Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Genders, Deities, and Science

      

We are aware of the various gender developments. and labels given to those who may have their own unique sexuality. What do we know about the developmental stage of gender development? And why do we use religion to justify our lack of knowledge and prejudice against different genders? 

According to the teachings of Christianity, God created the universe and two human beings. The first human he created was a man (Adam) and the inferior human being was a woman, taken from the rib of Adam (Eve). 

In Islam, the Qur’an states Allah created a male from clay and mud whereas a female was created from a quintessence of fluid. Thus, rendering the female as a different substance. 

In both myths there is nothing said about who created God and Allah.  

The story of creation in the Hindu religion is written in four sacred books called Rig-Veda, written more than 1200 years before the birth of Christ. It was written in Sanskrit, known as the language of the gods.  

The one powerful universal spirit is called Brahma, the  

supreme Hindu god who was the architect of the Universe. 

It was believed Brahma sprang from a cosmic golden egg, good, evil, light and dark came from his own person. As a hermaphroditic deity, he believed that one male form would be impotent without the existence of a corresponding female element, implying a subsequent union of the two.  

As a result, Brahma created an ordered universe out of the chaotic mixture of water and darkness.   

Sexuality, Science and Learning  

During the nineteenth century, various scientists who were examining human and animal cells discovered that the cells contained sets of tiny rod-shaped particles that were later called chromosomes. 

The number of chromosomes in a cell of mammals appeared to depend upon the species from which it came.  

In the study of certain insect spermatozoa, it was discovered about half of the insect sperm cells contained eleven chromosomes; the others contained a twelfth “accessory” chromosome. 

In 1902, it was discovered that the accessory chromosome carried by half of the sperm is the bearer of these qualities which belong to the male organism.  

We learned that the normal human sperm cells contain twenty-two ordinary chromosomes plus either an X or Y chromosome. The normal human ova contain the same twenty-two ordinary chromosomes plus an X chromosome. If an ovum is fertilized by a Y-bearing sperm, the resulting baby has forty-four ordinary chromosomes plus one X and one Y chromosome (XY) in each of its bodily cells and it is chromosomally a boy. If the ovum is fertilized by an X-bearing chromosome, the resulting baby has forty-four ordinary chromosomes plus two X chromosomes (XX) in each body cell and is chromosomally a girl. The presence or absence of a Y chromosome determines maleness or femaleness. 

Many scientists using subtle chromosome-visualization techniques have discovered additional complex situations that enrich our understanding of gender development in human sexuality.  For example, some girl babies are born with three X chromosomes (XXX) instead of the usual two. Other girls are born with one X chromosome missing (XO). Some boy babies are born with an extra X chromosome (XXY) or two extra chromosomes (XXXY). 

Now of conception, the combination of genetic material from each parent starts a process that leads to the specific physical differences between females and males 

The process of prenatal sexual changes and development is largely controlled by genetic and hormonal mechanisms.   

Our sexual differences lie in anatomy and biology, but our brain also dictate what we are and how we define ourselves.  

It’s a fallacy to suggest you can change a person from whom they are.