The ying-yang of Gender.
The duality of gender is way beyond simple sexual classification.
For the most part, sexual orientation is biologically defined. The biological characteristics with which we are born defines the gender we are given by society.
But what are those biological characteristics that make someone a male, a female, or any other gender of LGBTQ+?
We have discovered a lot about the biological processes that take place during the development stages of an embryo.
All humans have 23 pairs(total 46) of chromosomes in their genome(the genetic material of the DNA). These are transferred as a set of 23 chromosomes from each parent.
All the female eggs contain only the X-chromosome while 50% of sperms have X and the other 50% have a Y-chromosome.
The 23rd chromosome from the father decides the gender of the offspring. If the 23rd is a Y-chromosome then genetically it's a male while if it is an X chromosome, it's a female.
But apart from the biological identification of our genders, a lot of other characteristics are determined by the type of genes inherited to us.
The ‘maleness’ or ‘femaleness’ of a person also varies due to such genetic variations.
For an in-depth understanding of the effects of genetic variations on our sexual orientation read this article from Cosmo Magazine.
In short, there’s no such thing as a perfect male or a perfect female.
Similar to the idea of ying-yang, which says that everything has duality of characteristics. This idea of ying-yang also applies to the male-female traits of a human being.
The idea of ying-yang says,
In chaos, there is some amount of peace.
Darkness only exists because of the absence of light.
Every radical idea evolves from a conservative thought process.
There is no such thing as white or black, its always grey in every scenario.
The idea of duality teaches us a very important lesson. It emphasizes the fact that one side can never exist without the other.
Even though there are differences between men, women, and other genders, all of them have an important role to play in the overall development of our society. Also, no matter what gender you identify yourself with, there are mixed characteristics in all of us of both a male and a female.
This idea of a duality of gender has also been mentioned in Hindu Mythology in the form of Ardhnareshwar, a mystical form of Shiva and Parvati. Shiva is considered the destroyer of the universe, the destroyer who completes the cycle of the universe at the end of its life. While Parvati is the source of all creation.
This portrait of Ardhnareshwar is not just a glued image of Shiva and Parvati but rather it represents an idea similar to what the ying-yang tries to convey.
The Ardhnareshwar represents the inseparable nature of Purusha(Masculine energies of the universe) and Prakriti(Feminine energies of the universe), both of which are dependent on each other for the survival of the universe.
Apart from this Mythological point of view, the duality of gender has another aspect for us to understand.
The feminine character is considered with aspects of beauty, emotions, caring nature, etc are not specific to the female gender. Similarly, the masculine character is considered with aspects ‘of ’strength, anger, rage, authority, etc are not specific to the male gender.
There are variations of these aspects in all of us due to the genetic inheritance we are given through our lineage. There are certain families where males are much more emotionally sensitive while in others males are a lot less sensitive to even express their emotions.
The variations in these characteristics are due to the changes we incorporate during our lifetime. A simple act of resilience towards a bully during your childhood goes a long way to incorporate the aspects of strength and self-respect in your descendants.
So the idea I am trying to convey is that the abilities you are given by birth are due to some action taken by one of your ancestors during the course of their life. Whatever actions we take in this life will shape the upcoming generations of our lineage.
This fluidity has been observed in many experiments to show how the male and the female characteristics have a mixed set of traits to make who we are.
All of us have both the male and female characteristics. What differentiates us is the intensity of these traits.
Understanding such insights help you build a better worldview and respect each and every individual you encounter in your life.
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