What gender are you?

[Fitzo]

It was once thought that autism was a purely male phenomenon. Now we know there are a great many females on the spectrum. Tony Attwood believes it is more like two males to every one female. I thought it might be interesting to get an idea of how those figures stack up with the people on this forum. Of course it may be coloured by the fact that women are more likely to seek support than men, generally speaking, but it should be interesting nevertheless. It might also throw some light on the number of trans people on the spectrum too.

 

[Joel's Hear]

My personal experience is that there are more male spectrumites than female, though the numbers of females are on the rise: my daughter is an autistic female. My son isn't, but I receive so much love from the little bugger who imitates every autistic trait I have. My daughter is like, "Dada, I'm doing my own thing."

I have seen a huge number of autistic males transition to female, but fewer females transition to males, knowing only one.

 

[the_tortoise]

I picked male for myself, but I am confused by your options.

You seem to be separating gender identity from biological sex (i.e. every sexually dimorphic body part except the brain) but then for "gender neutral" there is only one option with no mention of biological sex (really there is no mention of biological sex in any of your options, it just seems implied by having separate options for trans people)......is "gender neutral" supposed to apply to both brain/gender identity and biological sex, or just to brain/gender identity, or just to biological sex?

I am guessing you did not mean for it to apply to just biological sex -- I am guessing you just meant it to apply to gender identity, but if so then I don't understand why it's important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with male and female gender identities have but it's not important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with gender-neutral gender identities have?

(I am not asking rhetorical questions and trying to be a jerk -- they are not rhetorical questions, I actually don't understand.)

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[Fitzo]

I picked male for myself, but I am confused by your options.

You seem to be separating gender identity from biological sex (i.e. every sexually dimorphic body part except the brain) but then for "gender neutral" there is only one option with no mention of biological sex (really there is no mention of biological sex in any of your options, it just seems implied by having separate options for trans people)......is "gender neutral" supposed to apply to both brain/gender identity and biological sex, or just to brain/gender identity, or just to biological sex?

I am guessing you did not mean for it to apply to just biological sex -- I am guessing you just meant it to apply to gender identity, but if so then I don't understand why it's important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with male and female gender identities have but it's not important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with gender-neutral gender identities have?

(I am not asking rhetorical questions and trying to be a jerk -- they are not rhetorical questions, I actually don't understand.)

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Well I could have just given male or female options which would obviously be only biological, but I didn't want to exclude those who identify as something other than their biology. That's why I used the five options. If you identify as gender neutral you clearly do not consider yourself either male or female so I didn't think that it would be appropriate to add a gender to that.
Also it may be interesting to consider if the stress and confusion created by struggling with gender identity may in itself be a trigger for autism.
I didn't mean to confuse anyone and I'm open to changing the options if it is deemed necessary. Assuming you CAN change them afterwards. I'm not sure if that's possible?

 

[Gracey]

I went with biological equipment and the manner in which I was raised because I couldn't see a 'non of the above' option.

Currently I don't identify as an 'anything'

Just a tumultuous mass of chemical reactions. Not even in a gender neutral box.

 

[Accelerator]

I went with biological equipment and the manner in which I was raised because I couldn't see a 'non of the above' option.

Currently I don't identify as an 'anything'

Just a tumultuous mass of chemical reactions. Not even in a gender neutral box.

Pretty much this, though honestly I'd prefer being able to control my body parts at will; maybe see how a vagina feels, then it's back to no reproductive organs because I don't need them yet.

 

[the_tortoise]

Thank you for explaining, Fitzo

Well I could have just given male or female options which would obviously be only biological

It wouldn't be obvious to me that's what you meant if your only poll options were male or female (especially since you used the phrasing "identify as" - that would make me think it was a distinct possibility that you meant gender identity specifically, or were leaving it open to interpretation).

but I didn't want to exclude those who identify as something other than their biology.

Ok, that makes sense.

If you identify as gender neutral you clearly do not consider yourself either male or female so I didn't think that it would be appropriate to add a gender to that.

This confuses me.....Why would it not be appropriate?

I know I could be way off (and I hope I am not being offensive here to you or to anybody else) but do you mean you are trying to respect their gender identity as a valid thing that can stand on its own regardless of genitals and chromosomes and gonads?

If this is the case, (and if you are able to edit the options) may I suggest that you do the same thing for trans-people and instead of giving them separate options simply make it clear in your poll question that people should answer based on gender identity?

Also it may be interesting to consider if the stress and confusion created by struggling with gender identity may in itself be a trigger for autism.

Hmmm....if you are interested in exploring that could you just have a separate poll option for "I am transgendered"? And then let people select up to 2 options?

