Western civilisation and culture have created an understanding that sex and gender are interchangeable. However, the LGBT+ community and allies are working to disprove this ideology. The mind is considered the brain while the body is considered the genitals and physique of a person for the purpose of this argument. To adequately explain transgenderism the science, the societal definition of gender and the effect of it on a person’s life must be addressed. With these three points, it can prove that mind and body are two different entities.
Science is developing rapidly in many different fronts with multiple research projects backing it up, and these projects include studies of transgender people compared to cisgender people. It was believed the existence of transgender people was because of a psychosexual construct however recent research (ref.1) has discovered there may be a biological factor. Dr.Rosenthal conducted a meta-analysis of twins and found a staggering 39.1% of identical twins both experienced gender dysphoria while there were no non-identical twins that both did. There is no difference being raised as identical twins and non-identical twins. Therefore, this statistic suggests there is a difference in the brains of transgender people compared to cisgender people. It has been discovered the brains of transgender people are important to their gender dysphoria, however, how can this be proven? Since the discovery of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalus (BSTc) and the sexually dimorphic areas of the brain, they have been used to differentiate male and female brains. The BSTc has been discovered to be, on average, twice as large and twice as densely populated in male brains compared to female brains. Using this knowledge as the basis of their studies two independent teams (ref.2/3) examined the brains of transgender women, cisgender women and cisgender men to research the similarities and differences of these regions. Both teams found that transgender women have BSTc resembling cisgender women compared to cisgender men (Ref.4). In light of these only two research project on transgenderism, there is reasonable evidence to believe there is a biological reason for gender dysphoria and gender identity differing from a person’s body. Biology is a major factor in transgenderism; however, gender identity is related to societal gender definitions and norms.
How we differentiate between male and female is largely determined by how we were raised, the society we are in, and the culture of our upbringing. Therefore when these change, how gender is defined changes. These ideas are important to transgenderism as it demonstrations that genitals do not dictate how a person acts, feels and thinks. It has to be taken into account that in recent years these gender norms have been sought to be disproven and particularly how women are viewed has changed drastically, however, the history of western civilisation is still vital in how gender is defined. As far back as you can go back in western civilisation women have been dominated by men, regarded as only objects and expected to do all the housework, including bearing and taking care of children. It was also expected to be completely loyal and faithful to their husbands. An example of this is how in British and English courts kings would often be allowed to have a mistress (Ref.5). However, the queen was not allowed to have a lover, and if caught with one it is considered treason and she could be hung. Sexual assault of women in western civilization also reflects how women were believed to be objects for men to use. During world war two it was believed U.S. soldiers raped 190,000 German women (Ref.6) and there was no punishment, and it was common for soldiers to rape during war. The viral picture “The Kiss” (Ref.7) displays a U.S. soldier grabbing a woman in white and kissing. This photo has been viewed as a romantic gesture and as if it’s cute. This shows how the sexual assault on women was accepted and glorified as the woman is not consenting and the soldier is holding her tightly around her head so she cannot escape his grasp. However, different cultures and societies have a different view on sexual assault on women. Norse society held women to great regard (Ref.8), and there were many laws protecting women from unwanted attention. In Kormáks saga (Ref.9) chapter 24 it contains a scene where a man gave a woman four unwanted kisses, that man was fined two ounces of gold and was threatened with a sword. The abuse of women was also not tolerated, in chapter 48 a man slaps his wife out of anger then in chapter 77 he pays for it with his life. This Norse lore displays how women were respected in their society, much unlike western society. In Norse texts, women were often shown as strong figures and sometimes admired for their beauty, but more so respected for their wisdom. This is a contrast to the western society where women are considered weak and objects for men to use. The differences in how women are treated and respected in these two societies show how gender is defined differently. Therefore displaying that how gender is determined is not dependent on a person’s body but rather their mind, which is affected by societal expectations of their gender.
The effect of transgenderism is very much in the mind which your feelings and insecurities are the playthings of gender dysphoria. It has been addressed how transgenderism exists however it’s important to understand what it’s like to be transgender and the effects of it. A transgender person is defined as an individual who does not identify with the gender they were assigned to at birth and possibly their upbringing. This can have serious effects on the rest of their life because of how transgender people are treated in society and the serious mental health issues that are a result of gender dysphoria. To cisgender people it is hard to put themselves in the mindset of a transgender person, although there are ways to imagine a sliver of what it is like. A common way is to try picture what it would be like for everyone to tell you that you are the gender you are not, for example a woman would imagine everyone around her telling her that she is a man. If you were to imagine this you would feel wrong, unaccepted, discriminated and after being told this for your whole life you would soon believe that there is something wrong with you. Transgender people are treated like this everyday, this has caused statistics (Ref.10) such as transgender people aged 18 and over are nearly eleven times more likely to commit suicide and 35% of transgender people aged 18 and over have attempted suicide in their lifetime. To believe a person is making up their gender just so they can experience such serious side-effects and poor treatment is ridiculous. In an article written by a transgender woman named Parker Molloy (Ref.11), she says that “My brain was like a Camry someone had tried to fuel with diesel — it wasn’t meant to run on testosterone.” This is a perfect metaphor for how to feels to be transgender, it recognises the different entities and how they both require different things. It displays that the body and the mind need different things to be fulfilled and to function properly. The body may need testosterone or oestrogen however the mind does not and requires a different type of stimulus that caters to their gender.
With the three points of evidence; science, the societal definition of gender and the effect of it on a person’s life, it can be seen there is a difference between the mind and body. Through science it was discovered cisgender women and transgender women’s brains are similar and identical twins are often both transgender. The contrast of western and Norse civilisation display how society effects how gender is defined. Finally seeing the effect of how transgender people are treated show they do not have a choice in their gender. All of these added together equal the truth of transgenderism and the difference between mind and body.