As the new year begins, we have pulled together expert opinions for you that answer the questions we are constantly asked at GI:  do “male” and “female” matter anymore?  This question of sex does not negate gender explorations.  At the same time, male and female do lie at the bedrock of individual and systems analysis.  In few places are “boy” and “girl” more important than in schools and districts that look at their data to discover where each population is having difficulty.

Here are some expert opinions, then, further analysis from Michael Gurian.

“There are 10 trillion cells in the human body, and every one of them is sex-specific. We’ve had a unisex vision of the human genome, but men and women are not the same in our genome, and men and women are not the same in the face of disease.  All our cells know on a molecular level whether they are XX or XY.”

–David C. Page, M.D., Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Director of the Whitehead Institute.

“More than 99% of male and female genetic coding is exactly the same, but that 1% percentage difference influences every single cell in our bodies – from the nerves that register pleasure and pain to the neurons that transmit perception, thoughts, feelings, and emotions.”

–Louann Brizendine, M.D., Professor of Neuropsychiatry at University of California – San Francisco, Founder of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic, and author of The Female Brain and The Male Brain

“The X chromosome has about 1,000 genes; the Y has maybe 70. The X is one of the biggest chromosomes; the Y is short and stubby. The X contains extremely significant genes: genes that make and maintain the brain and control immune function… All my (male) cells are using an identical X – the one I got from my mother.  So, if that X has any problems – genetic mutations, spelling mistakes in the genetic code – tough luck for me.  But a woman has two Xs: one from her mother, one from her father.  So, if one X has a problem, the healthy X can compensate.”

–Shäron Moalem, M.D., Ph.D., author of How Sex Works and The Better Half

“Everywhere we look, the two sexes are startlingly and unexpectedly different, not only in their internal function but in the ways that they experience illness. To care for them, we must see them as who they are: female and male.”

–Marianne J. Legato, M.D., author of Eve’s Rib: The New Science of Gender-Specific Medicine

“Molecular sex differences in the brain are real at the molecular level, for instance they are now found in mechanisms of pain, effects of stress, how an autism-linked gene regulates neurophysiology, how an intellectual disability-linked gene affects the biochemistry of synapses…and much more.”

–Catherine Woolley, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroendocrinology, Northwestern University

“Biological sex is either male or female…sex is defined…by gametes, which are mature reproductive cells.  There are only two types of gametes:  small ones called sperm that are produced by males, and large ones called eggs that are produced by females.  There are no intermediate types of gametes between egg and sperm cells.  Sex is therefore binary.  It is not a spectrum.”

–Debra Soh, Ph.D., The End of Gender

From Michael Gurian:

Following up on these experts’ testimony:  sex (male/female) is indeed locked into our genes (sexual dimorphism).   Recent research shows homosexuality (LGB) locked in genetically, as well, and very new research is also showing that trans brains may begin in gene/in utero wiring.   Thus, sex, homosexuality, and trans fit scientifically in the sex category.  Even for a trans person who transitions, sex is important:  s/he transitions via hormone therapy then surgery to the other physiological sex in line with the way his/her brain has been operating all along.

Gender is not sex, though, as the experts have indicated.  Gender and gender fluidity involve a person’s experiments with social constructions.  When gender dysphoria first appears in early adolescent children, teens, or emerging adults, professionals should responsibly treat it as depression first, because dysphoria is depression; meanwhile, professionals, parents, and the child need  to learn, over a healthy period of time, if and how this exploration is more than depression:  whether the child is gay; whether the child, once old enough to choose, will choose to proceed forward with transition; whether the child will remain gender non-binary but not transition; or whether the child will return to a sex-based equilibrium in line with male/female after treatment, which most experimenting children do.

While social constructions about gender do not negate sex, but they are cultural experiments that occur in an important social and human laboratory.  The population of gender fluid people might be small worldwide, but it provides expansive and experimental frontiers.  This is why supporting gender exploration compassionately and with leading edge science is an important part of the human endeavor today.  At the same time, for systems analysis, we must not forget that sex is the human baseline.  If you have looked at your school-wide or district-wide data, you’ve probably seen the baseline.

You’ve seen achievement, sex, and gender gaps that exist because of training deficiencies in staff regarding how to teach and mentor the male and female brain.  You’ve understood that boys and girls learn and grow differently by nature, but our western world in general does not train educators or parents in these differences a priori because, for political reasons, most academic institutions and school systems have decided to avoid sexual dimorphism.  Luckily, if you are a school or program that has provided this ongoing training and support, you have likely garnered strong results by accounting for sex in your systems theory.  Please see www.gurianinstitute.com/success for success data from schools along these lines.

Meanwhile, the importance of sex-on-the-brain does not need to deny any gender exploration; nor should it create bias against any individuals.  Just the opposite, accounting for sex creates opportunity for helping ALL kids because sex applies to every child, even the child who is exploring gender fluidity.   The sex-based element of nature can be leveraged for the purpose of improving nurture and culture for all children.  Every school and system can improve and go from good to great by accounting for sex, and bringing gender into the conversation as needed.

One area of data focus right now is what is systemic equity analysis regarding boys and girls of color.  If you study your data for race and sex (or ethnicity and sex), you can see how the boys-of-color and girls-of-color gaps involve sex–the “boy” and “girl” part of the phrase.  You’ll see it in literacy scores, math/science scores, grades, discipline referrals, behavioral issues, suspensions and expulsions.  To fully help boys and girls of color, we must help teachers and staff understand how to teach and mentor boys and girls in each area of difficulty or need with sex, gender, and race all in mind.

If you would like to explore systemic change in your school or organization, please check out www.gurianinstitute.com and write us at info@gurianinstitute.com.   Closing sex, gender, race, and achievement gaps is our passion.  We look forward to serving you in this new year.