Socially constructed or Biologically wired?

Recently, I read an astonishing news. Ellen Page, an Oscar nominee, an actress of the famous-brain twisting movie Inception (2010), comes out as Non-Binary. She wrote, "I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are "he" and my name is Elliot." I was shocked, she changed her pronoun and name to the other side of the spectrum, from she to he, from Ellen to Elliot. Today, I won't try to explore on what happened to Ellen psychologically or personally. Nor I will judge her choice on declaring her new converted gender. Rather, this event raise a deep other puzzling question by which this short paper will try to dig further. Is gender socially constructed or Biologically Wired? If the former then gender is not an ontologically fixed thing in human. Gender can be defined and redefined as we like. If the latest, then gender is ontologically fixed. One either born as male or female, as traditional value and most of religion, particularly traditional Monotheistic religion will univocally agree upon the latter notion. 

The social construction of Gender believe that everyone is free to identify they gender as they see fit to their feeling. If he sense he himself is a he, then he is a he. If he sense she herself is she, than she is a she. People who believe in this view often separate sex and gender. If they have the biological body which consider as woman or male, their sexual identity in physicals manner does not determine their gender as they will argue. Nevertheless, this view is  problematic. For if they say that gender is only a social construction apart from sex, there is no such thing as gender identity; either male or female in the first place, apart from what society had formed (all only personal feeling). Therefore, their accusation of gender as  meaningless and only a social construction cannot be true and self-defeating for they used also the criteria to themselves to which they tries to deny and claimed as fluid. Using C.S Lewis's analogy, they are cutting the branch in which they stands.  

Moreover, it is difficult to separate between sex and gender because the close interaction with each other (biological and social). If we trace back to history of gender in the past, it is impossible to separate gender and sex. Mathew Kuefler, Yale trained Medievalist had argued persuasively in his work The Manly Eunuch (2001) on how gender and sex are not differentiated in antiquity. The other famous line of thinking from social construction of gender theory comes from the idea of performing gender. Sex is not the definite basis of gender but what we choose to perform is can be said as our gender. This idea of performing gender can be traced back in Judith Butler, in her famous work Gender Trouble (1990). Judith borrow the idea from the Philosophy of Language of performative acts. In other words, we become male or female depend on which performative acts we choose to repeat (Ex: a lady that wear male Clothing is a male). 

This notion of gender is often called as Constructionism in gender study. However the big question is this, how can doing determine being rather than the reverse? Philosophically speaking, being must preceded earlier than doing. Otherwise before we do anything, who are we? Therefore fixed gender need to come first regardless the action whether in line or not with our being. If that so, what determined people as male and female before they even do anything? Are we essentially genderless since birth? And if that so, why gender is so important if it is not inherent to us?  

On the other hand, the notion of that gender is biologically wired is derived from the very idea that sex and gender cannot be separated. In religious discourse, we called this view as essentialism. The underpinning doctrine is that God, created human being either man or female. Sin might distort the psychology and confused people sense of identity yet, their gender is fixed in the moment of conception. However, what if the sex of a person, or we say the biology of a person is inter-sex? Or to put a plain example, the genital of a person is unclear, between male and female. What is their gender then? In this case, people can apply to some "Maleness" or "femaleness" traits. Male are more active and stronger than female. Or female are more caring and talkative than male. Yet this criteria can be very loosely applied to both in some degree or another. Also, it will somehow lead us to a fall into the performing gender idea of gender. This is not an easy matter. Although the code from outward sex and biological body is a good thing to judge a gender, it cannot embrace every case especially the rare one of the defected body. However, with the help of deeper and inner biological analysis we can actually determine a gender of a person which is ontologically fixed and not socially constructed. There are two reasons:

First, through the means of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid). The sex chromosomes of male and female are inherently different.  Only male have Y chromosomes yet the X chromosomes can be found in both gender. This is a clear code of ontologically fixed gender that can be a good way to define one gender, despite of their feeling and doing, expressed consistently in the public square. Second, through the means of brain neuroanatomical, there are six evidences (1) The frontal cortex is bigger, and more complex in woman. (2) The parietal cortex is bigger, and more complex in men. (3) The corpus collosum show observable structural differences. (4) The Hippocampus is larger, and faster in woman. (5) The amygdale is larger in men. (6) Serotonin production is larger, and faster in man. 

Some might disagree upon the criteria of more complex and bigger which quite abstract in nature. But it is not for the neuroscientist. They have their own mathematical and numeral justification and comparisons of what can be considered as more complex and bigger. DNA chromosomes and Brain anatomy can be used as useful guides on determining the gender identity of a person in the special case of inter-sex issue. Both arguments are added force to the basic sex argument which indeed are evident in most of the cases. In conclusion, the evidences favor to the idea that apparently, gender is not socially constructed but biologically wired. This conclusion is in line with Christian worldview. In the book of Genesis it's written plainly, "male" and "female" God created them, and both are created in the image and lightness of God (Gen 1:26-27). For Christian, It is not the feeling that determine our gender but our gender is given by God and it is written indisputably in our inner code of sexuality and biology.