SEX !

It seems obvious to all of us that one's sex is either male or female. If you prefer the word gender (grammatical term), gender is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Maybe we need still another word altogether. We as human beings are not so perfectly divided between male and female as we think. There are many genetic defects or abnormalities. Of course no one likes the words defects or abnormalities either. Birth defect, disability, handicap, are not acceptable words. I took my B.Sc. in Physical Therapy. At that time people were referred to as crippled. We were told never to call someone crippled. Call them handicapped. Some years later we were informed that handicapped was not acceptable. Call them disabled. Now that is also not accepted. Other-abled was suggested. Exceptional is a word that is often used. Special is another word. Different is probably not quite acceptable.

Let's face it. All of us are different. We all have our own specific problems. At times in history no problem was acceptable. Cancer used to be a term that no one mentioned. A death due to cancer was not discussed. Now cancer is very openly discussed. Alzheimer's is not a happy state, but it is also now discussed and acknowledged. Mental retardation is not discussed, but autism is openly discussed. Veterans are now returning home with amputations and traumatic brain injury, and these problems are becoming more obvious to us all. But birth defects are probably the most difficult subjects to approach. Many problems are caused by birth defects or genetic abnormalities. We may think of people with these problems as inferior beings. But the fact is that we all have genetic abnormalities. The average person carries the genes for about 6 or 7 genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, congenital deafness, congenital blindness, heart disease, cancer, schizophrenia, Huntington's Chorea/ Huntington's Disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, Tay Sach's Disease, the list goes on and on. For the most part we have partners who have genes for different disorders and therefore our children do not inherit the problems. But they continue to carry the genes. Most genetic disorders are recessive and they require a gene from each parent in order to be expressed.

But even if we don't have the more serious inherited problems we all have some abnormalities. Though many of us will protest and refuse to admit to any defect. The human body is incredibly complex and it is truly a miracle that any of us function at all.

But there is one "defect" that no one discusses at all. That is a defect that is related to sexual expression. Everyone is either male or female. No gene for homosexuality has yet been found; so obviously homosexuals are simply immoral. No variation in sexuality is acceptable. Maybe it is a good thing that there is presently a major discussion concerning the sexuality of Caster Semenya, the world-champion runner from South Africa. Her opponents think she is a man. Now the Russians have actually placed men in competition with women; so that has people on the watch for this sort of problem. But there are complicated sexual disorders that can make one's "gender" very ambiguous. We know that a person with the XX chromosome combination is a woman, and one with XY is a man. But there are aberrations in the real world. Some people are XXY, XXX, X or XYY. Even XXXXX exists but is rare. There is a very interesting article on further problems relating to sexuality in the New York Time Sports section, August 22, 2009, by Alice Dreger, professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She is the author of HERMAPHRODITES AND THE MEDICAL INVENTION OF SEX. (Harvard University Press, 1998).

She states that on the Y Chromosome there is a gene called SRY that usually makes a fetus grow as a male. But SRY can show up on an X chromosome, turning an XX fetus essentially male. But is the SRY doesn't function on the X, the fetus is female. Even an XY fetus with a functioning SRY can essentially develop female. This is caused by Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. On the other hand some women produce higher levels of Androgen hormone than others do and this may make them more athletic than the average woman. Dr. Dreger states that there dozens of sexual characteristics that can go one way or the other. It can be next to impossible to determine whether a person is male or female.

Our society doesn't want to hear that there is any question of gender. We don't want to hear that there are genetic or hormonal aberrations that affect our sexuality. But many aspects of life are not as clear cut as we would like to have them be. Maybe it is time to face the fact that even human sexuality is not as clear cut as we would like to have it. Homosexuality is far more common than any of these other gender disorders. And homosexuality has existed in every culture of the world and in every time in history. It begins to become obvious that this is an inborn condition, even though we have not yet identified the genetic or hormonal cause of it. Why are we so horrified by it? I have my own opinion.

The Old Testament states that two groups of people should be put to death: witches and homosexuals. Why? I believe that they were the priesthood of the Mother Goddess. This was the beginning of the age of Patriarchy and of the Father God. The way to assure the success of the religion of Father God over Mother God was to put to death the priesthood of the Mother Goddess. The Temples of the Mother Goddess and of Yahweh stood side by side in ancient Israel, and the priesthood of Yahweh wanted the Mother Goddess and her priesthood destroyed. Because the Bible states that these people should be put to death, people for the past two thousand years have been strongly prejudiced against homosexuals and "witches".