By Pavithra Vivekanand Ph. D, Assistant Professor of Biology
As most of you know Ben Shapiro was invited to speak at Susquehanna in March, as part of a series of events to engage the entire campus community in civil and intellectual discourse. During the speech, Shapiro made a number of statements that were not grounded in factual reality. But the stance that I have the most issue with is his assertion that transgender individuals suffer from a mental illness. His view runs counter to that of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that revised the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2012.
The APA no longer considers individuals who experience gender dysphoria as suffering from a mental disorder. Gender dysphoria occurs when an individual identifies with a gender that is not the same as their assigned gender. Shapiro claimed that the revised recommendations were a result of the APA succumbing to political pressure exerted by liberal groups. The revisions were prompted by new data, and are no different from changes in treatment guidelines that have occurred in other areas of medicine.
In his speech, Shapiro said “…there are only two sexes. This is not an animus-based argument but a biologybased argument”. Is his statement supported by biology? No, it is not.
What does it mean to be a male or female? Does the presence of a Y chromosome, or a penis make one a male? Does the presence of breasts, uterus and absence of penis make one a female? Biological sex determination is a complex process and society’s long-standing view that there are only two sexes, male and female, is in fact inaccurate. Biological sex is dictated by the presence of sex chromosomes, with two X chromosomes typically leading to development of the embryo as a female and the presence of an X and a Y chromosome leading to development of the embryo as a male. The processes of sex determination can be divided into chromosomal, gonadal and anatomic sexual development. Under the influence of the SRY gene present on the Y chromosome, the gonad is instructed to develop into testes instead of ovaries and to produce testosterone. Testosterone production in turn leads to the development of male secondary sexual characteristics such as the penis. In the absence of the Y chromosome and functional SRY, the gonad develops into ovaries, and directs the development of female secondary sexual characteristics. While for most individuals all three stages of sexual development proceed in sync, there are numerous instances where chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sexual development do not always match.
For instance, individuals who suffer from Androgen Insensitivity syndrome (AIS) have XY chromosomes and testes that produce testosterone, but because of a mutation in the gene called the Androgen receptor, are unable to respond to testosterone. As a result, these individuals do not develop internal or external secondary sexual characteristics of a male but instead develop female secondary sexual characteristics. Conversely there are situations that lead to XX individuals developing fully as males with testes and a penis.
There are also individuals with ambiguous genitalia. Collectively these variations are referred to as Disorders of Sexual Development and are not as uncommon as one might think. It is clear that biological sex is not just black and white, but black, white and several shades of grey.
Shapiro also asserted that gender cannot be disconnected from sex. It is very apparent from his speech that he believes that individuals who “claim” gender dysphoria are in fact suffering from a delusion and that it is but a whim. So what does science have to say about gender identity? While there are no definitive answers, current evidence suggests that there might be structural and functional differences in the brains of transgender individuals. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) and the sexually dimorphic nucleus are two regions of the brain that have been documented to be sexually dimorphic, meaning that they appear different between cisgender males and females. These differences , however, do not imply that males and females have differences in cognitive abilities. The BSTc of transgender males and females appear more similar to individuals of the gender that they identify with than with individuals of their assigned gender. There are also studies that indicate the brains of transgender individuals have characteristics that are in between those observed in cisgender males and females.
Shapiro is right about one thing, that suicide rates among transgender individuals is staggeringly high. But he then goes on to state “… suicidality and transgenderism are highly co-morbid”. He cites a study from The Williams Institute to support his argument that the suicide rates are high because transgender individuals are suffering from a mental disorder and not because of how they have been treated by the society.
The study, in fact, suggests the exact opposite of what he claims. The high suicide rates among transgender individuals are not surprising, considering that they have to fight an uphill battle to be accepted by their families, friends, peers and the community. They are subjected to discrimination in all aspects of their lives and are at increased risk for being murdered by cisgender individuals.
While Shapiro and others would have us believe that individuals with gender dysphoria are mentally ill and that the incongruence that they experience between their assigned and perceived gender is not real but a lifestyle choice, this view is not backed up by science. Just as there is diversity in hair, skin and eye color, we should view gender as another facet of diversity found in the human population.
Biologist’s Rebuttal reflects the views of a Susquehanna University faculty member. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire university. The content of the Forum page is the responsibility of the editor in chief and the Forum editor
