Gender Identity.

One of the most fundamental and integral issues about life, is knowing who you are and of course in establishing a sense of identity, gender can play an important role in this monumental voyage of discovery. Can gender identity and association ever be a problem? For some people, the answer is definitely. In the case of humans, in that stage of conception, at pre birth there is a process whereby over time the fetus is bathed in gender deciding hormones. Usually this is the point at which gender is determined. However in some instances there is an ambiguity, not only of the anatomy but a psychological sense of a person feeling as if they have been born into the wrong body. It is a very personal issue and one that latterly can influence identity and choice. While every case is individual, there is a need for everybody to feel as if such a physical and psychological issue is being resolved and to make matters worse there are extremely conflated and confusing policies and laws which seem to govern this life depending arena. If authorities in power actively refuse to enhance and clarify the legal practices concerning the gender identity issue then this could be a problem that damages many generations.

Gender orientation and reproduction can be complex subjects and there is a surprising contrast between that of the human and the animal world. Snails, for example have a varied approach to sex. Certain types of snails are independently able to make copies of themselves without any other intervention. There are cases that include examples being male and female simultaneously but then needing to find a partner to reproduce.

Sex change is not a problem for some species of coral reef fish, moray eels, gobies, wrasses and clownfish. Interestingly the clownfish observe a strict structure, dominated by a female fish. Should there be no female, a male fish will change sex to fill the vacant position. This is a one way change that is not reversible for them but some fish can alternate their gender.

When it comes to frogs, some species have the ability to change sex according to a requirement of the environment. If there is an unbalance of males and females, frogs have been known to alter gender and then even revert to their original sex. The XX female chromosome and the XY male chromosome stay the same, it is only the necessary equipment that dissolves or assembles.

If you are feeling content and not moved by the plight of mismatched genders spare a thought for the insect world that is prone to a mischief microscopic bug by the name of Wolbachia. This bacterium has the power to change the sex of it’s host. The same bacterium can even induce virgin births.

Did you know that the female stick insect can, without the male, produce female young? You might get the distinct feeling that in nature certain species of the males are getting the brush off.

Undeniably there are astounding examples in nature that realise sex can be a tool for survival of the species. The ability to alternate, switch and display gender according to need is useful. For me, it highlights the fact that gender is key not only to life itself but how that life is permitted to function and fulfil a purpose.