Why understanding and using the Science and Biology of Gender is essential to the Trans community

Here's the science that shows gender and being trans is an immutable, genetic, biological attribute and not an ideology, not something that can be chosen or changed, not binary and not the same as sex.

Open 'The Nature of Gender' - the science research supporting the biology of gender

Introduction

Around 2015 groups of far right political and religious extremists in the US turned their attention on the trans community and started a campaign whose aim was to eradicate them. It is a campaign that has subsequently been imported into the UK. Their rationale is that :-

• Only sex is biological and is binary and immutable

• Gender and being trans has no biological basis and is therefore an ideology; indoctrination in ‘gender ideology’ leads some to falsely believe they are trans and can change sex that they then push on others.

• As an ideology, trans folks should not receive any special rights or treatment and these should be removed.

• Trans folks and their false and damaging ‘gender ideology’ should, therefore, be eradicated and natures truth imposed as revealed by God and, supposedly, ‘science’.

Now, not only is this exceedingly harmful to a vulnerable minority, it is biological and scientific nonsense. Anyone with a basic understanding of sex biology, neuroscience and behavioural biology will know the central premises here have long since been disproven and are false.

However, the societal perpetuation of grossly oversimplified, confused and inaccurate ‘nursey school’ biology about sex (physical) and gender (neurological/behavioural) means few fully appreciate this, including few in the trans community. This ignorance has been ruthlessly exploited by the campaign which the trans community has floundered in countering.

Excuses, excuses?

So why not consider and use science and biology? Well, some commentators have argued against this saying, ‘Looking for a biological basis to being transgender is reductionist, simplistic and potentially dangerous as this knowledge could be used inappropriately’.  Well, one can understand the argument, but it misunderstands science and biology, which is far from being reductionist and simplistic but is built on an understanding and acceptance of continual variance, profound complexity and constant uncertainty.

Others have argued that, while there may be some biological basis, it is far from conclusive. This again misunderstands science which recognises there can never be absolute certainty. Instead, there is scientific methodology, with controlled research, that produces repeatable results that supports a given theory, builds on previous theories and dispels opinion and ideology. The point here is that the anti-trans campaigners claim biological certainty, in sex, binaries and immutability while the science not only disproves this but also disproves their claims about psychosocial (ideological) causes. Certainty here is not important nor ever possible; It’s who can present the better and more accurate scientific case.

Finally, some have tried to bury their heads in the sand. ‘It shouldn’t matter why people are trans, they should just be accepted for who they are’. But it does matter because the research will continue to take place and the results used in many different ways whether the community likes it or not. This leaves it with no choice. It has to own and use science and biology to its advantage, otherwise it will leave this open to ruthless exploitation by the anti-trans campaign, which has already scoured the research and picked those papers that it can misinterpret to support its claims (which led to Cass, the recent supreme court ruling, etc.).  

So where are we with understanding of the biology?

Now up to the mid 20^th century many neurological conditions were considered to have psychosocial causes, with appalling consequences. Schizophrenia was, it was believed, caused by parental hate, autism by parents not showing sufficient affection and so on. Families were left traumatised and lacking in the support they needed. But then science showed these were highly complex natural neurobiological conditions and acceptance and attitudes changed for the better.

Today gender identity variance is following the same path, though in this case there is a group of extremists who are trying to deny the science and neurological behavioural biology, while fixating on and making false claims about physiological biology! But there is now an extensive body of scientific research that concludes

• There is no data to suggest that gender identity is manipulated by external forces. This means being trans does not have psychosocial or ideological causes, but is biological and cannot be chosen or changed by environment/ideology/conversion/talking therapies.

• There is no specific genetic locus or neuroanatomic region consistently identified as a cause of gender identity: The biology is so deeply embedded that it cannot be identified with a specific brain area or genetic sequence, making it impossible to test for or cure.

• That it is primarily genetic but prenatal androgen exposure may influence gender identity and gender expression in some individuals. Other biological and social factors play a small but non determinant part.

In short gender, comprising gender identity and gender role behaviours, is a natural complex and deep rooted neurobiological attribute and being trans is a natural variance in this that cannot be caught, coerced into, chosen, cured of, or converted from. It is just how some people are, and that should be accepted and respected.  

And the implications are?

The implications are enormous and positive for trans folks. It brings the whole deck of cards upon which the anti-trans campaign is based crashing down. It exposes their claims as false and pure pseudo-science and reveals the campaign for what it actually is – a politically and ideologically driven hate campaign. But it also validates trans kids, and justifies special rights and treatments, trans education in schools and so on, while putting paid to the gender is purely a social construct claim. Both sex and gender are biological, but have social constructs applied to them (Societal divisions and rules)

It also means there is no longer any need to use statements like ‘What about our lived in experiences’ and ‘We’ve existed for ever’, which evidence nothing in the ideology vs biology argument (So your lived in experience is you’ve been indoctrinated and that indoctrination that has existed for ever). Instead, a basic ‘It’s a natural neurobiological condition (that has nothing to do with sex) and the science (through thousands of research papers) proves this’ is all that is required. This refutes the ‘It’s an ideology/mental illness’ and ‘It doesn’t matter what you think you are, sex is sex…’ statements and the subsequent ‘I don’t believe you’ response. You can of course give more sophisticated responses, but a detailed understanding of the science and biology is not required. Being able to point to a library of research to back up the claim is, though, and that is the point of this article.

