Writers Den

10­3Alternative Gender Models
As touched on earlier, the gender roles assigned to each sex vary
from culture to culture and have an impact on personality formation.
But what if the sex of an individual is not self­evident? As revealed
in this chapters Original Study, written when its author was an
undergraduate student, this narrative offers a compelling personal
account of the emotional difficulties associated with intersexuality
and gender ambiguity.
Original Study

The Blessed Curse
By R. K. Williamson
One morning not so long ago, a child was born. This birth, however, was no occasion for the customary
celebration. Something was wrong: something very grave, very serious, very sinister. This child was born
between sexes, an intersexed child. From the day of its birth, this child would be caught in a series of
struggles involving virtually every aspect of its life Things that required little thought under ordinary
circumstances were, in this instance, extraordinarily difficult. Simple questions now had an air of
complexity: What is it a girl or a boy? What do we name it? How shall we raise it? Who (or what)
is to blame for this?

A Foot in Both Worlds
The child referred to in the introductory paragraph is mySelf As the great­granddaughter of a Cherokee
w0marn I was exposed to the Native American view of people who were born intersexed, and those who
exhibited transgendered characteristics. This view sees such individuals in a very positive and affirming
light Yet my immediate family (mother, father, and brothers) were firmly fixed in a negative Christian
Euramerican point of view As a result, I was presented with two different and conflicting views of
myself. This resulted in a lot of confusion within me about what I was, how I came to be born the way I
was, and what my intersexuality meant in terms of my spirituality as well as my place in society.
I remember, even as a small child, getting mixed messages about my worth as a human being. My
grandm0ther in keeping with Native American WayS, would tell me stories about my birth. She would
tell me how she knew when I was born that I had a special place in life, given to me by God, the Great
Spirit, and that I had been given a great strength that girls never have, yet a gentle tenderness that boys
never know and that I was too pretty and beautiful to be a boy only and too strong to be a girl only.
She rejoiced at this special gift and taught me that it meant that the Great Spirit had something
important for me to do in this life. I remember how good I felt inside when she told me these things and
how I soberly contemplated, even at the young age of 5, that I must be diligent and try to learn and carry
out the purpose designed just for me by the Great Spirit.
My parents, however, were so repulsed by my intersexuality that they would never speak of it directly.
They would just refer to it as the work of Satan. To them, I was not at all blessed with a special gift
from some Great Spirit, but was cursed and given over to the Devil by G0d. My father treated me
with contempt, and my mother wavered between contempt and distant indifference. I was taken from one

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charismatic church to another in order to have the demon of mixed sex cast out of me. At some of these
deliverance services I was even given a napkin to cough out the demon into!
In the end, no demon ever popped out of me. Still I grew up believing that there was something inherent
within me that caused God to hate me, that my intersexuality was a punishment for this something, a
mark of condemnation.
Whenever I stayed at my grandmothers h0USe, my fears would be allayed, for she would once again
remind me that I was fortunate to have been given this special gift. She was distraught that my parents
were treating me cruelly and pleaded with them to let me live with her, but they would not let me stay at
her home permanently. Nevertheless, they did let me spend a significant portion of my childhood with
her. Had it not been for that, I might not have been able to survive the tremendous trials that awaited me
in my walk through life.

A Personal Resolution
For me, the resolution to the dual message I was receiving was slow in coming, largely due to the fear and
self­hatred instilled in me by Christianity. Eventually, though, the spirit wins out. I came to adopt my
grandmothers teaching about my intersexuality. Through therapy, and a new, loving home environment,
I was able to shed the constant fear of eternal punishment I felt for something I had no control over. After
all, I did not create myself.
Because of my own experience, and drawing on the teaching of my grandmother, I am now able to see
myself as a wondrous creation of the Great Spiritbut not only me. All creation is wondrous. There is a
purpose for everyone in the gender Spectrum. Each persons spirit is unique in her or his or her­his own
Way. It is only by living true to the nature that was bestowed upon us by the Great Spirit, in my view, that
we are able to be at peace with ourselves and be in harmony with our neighbor. This, to me, is the Great
Meaning and the Great purpose.
Adapted from Williamson, R. K. ( 1995). The blessed curse: Spirituality and sexual difference as viewed by
Euramerican and Native American cultures The College News 18 ( 4) Reprinted with permission of the author.