Not everyone who is trans is confused or struggles with their gender identity -- some are very clear on what their gender identity is from a very early age. (Some young transgender children will tell parents and anyone else "I am" whatever gender they feel they are, and will argue with anyone who suggests otherwise -- even if these children later choose to hide their gender identity and try to conform to what others expect of them, they don't necessarily lose or try to change that core certainty about who they are....... to be clear, these children are not psychotic/delusional -- they know they have genitals belonging to the sex they do not feel they are and are typically very unhappy about that fact.)

Also, just want to point out that there are other not-standard-male-or-female conditions that exist besides being transgendered (and, depending on the condition and on how doctors, parents, and others treat them, having those conditions can result in a whole lot of stress and trauma very early in life)....

The biology of sex determination is a very complicated thing; Genitals and gonads can develop as male, female, or somewhere in between (and the dividing lines are not always clear), there are more sex chromosome karyotypes than just XX and XY (such as XXY and XYY......and there are variants of XX and XY that change how a person's sexually dimorphic body parts develop in regards to becaming male or female or somewhere in between); People with XX chromosomes can develop normal male genitals and people with XY chromosomes can develop normal female genitals. (I think brains are also part of the equation, and that there is likely some biological aspect to gender identity -- at least for most people.)

didn't mean to confuse anyone and I'm open to changing the options if it is deemed necessary. Assuming you CAN change them afterwards. I'm not sure if that's possible?

I'd never think you were trying to confuse people on purpose

Not sure, maybe ask a moderator if you decide you'd like to change them?

 

[Fitzo]

Not everyone who is trans is confused or struggles with their gender identity -- some are very clear on what their gender identity is from a very early age. (Some young transgender children will tell parents and anyone else "I am" whatever gender they feel they are, and will argue with anyone who suggests otherwise -- even if these children later choose to hide their gender identity and try to conform to what others expect of them, they don't necessarily lose or try to change that core certainty about who they are....... to be clear, these children are not psychotic/delusional -- they know they have genitals belonging to the sex they do not feel they are and are typically very unhappy about that fact.)

I have known many trans people and whilst they may always have known they felt a different sex to the one they were being raised as, they certainly ALL struggled with how to deal with it. Many suffered abuse or were disowned by their families and with a few exceptions have not gone on to have happy and fulfilling lives. Thankfully people are now more aware and attitudes are changing, but in many societies and cultures nothing has changed.

Since this is not a scientific study, but merely an interesting exercise, I think the options I have given should cover most people. I apologise if there is anyone who feels excluded.

 

[the_tortoise]

I have known many trans people and whilst they may always have known they felt a different sex to the one they were being raised as, they certainly ALL struggled with how to deal with it. Many suffered abuse or were disowned by their families and with a few exceptions have not gone on to have happy and fulfilling lives. Thankfully people are now more aware and attitudes are changing, but in many societies and cultures nothing has changed.

I have also known many trans people and I do not disagree that people struggle with how to deal with the mismatch between brain and everything else, and certainly anybody who experiences being disowned or abused is going to struggle (thats what I meant by lack of understanding and lack of tolerance).

I misinterpreted your words as meaning "confused about what sex they are/confused about what their gender identity is. Sorry about that -- my mistake!

Since this is not a scientific study, but merely an interesting exercise, I think the options I have given should cover most people. I apologise if there is anyone who feels excluded.

Okay, fair enough.

 

[Desiree W]

My biological sex is female. However, I'm fem tomboyish. I have/express both masculine and feminine qualities. I've had a high level of testosterone for many years now. With me going through perimenopause now, my t level is increasing while my estrogen is decreasing.

 

[tree]

 

[Mary Anne]

I picked male for myself, but I am confused by your options.

You seem to be separating gender identity from biological sex (i.e. every sexually dimorphic body part except the brain) but then for "gender neutral" there is only one option with no mention of biological sex (really there is no mention of biological sex in any of your options, it just seems implied by having separate options for trans people)......is "gender neutral" supposed to apply to both brain/gender identity and biological sex, or just to brain/gender identity, or just to biological sex?

I am guessing you did not mean for it to apply to just biological sex -- I am guessing you just meant it to apply to gender identity, but if so then I don't understand why it's important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with male and female gender identities have but it's not important what chromosomes/gonads/genitals people with gender-neutral gender identities have?

(I am not asking rhetorical questions and trying to be a jerk -- they are not rhetorical questions, I actually don't understand.)

.

It’s really important! I am so glad Tree posted the survey.
I read through this thread and it truly hurts my brain in how people over think that simple survey! It should be easy to answer it. For me, Gender Neutral. There was a time I considered legally and physically changing my bio sex, but after 3 intensive years of living it, and thinking about the consequences , I decided just to live in the middle with a leaning to the other side. Still, the connections between autism and transgender is fascinating!

