The Spectrum view of Sex and of Gender.

There really is no such thing as a simple linear ‘spectrum’ divergence between male and female; masculine and feminine or any of the other A-v-B splits. A more useful description is the yin-yang symbol which has a speck of white inside the black and vice versa. The implications for sex and for gender is that neither is 100% ‘pure’ as the masculine contains a speck of the feminine and, again, vice versa.

If there are enough people in the group to provide a sufficient range of any one attribute then it is often true that these can be represented on a graph with a pattern that is called normal.

For example the FeMale attribute can be analysed and many men will show some Female factors and many women will show some Male factors – the studies I am aware of show very few to be ‘middle of the road’. Adding a humorous touch, the graph is more of a bra shape with very few being at the 0% or 100% level, very few in the middle and a general spread in the 10-40 and 60-90 range.

The graph for Gender Preference is also strongly bra-shaped although the two main bulks are closer to the maximum levels; that is to say the majority of women prefer only men and the majority of men prefer only women. And even while Kinsey did get many of his participants to admit to a smattering of interest in homosexuality, I can find nothing little to say what percentage of them actually never had a homosexual thought or wondered about the alternatives. There can be no doubt that there are butch men, butch women, femme women and femme men – the percentages will vary from study to study. But the social pressure for masculine men to consort and cohabit and procreate with feminine women is very strong – and those who differ from the ‘normal’ will be often seen as wrong rather than merely different.

As a side issue, the graphs for Gender-preference should also have a second variable relating to Frequency. The rampant rampaging butch homosexual and the equally voracious nymphomaniac and satyr would be quite differently placed from the martially average heterosexual pair, let alone the barely sexual late virgin. Exceptions and puzzlements would abound the harder one analysed – how should the prostitute be different from the nymph ? How should the unwilling spouse be differentiated from his/her ever-eager partner when their actual frequency is equal even if their desire differs.

There is no longer very much doubt that there is a huge influence by nature and genetics but that there is always a significant input into any person’s eventual character from the nurture they receive.

There is an increasing strength in the belief that the non-ordinary in particular LBGT segments of society arrive at that state due to a combination of nature and nurture. Some have so-called leanings in the off-centre but it is particularly their nurture and their peer-groups which constrain their participation.

However one approaches the situation, there is no doubt that the LBGT groups are in a minority. As such, they must struggle to avoid the majority and the majority’s reactions which will include intolerance, you-are-different, and other results veering towards hatred.

The action of Facebook in allowing 50+ new gender-characteristics for different forms of Transexuality does seem quite over-the-top.

The list of 50 gender options designated by Facebook on Valentine’s Day 2014 has here been ‘simplified’ (even if I can't get a neat layout easily AP)

Agender ............... Androgyne ............... Androgynes ............... Androgynous
Bigender
Cis ............... Cisgender
Cis-Male ............... Cis-Man ............... Cisgender-Male ............... Cisgender-Man
Cis Female............... Cis-Woman ............... Cisgender-Female.............. Cisgender Woman
Female to Male ............... FTM
Gender Fluid ............... Gender Nonconforming ............... Gender Questioning
Gender Variant ............... Genderqueer
Intersex
Male to Female ............... MTF
Neither ............... Neutrois .............. Non-binary ............... Other
Pangender
Trans ............... Trans-Person ............... Trans*Person
Trans-Female...............Trans*Female ............... Trans*Woman
Trans-Male ...............Trans Man ............... Trans*Male ............... Trans*Man
Transexual ...............Transexual Person ............Transgender Person
Transexual Female ............... Transexual Woman ............... Transfeminine
Transexual Male ............... Transexual Man ............... Transmasculine
Two-spirit

Unless you are extremely up-to-date with the labels and variations which occur in the TQ communities, many of these will not be easily understood or easily distinguished. I find it hard to understand exactly what difference between Male-to-Female and MTF and Trans Man, TransMale and Trans*Male and Transexual-Man, Transexual-Male and Transmasculine.

I am sure that the very small number to whom this matters do need these additional codings – but it does seem a little over the top. Strangely, there are even more options via Wikipedia including Third Gender, Third Sex, Trigender and HeteroQueer.

The other variations within the LGBTQ spectrum, that is the LGB communities, are not part of this startling over-complete code-set.

Even though it would upset many of those who affirm to one of the specific labels listed, the simple categories ‘Changing Male-to-Female’ Changing Female-to-Male’ ‘Uncertain’ and perhaps ‘Intersex’ would seem to be sufficient. Initially I was going to add ‘Now-Male’, ‘Now-Female’ but that seems at least impolite and even churlish. If A is ‘now-male’ then A is male – end of discussion unless A wishes to be seen as still different and unusual.

I am willing to tolerate everything except intolerance.