The biological facts of human nature are not always as clear­cut as
most people assume. As described in Chapter 2, at the level of
chromosomes, biological sex is determined according to whether a
persons 23rd chromosomal set is XX (female) or XY (male). Some
of the genes on these chromosomes control sexual development. This
standard biological package does not apply to all humans, for a
considerable number are intersexuals people who are born with
reproductive organs, genitalia, and/or sex chromosomes that are not
exclusively male or female. These individuals do not fit neatly into a
binary gender standard.
For example, some people are born with a genetic disorder that
results in them having only one X chromosome instead of the usual
two. A person with this chromosomal complex, known as Turner
syndrome, develops female external genitalia but has nonfunctional
ovaries and is therefore infertile. Other individuals are born with the
XY sex chromosomes of a male but have an abnormality on the X

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chromosome that affects the bodys sensitivity to androgens (male
hormones). This is known as androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS).
An adult XY person with complete AIS appears fully female with a
normal clitoris, labia, and breasts. Internally, these individuals
possess testes (up in the abdomen, rather than in their usual
descended position in the scrotal sac), but they are otherwise born
without a complete set of either male or female internal genital
organs. They generally possess a short, blind­ended vagina.
Hermaphrodites comprise a distinct category of intersexuality
although the terms male pseudohermaphrodite and female
pseudohermaphrodite are often used to refer to a range of intersex
conditions. More obviously intersexed individuals (true
hermaphrodites) have both testicular and ovarian tissue. They may
have a separate ovary and testis, but more commonly they have an
ovotestisa gonad containing both sorts of tissue. About 60 percent
of these individuals possess XX (female) sex chromosomes, and the
remainder may have XY or a mosaic (a mixture). Their external
genitalia may be ambiguous or female, and they may have a uterus or
(more commonly) a hemiuterus (half uterus).
U.S. biologist Anne Fausto­Sterling, a specialist in this area, notes
that the concept of intersexuality is rooted in an idealized biological
world in which our species is perfectly divided into two kinds:
That idealized story papers over [that] some women have facial hair, some men have none; some women
speak with deep voices, some men veritably squeak. Less well known is the fact that on close inspection,
absolute dimorphism disintegrates even at the level of basic biology. Chromosomes, hormones, the
internal sex structures, the gonads and external genitalia all vary more than most people realize. Those
born outside of thedimorphic mold are called intersexuals.
Intersexuality may be unusual, but it is not uncommon. In fact, about
1 percent of all humans are intersexed in some not necessarily visible
wayin other words, nearly 70 million people worldwide. Until
recently, it was rarely discussed publicly in many societies. Since the
mid­20th century, individuals with financial means in
technologically advanced parts of the world have had the option of
reconstructive surgery and hormonal treatments to alter such
conditions, and many parents faced with raising a visibly intersexed
child in a culture intolerant of such minorities have chosen this
option. However, there is a growing movement to put off such
irreversible procedures indefinitely or at least until the child becomes
old enough to make the choice. Obviously, a societys attitude
toward these individuals can impact their personality, their
fundamental sense of self and how they express it.
In addition to people who are biologically intersexed, throughout
history some individuals have been subjected to a surgical removal of
some of their sexual organs. In many cultures, male prisoners or war
captives have undergone forced castration, crushing or cutting the

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testicles. Castration may limit the sex drive, but it does not eliminate
it or the possibility of having an erection. It does, however, put an
end to the production of sperm necessary for reproduction.