A disproportionate number of youth diagnosed with autism are also transgender:
A Disproportionate Number of Autistic Youth Are Transgender. Why?
And the link between autism and trans identity:
The Link Between Autism and Trans Identity - The Atlantic

 

[Streetwise]

It was once thought that autism was a purely male phenomenon. Now we know there are a great many females on the spectrum. Tony Attwood believes it is more like two males to every one female. I thought it might be interesting to get an idea of how those figures stack up with the people on this forum. Of course it may be coloured by the fact that women are more likely to seek support than men, generally speaking, but it should be interesting nevertheless. It might also throw some light on the number of trans people on the spectrum too.

There are only two sexes: born a man(xy in every single cell ) born a WOMAN(xx in every single cell according to prof Robert Winston fertility specialist)WOMAN born not worn ,gender is purely a construct of the mind

 

[Crossbreed]

Edenic male. (You could say a Garden-variety guy... )

 

[AspieChris]

I apologize that I didn’t read any of the previous posts. But I wanted to share this because it’s hilarious:

Recently there was a grown nan who worked/works at Google. He said he identified as a ‘Cat’ and demanded that he not only wanted his own gender-neutral bathroom, he wanted Google’s management to provide him a litter box to use when he needed to ‘go’.

I appreciate that a person’s gender can be more complicated than just male/female, but that’s ridiculous!

I’m going to tell my boss that I identify as a dog, and file a grievance with the Union whenever I finish a project on time and he fails to give me a bone and call me a ‘good boy’.

 

[Rodafina]

Understanding Gender Identities | The Trevor Project

It’s important to remember that gender roles aren’t set in stone.

www.thetrevorproject.org

 

[Princess Viola]

There are only two sexes: born a man(xy in every single cell ) born a WOMAN(xx in every single cell according to prof Robert Winston fertility specialist)WOMAN born not worn ,gender is purely a construct of the mind

Intersex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Anyways I'm transfeminine non-binary, or as I simplify it to 'femme enby' (but I really don't care if you call me or refer to me as being a woman, I'll call myself a woman too).

 

[Misery]

Trans girl.

I dont know what else to say about it. It's really pretty simple in my case.

 

[MildredHubble]

Intersex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Anyways I'm transfeminine non-binary, or as I simplify it to 'femme enby' (but I really don't care if you call me or refer to me as being a woman, I'll call myself a woman too).

I was watching a YouTube video (I think it was by Mia Mulder) where she was referring to studies that have shown that there is likely a far more diverse spectrum of sex chromosomes than conventional wisdom might suggest. She said that rarely is someone's biological sex actually tested genetically. It was interesting to consider that sex chromosomes are usually just assumed based on physical appearance.

I wonder sometimes if maybe I have XX chromosomes and I just got damn unlucky that my genes didn't express themselves normally. I know it's probably very unlikely of course. It's kinda something I daydream about at times, like I will get my XX chromosome certificate and it will be official and I will kinda have permission to drop the mask.

Up until I was maybe about 11 I just felt that one day I would just spontaneously become female. I had assumed that it would just happen since I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. Obviously that didn't happen so I tried to put my best boy mask on. I could be a bit more girly at home in private, then I'd get up in the morning and put my "boy suit" on and go to school and put up with the homophobic abuse. Then my mother seemed to get a bee in her bonnet about it so then not so much at home. Which was ironic considering how much hate she had for men. I mean c'mon, your 14 year old "son" has a copious collection of troll dolls lady! Figure it out!

I just grudgingly accepted that what was on the inside would never match the outside. I had no idea there would have been anything I could have done about, but even if I had known, I doubt my parents would have accepted it.

I certainly think it would drive the right wing edge lords nuts if it actually turned out that, when we actually check, biological sex is actually a spectrum. You know, like lots of things we've discovered to be true when we drop the idiological dogma and actually investigate things.

I certainly consider myself non-binary at least, and at most, a trans female, but everywhere other than this wonderful forum, in other words "the real world" I still have to wear that "male suit", it's another aspect of my reality that I find increasingly exhausting

 

[Princess Viola]

Up until I was maybe about 11 I just felt that one day I would just spontaneously become female. I had assumed that it would just happen since I was maybe 4 or 5 years old.

Oh seriously same.

Back when I was in elementary school, I seriously thought that one day I'd just wake up and be a girl and just start going to school like that.

I remember even imagining explaining it to my teacher and telling her that I just woke up like this.

I also went so far as to look up and try and cast magic spells online that said they'd turn me into a girl.

They didn't, so instead I'll be stuck with hormones and all that stuff that takes a long time rather than the instant transformation of my childhood wishes.