Readers Blog: Dealing with gender identity

There can be some confusion about the meaning of the words ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ in the debate about gender recognition. 

Sex is determined by genetic make-up, i.e. do you have x-y chromosomes or x-x chromosomes. This is a scientific definition as to whether you are of the male sex or female sex. In some cases, this is incorrectly attributed (including on the birth certificate) due to a misleading presentation of external sexual characteristics at birth.

The identity crisis that is likely to present itself in these cases is well illustrated through fictional works such as The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. The misattribution of sex at birth is not the fault of the doctors, midwives, or parents who, in good faith (and in the absence of a genetic test), declare the child to be male or female.