Caster Semenya is a South African middle­distance runner. At age 18, after winning the
womens 800­meter race at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Semenya faced a
barrage of media reports with headlines such as Gold Awarded amid Dispute over
Runners Sex. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) subsequently
ordered gender testing that revealed that the runner has internal male sexual organs. After
being withdrawn from international competitions, she was officially cleared by the IAAF in
July 2010 and resumed her athletic career.

© AP Images/Anja Niedringhaus

Archaeological evidence from ancient Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and China
suggests that the cultural practice of castrating war captives began
several thousand years ago. Young boys captured during war or
slave­raiding expeditions were often castrated before being sold and
shipped off to serve in foreign households, including royal courts. In
the Ottoman empire of the Turks, where they could occupy a variety
of important functions in the sultans household from the mid­15th
century onward, they became known aseunuchs. As suggested by the

ALTERNATIVE GENDER MODELS
original meaning of the word, which is Greek for guardian of the
bed, castrated men were often put in charge of a rulers harem, the
womens quarters in a household. Eunuchs could also rise to high
status as priests and administrators and were even appointed to serve
as army commanders. Some powerful lords, kings, and emperors
kept hundreds of eunuchs in their castles and palaces.
Other than forced castration, there were also men who engaged in
self­castration or underwent voluntary castration. For example, early
Christian monks in Egypt and neighboring regions voluntarily
abstained from sexual relationships and sometimes castrated
themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Such genital
mutilation was also practiced among Coptic monks in Egypt and
Ethiopia, until the early 20th century.
In the late 15th century, Europe saw the emergence of a category of
musical eunuchs known as castrati. These eunuchs sang female parts
in church choirs after Roman Catholic authorities banned women
singers on the basis of Saint Pauls instruction, Let your women
keep silence in the churches. Without functioning testes to produce
male sex hormones, physical development into manhood is aborted,
so deeper voicesas well as body hair, semen production, and other
usual male attributeswere not part of a castratis biology.
Mapping the sexual landscape, anthropologists have come to realize
that gender bending exists in many cultures all around the world,
playing a significant role in shaping behaviors and personalities. For
example, indigenous communities in the Great Plains and the
southwestern United States created social space for transgenders
people who cross over or occupy an alternative position in the binary
male­female gender construction. The Lakota of the northern Plains
had a third gender category of culturally accepted transgendered
males who dressed as women and were thought to possess both male
and female spirits. They called (and still call) these third­gender
individuals winkte, applying the term to a male who wants to be a
woman. Thought to have special curing
powers, winktes traditionally enjoyed considerable prestige in their
communities. Among the neighboring Cheyenne, such a person was
called hemanah, literally meaning half­man, half­woman. The
preferred term among most North American Indians today is two­
spirits.
Such third­gender individuals are well known in Samoa, where males
who take on the identity of females are referred to asfaafafines (the
female way). Becoming a faafafine is an accepted option for boys
who prefer to dance, cook, clean house, and care for children and the
elderly. In large families, it is not unusual to find two or three boys
being raised as girls to take on domestic roles in their households. As
U.S. anthropologist Lowell Holmes reports,

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In fact, they tend to be highly valued because they can do the heavy kinds of labor that most women find
difficult. A Samoan nun once told me how fortunate it is to have a faafafine in the family to help with the
household chores. [There] is also the claim made that faafafines never have sexual relations with each
other but, rather, consider themselves to be sisters. [They] are religious and go to church regularly
dressed as women andsome are even Sunday school teachers. Faafafines often belong to womens
athletic teams, and some even serve as coaches.
Transgenders cannot simply be lumped together as homosexuals. For
example, the Tagalog­speaking people in the Philippines use the
word bakla to refer to a man who views himself as a male with a
female heart. These individuals cross­dress on a daily basis, often
becoming more female than females in their use of heavy makeup, in
the clothing they wear, and in the way they walk. Like the
Samoan faafafines, they are generally not sexually attracted to
other bakla but are drawn to heterosexual men instead. And the
Bugis of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia acknowledge five
genders:oroane (male­men), makunrai (female­women), calala
i(transgendering females), calabai (transgendering males),
andbissu (androgynous shamans imagined to embody female and
male elements).
Clearly, the cross­cultural sex and gender scheme is complex. In the
course of thousands of years, human cultures have creatively dealt
with a wide range of inherited and artificially imposed sexual
features. Studying multifaceted categories involving intersexuality
and transgendering enables us to recognize the existing range of
gender alternatives and to debunk false stereotypes. It is one more
piece of the human puzzlean important one that prods us to rethink
social codes and the range of forces that shape personality as well as
each societys definition of normal.

