a person has of his or her own sexual identity is perhaps never complete because that person may continue to grow and change psychologically -- and learning involves physical changes in the brain. On the other hand, as learning and experience increase more of the original picture is filled out to show what that person is and can become. If a young person's education has gone against the grain somehow, it may happen that a conflict breaks through to the surface and realignment follows, or that a person discovers things about himself or herself that may earlier have been hidden.

[edit] External Links

• sexual/gender identity
• Sexual identity article

[edit] Bibliography

The following list is not complete, but it should get the general reader started.

• John Colapinto As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl; Harper Collins; ISBN 0-06-019211-9
• Anne Fausto-Sterling; Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and The Construction of Sexuality; Basic Books; ISBN 0465077137
• Clellan S. Ford and Frank A. Beach; Patterns of Sexual Behavior; Ace Books, 1951
• Francis Mark Mondimore; A Natural History of Homosexuality; Johns Hopkins University Press; ISBN 0-8018-5440-7

John Money; Gay, Straight, and In-between: The Sexology of Erotic Orientation; Oxford University Press, 1988; ISBN 0-19-506331-7

[edit] Compare with

• Gender identity
• Gender role
• List of transgender-related topics

*Some information provided in whole or in part by http://en.wikipedia.org/

[edit] Discuss

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