What and where is the science that supports this?

There are large number of different types of standard study (twin, MRI, behavioural, endocrinological, Intersex, etc.) from across the globe on being transgender. (Pubmed has over 16,000 research papers published on transgender science and healthcare in the past 10 years though the research goes back many decades before this). The depth and breadth of this research and the consistency of conclusions leaves little room for debate, as the papers that analyse this research repeatedly conclude.

So to help support the ‘its biological’ claim attached is a collection of the research papers and meta data studies that support the biological nature of being trans, grouped by study type.  These are focussed on gender rather than sex and are intended for use when lobbying those in authority. Trying to persuade the anti-trans campaigners with their cognitive dissonance is generally wasted effort.

The Nature of Gender V1-1.pdf

Download PDF • 493KB

So what about the anti-trans campaigners?

That said there are those who will continue to assert the science points to psychosocial causes (e.g. ROGD). Most of the papers cited have long since been discredited as bogus and unscientific or disproven by other multiple studies. These and other attempts to discredit the evidence, for example with claims about inadequate sample sizes, and papers posing as ‘scientific reviews of the biological theories’ by feminist philosophers can easily be countered by those with the necessary understanding of the scientific process.

Indeed, the deniers of the science of gender give inconsistent and confused arguments. Some argue that gender identity doesn’t exist at all and that gender (as in boys do this, girls do that) is purely a human social construct. Others argue that gender identity exists but is a learnt behaviour with psychosocial causes, while others argue that the science that demonstrates a biological basis for gender identity and behaviour doesn’t stack up. In short, these counters all try to deny the existence of biological gender distinct from sex and therefore that trans folks can’t exist, without any credible scientific evidence and on purely philosophical or ideological grounds (in the case of feminism one argument used is men and women are all equal when it comes to brain functioning!).

So what can we state is fact?

But while they flounder when confronted with real science, this just hasn’t been pushed and as a result they have been able to build a successful multi-stranded campaign on their core, but false, premises. The collection here counters those core premises and enables us to say that, from extensive scientific research (over 16,000 papers in past 10 years and over 100 years of research),

• We know gender is a set of behaviours, comprising gender identity and gender role behaviours, that is hardwired into our brains by our biology and genes (and is polygenic), with a range of other factors playing a small non determinant part, while it is seen throughout nature

• We know that gender identity is not binary (only male or female) but exists across a bi-modal spectrum.

• We know that gender identity is independent from sex, and an individual’s gender identity can be anywhere on the spectrum regardless of sex. (the genetics of gender are not the same as those of sex)

• We know being transgender is real and natural. Brain scans show us this and that a whole range of different brain areas are involved. People are who they say they are, even as children.  

• We know that gender identity is immutable and cannot be chosen or changed by upbringing, ideology, conversion, coercion, psychiatric and talking therapies nor can it be medically ‘cured’.

• We know that the tethering of the gender spectrum to the sex spectrum and the division of these into a binary (male and female) is not correct and that this and the cultural rules that we apply to the divisions (which we also call gender) are purely social constructs.

• We know that, although not relevant here, sex is neither immutable nor binary, even in humans.

Add to this unquantified data like trans folks existing across all cultures, societies, religions and geographies, are recorded throughout history and that many cultures and societies not only recognise but formally support transgender and intersex people, and you have a very strong foundation on which to build cases to counter the different strands the anti-trans campaign and a case that they cannot ultimately compete against.  

The potential challenges and final thoughts

Of course, the decoupling of sex and gender is challenging as it goes against societal indoctrination, but is little different to the decoupling of sex and sexuality that occurred in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  The primary challenge on top of this is that numerous laws are based on sex and gender being one and the same and interchangeable; decoupling these will raise questions like are spaces single sex or single gender and how should our law be modified? However, if the trans community doesn’t take ownership of this and use it effectively the anti-trans campaign will, and use it against trans folks by asserting sex has supremacy over gender.

Maybe a few simple easily understood slogans would be a good start point … Proven: Gender is biological not social/ideological; Proven: Biological gender ≠ Biological sex; Proven: Gender cannot be chosen or changed; Proven: Gender is not binary (and neither is sex); Proven: Gender wins over sex…. And possibly finally… anti-trans campaigners think with their genitals they talk bollocks and are dickheads!!!