Transgendering occurs in many cultures, but it is not always publicly tolerated. Among
Polynesians inhabiting Pacific Ocean islands such as Tonga and Samoa, however, such
male transvestites are culturally accepted. Samoans refer to these third­gender individuals
as faafafines (the female way).

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214

© Photography Hugh Hartshome/ReAngle Pictures

10­4Normal and Abnormal

Personality in Social Context
The cultural standards that define normal behavior for any society are
determined by that society itself. Although the societies just noted
have accepted trans­gender behaviors, many other societies regard
them as culturally abnormal and do not tolerate those who deviate
from commonly accepted social standards of sexual behavior. For
instance, according to a recent global report, state­sponsored
homophobia, the irrational fear of humans with same­sex
preferences, thrives in many countries, with its resulting aggressive
intolerance:
With Panama decriminalising homosexuality in 2008 and Burundi for the first time in its history
criminalizing homosexuality in 2009, the world now counts 80 countries with State­sponsored
homophobic laws: 72 countries and 3 entities (Turkish Cyprus, Gaza and Cook Islands) punish
consenting adults with imprisonment, while 5 countries (Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen
and parts of Nigeria and Somalia) punish them with the death penalty.

ALTERNATIVE GENDER MODELS
If a male in one of these sexually restrictive societies dresses as a
woman, he is widely viewed as emotionally troubled or even
mentally ill, and his abnormal behavior may lead to punitive
measures or psychiatric intervention.
What seems normal and acceptable (if not always popular) in one
society is often considered abnormal and unacceptableridiculous,
shameful, and sometimes even criminalin another. As well, the
standards that define normal behavior may shift over time. In
England, for instance, homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967.
And six years later, the American Psychiatric Association finally
removed same­sex orientation from its authoritative list of clinical
mental disorders.
In short, the boundaries that distinguish the normal from the
abnormal vary across cultures and time, as do the standards of what
is socially acceptable. In many cultures, individuals may stand out as
different without being considered abnormal in the strictest sense
of the wordand without suffering social rejection, ridicule,
censure, condemnation, imprisonment, or some other penalty.
Moreover, there are cultures that not only tolerate or accept a much
wider range of diversity than others, but may actually accord special
status to the deviant or eccentric as unique, extraordinary, or even
sacred, as illustrated by the following example.

10­4aSadhus: Holy Men in Hindu Cultures
A fascinating ethnographic example of a culture in which abnormal
individuals are socially accepted and even honored is provided by
religious mystics in India and Nepal. Surrendering all social,
material, and even sexual attachments to normal human pleasures
and delights, these ascetic monks, or sadhus, dedicate themselves to
achieving spiritual union with the divine or universal Soul. This is
done through intense meditation (chanting sacred hymns or mystical
prayer textsmantras) and yoga (an ascetic and mystic discipline
involving prescribed postures and controlled breathing). The goal is
to become a fully enlightened soul, liberated from the physical limits
of the individual mortal self, including the cycle of life and death.

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© Cengage Learning 2013

The life of the sadhu demands extraordinary concentration and near
superhuman effort, as can be seen in the most extreme yoga postures.
This chosen life of suffering may even include self­torture as a form
of extreme penance. For instance, some sadhuspierce their tongue or
cheeks with a long iron rod, stab a knife through their arm or leg, or
stick their head into a small hole in the ground for hours on end.
Most Hindus revere and sometimes even fear sadhus. When they
encounter oneby a temple or cemetery, or perhaps near a forest,
riverbank, or mountain cavethey typically offer him food or other
alms. Sightings are not uncommon since an estimated 5
millionsadhus live in India and Nepal. Of course, if one of these
bearded, longhaired Hindu monks decided to practice his extreme
yoga exercises and other sacred devotions in western Europe or
North America, observers would consider such a holy man to be
severely mentally disturbed.

