For those you might be interested...
4 CORNERS - THE GENDER PUZZLE MONDAY 25TH JULY AT 8.30PM ON ABC-TV
THE GENDER PUZZLE
4 CORNERS
Monday 25th July at 8.30pm on ABC-TV
The scientific world may be on the cusp of discovering the origin of gender: What makes a boy? What makes a girl? And when the distinctions are blurred, who makes the final call?
The old mantra - all girls have XX chromosomes and all boys have XY - is no longer reliable. The proof lives in as many as 40,000 Australians whose chromosomes don't match the standard.
Scientists are now looking beyond chromosomes to "brain sex" and the role of newly discovered genes in determining gender.
Transsexuals like "Kevin" are now under the scientific microscope because they may hold the key to the gender puzzle. By studying people on the gender extremes, scientists believe they may discover the genes that determine everybody's gender.
"Kevin" has already made legal history. His court case is believed to have been the first that relied on "brain sex" as a determinant of gender. He was born in a female body but as an adult underwent hormone therapy and gender realignment surgery. When his partner "Jennifer" became pregnant through IVF, they decided to marry despite opposition from the federal Attorney-General's Department.
As Four Corners reveals, they wed despite a bizarre email from a department official and mother of four who warned that "marriage is not all it is cracked up to be".
The department challenged the validity of their marriage in a landmark case. But the Family Court decided in "Kevin's" and "Jennifer's" favour.
Now the couple has spoken to Four Corners: "(People) have no understanding of the concept of transsexualism. They have no understanding at all of what it's like to have a mind that's not in sync with your body. They have no idea at all and I said you know, come and walk in my shoes for a day and see what it's like," says "Kevin".
"I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I really wanted to marry Jennifer but the absolute crunch of the matter was to provide security for her and any children that we chose to have."
The presiding judge also speaks to Four Corners. Justice Chisholm decided that "Kevin" was a man at the time he was married. It was not a lifestyle choice. "The brain sex theory, the biological-based theory doesn't seem to have any competitors in terms of explanations. No one else is saying 'Oh, there's this other plausible explanation'," says Justice Chisholm.
Not only transsexuals fall outside the standard definitions of gender. Four Corners explores other grey areas of gender and asks whether it is right for some doctors to arbitrarily assign genders to children with ambiguous "intersex" conditions.
Andie is one of the thousands of Australians who form part of the gender puzzle. She was born with an intersex condition called partial Androgen Insentivity Syndrome. She had male chromosomes but her body could not process enough male hormones, leaving her with ambiguous genitalia and many feminine attributes. Doctors took a punt and decided Andie would grow up as a boy. But Andie did not feel like a boy. "I sort of thought "Well, if I'm not male I must be something else and the only other thing is female." Only when Andie had grown into a man did she obtain her medical records and discover why she felt female. Now she campaigns for doctors to fully disclose intersex conditions to children and parents.
Christie would be a man if her XY chromosomes were the only guide. Christie has complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. She was born with internal testes but was unable to process male hormones. She has developed into a beautiful young woman and leads a fairly normal life, though she needs regular hormone treatment and will never bear children. "I mention it (her condition) to friends or a prospective boyfriend or something like that, that's the only time it ever gets mentioned or brought up," she says.
Janine Cohen reports on "The Gender Puzzle" - Four Corners, ABC TV 8.30 pm Monday 25 July (repeated about 11 pm Wednesday 27 July; also on ABC2 digital channel at 7 pm and 9.45 pm Wednesday).
Four Corners web address: www.abc.net.au/4corners
THE GENDER PUZZLE
4 CORNERS
Monday 25th July at 8.30pm on ABC-TV
The scientific world may be on the cusp of discovering the origin of gender: What makes a boy? What makes a girl? And when the distinctions are blurred, who makes the final call?
The old mantra - all girls have XX chromosomes and all boys have XY - is no longer reliable. The proof lives in as many as 40,000 Australians whose chromosomes don't match the standard.
Scientists are now looking beyond chromosomes to "brain sex" and the role of newly discovered genes in determining gender.
Transsexuals like "Kevin" are now under the scientific microscope because they may hold the key to the gender puzzle. By studying people on the gender extremes, scientists believe they may discover the genes that determine everybody's gender.
"Kevin" has already made legal history. His court case is believed to have been the first that relied on "brain sex" as a determinant of gender. He was born in a female body but as an adult underwent hormone therapy and gender realignment surgery. When his partner "Jennifer" became pregnant through IVF, they decided to marry despite opposition from the federal Attorney-General's Department.
As Four Corners reveals, they wed despite a bizarre email from a department official and mother of four who warned that "marriage is not all it is cracked up to be".
The department challenged the validity of their marriage in a landmark case. But the Family Court decided in "Kevin's" and "Jennifer's" favour.
Now the couple has spoken to Four Corners: "(People) have no understanding of the concept of transsexualism. They have no understanding at all of what it's like to have a mind that's not in sync with your body. They have no idea at all and I said you know, come and walk in my shoes for a day and see what it's like," says "Kevin".
"I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I really wanted to marry Jennifer but the absolute crunch of the matter was to provide security for her and any children that we chose to have."
The presiding judge also speaks to Four Corners. Justice Chisholm decided that "Kevin" was a man at the time he was married. It was not a lifestyle choice. "The brain sex theory, the biological-based theory doesn't seem to have any competitors in terms of explanations. No one else is saying 'Oh, there's this other plausible explanation'," says Justice Chisholm.
Not only transsexuals fall outside the standard definitions of gender. Four Corners explores other grey areas of gender and asks whether it is right for some doctors to arbitrarily assign genders to children with ambiguous "intersex" conditions.
Andie is one of the thousands of Australians who form part of the gender puzzle. She was born with an intersex condition called partial Androgen Insentivity Syndrome. She had male chromosomes but her body could not process enough male hormones, leaving her with ambiguous genitalia and many feminine attributes. Doctors took a punt and decided Andie would grow up as a boy. But Andie did not feel like a boy. "I sort of thought "Well, if I'm not male I must be something else and the only other thing is female." Only when Andie had grown into a man did she obtain her medical records and discover why she felt female. Now she campaigns for doctors to fully disclose intersex conditions to children and parents.
Christie would be a man if her XY chromosomes were the only guide. Christie has complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. She was born with internal testes but was unable to process male hormones. She has developed into a beautiful young woman and leads a fairly normal life, though she needs regular hormone treatment and will never bear children. "I mention it (her condition) to friends or a prospective boyfriend or something like that, that's the only time it ever gets mentioned or brought up," she says.
Janine Cohen reports on "The Gender Puzzle" - Four Corners, ABC TV 8.30 pm Monday 25 July (repeated about 11 pm Wednesday 27 July; also on ABC2 digital channel at 7 pm and 9.45 pm Wednesday).
Four Corners web address: www.abc.net.au/4corners