10­4bMental Disorders Across Time and

Cultures
No matter how eccentric or even bizarre certain behaviors might
seem in a particular place and time, it is possible for the abnormal to
become socially accepted in cultures that are changing. Such is the
case with manic depression (now more properly called bipolar
disorder) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), both
previously regarded as dreaded problems.

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In western Europe and North America, the manic and hyperactivity
aspects of these conditions are gradually becoming viewed as assets
in the quest for success. More and more, they are interpreted as
indicative of finely wired, exquisitely alert nervous systems that
make one highly sensitive to signs of change, able to fly from one
thing to another while pushing the limits of everything, and doing it
all with an intense level of energy focused totally in the future. These
are extolled as high virtues in the corporate world, where
being considered hyper or manic is increasingly an expression of
approval.

This Shaivite sadhu of the Aghori subsect drinks from a human skull bowl (symbolizing
human mortality). He is a strict follower of the Hindu god Shiva, whose image can be seen
behind him.

© Thomas L. Kelly

Just as social attitudes concerning a wide range of both psychological
and physical differences change over time within a society, they also
vary across cultures (see Biocultural Connection).
Biocultural Connection

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Down Syndrome Across Cultures
By Katherine A. Dettwyler

© Cengage Learning 2013

U.S. biological anthropologistKatherine Dettwyler compares the cultural experience of Down syndrome,
the biological state of having an extra 21st chromosome, in Peter, her son, and in Abi, a child she meets
while doing fieldwork in Mali, West Africa.
Down syndrome children are often (though not always!) sweet, happy, and affectionate kids. Many
families of children with Down syndrome consider them to be special gifts from God and refer to them as
angels.
A little girl had just entered the hut, part of a large family with many children. She had a small round
head, and all the facial characteristics of a child with Down syndromeOriental­shaped eyes with
epicanthic folds, a small flat nose, and small ears. There was no mistaking the diagnosis. Her name was
Abi, and she was about 4 years old, the same age as Peter.
I knelt in front of the little girl. Hi there, sweetie, I said in English. Can I have a hug? I held out my
arms, and she willingly stepped forward and gave me a big hug.
I looked up at her mother. Do you know that theres something different about this child? I asked,
choosing my words carefully.
Well, she doesnt talk, said her mother, hesitantly, looking at her husband for confirmation.
Thats right, he said. Shes never said a word.
But shes been healthy? I asked.

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Yes, the father replied. Shes like the other kids, except she doesnt talk. Shes always happy. She
never cries. We know she can hear, because she does what we tell her to. Why are you so interested in
her?
Because I know whats the matter with her. I have a son like this. Excitedly, I pulled a picture of Peter
out of my bag and showed it to them. They couldnt see any resemblance, though. The difference in skin
color swamped the similarities in facial features. But then, Malians think all white people look alike. And
its not true that all kids with Down syndrome look the same. Theyre different in the same way, but
they look most like their parents and siblings.
Have you ever met any other children like this? I inquired, bursting with curiosity about how rural
Malian culture dealt with a condition as infrequent as Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome
are rare to begin with, occurring about once in every 700 births. In a community where thirty or forty
children are born each year at the most, a child with Down syndrome might be born only once in twenty
years. And many of them would not survive long enough for anyone to be able to tell that they were
different. Physical defects along the midline of the body (heart, trachea, intestines) are common among
kids with Down syndrome; without immediate surgery and neonatai intensive care, many would not
survive. Such surgery is routine in American childrens hospitals but nonexistent in rural Mali. For the
child without any major physical defects, there are still the perils of rural Malian life to survive: malaria,
measles, diarrhea, diphtheria, and pol…