Brandon Teena is an enthusiastic and popular guy from the small town of Nebraska.
He loves to hang out with guys drinking, cussing, and bumper surfing and since
his boyhood, he has been the centre of attraction for many young girls for whom
no other guy in the world is so sensitive and considerate. Life was quite beautiful
as he was dating with Lana, a beautiful lady from the same town. But one thing
he forgot to tell and that is no less important that she was born as female. When
his best friends make this discovery, Brandon's life is ripped apart.
This is a story of the film, “Boys Don’t Cry”, which I watched during my
college days. The recent incident of Pinki Pramanik, the famous athlete from
India who has been in news recently for alleged rape of a woman, reminds me the
story of the film. In both the cases, the protagonists had to suffer for their sexual identity.
A set of drama followed the arrest of the 26 year old retired sprinter who was charged with impersonation, rape, and physical assault by a lady, who claims to be her/ his soul mate. The story of the famous athlete who brought pride for India by wining Gold medal in women’s 400-metre relay
However, this kind of controversy did not appear for the first time. Let
us look back to the history. During 1960s, it was mandatory for all women
athlete competing at International level to go for gender tests to confirm that
they are not possessing male qualities. The tests involved appearing in naked
in front of a group of doctors. The First women athlete to fail in the test is Ewa
Kłobukowska from Poland who won gold in the women's 4x100 metre relay and was
third in the women's 100 metre. She was banned from all kindof International competition.
But this practice could not last long as female athletes vehemently
protested against the rule. In current situation, someone can be tested if such
kind of charges arises against her. But the procedure is much more scientific
now days.
In December’ 2006, Santhi Soundarajan, a female athlete from India who
won silver medal in Asian games in 800-meter race was alleged to hide her
sexual identity. She was stripped of her medal, though result of her gender
test was not revealed. The list may go on and on as there are quite a good
number of athletes who faced such trials.
How do they decide the gender?
The first step of the sex determination involves anatomical test which
is done by a Gynaecologist. The doctor will look for the primary and secondary
characteristics of womanhood such as presence of female genitals, uterus, ovary,
menstruation history etc. Though the exam seems to be straight forward, results
may come out to be complicated as there is a fraction of women who born with
abnormal anatomy. It happens quite often that female athletes do not menstruate
due to lack of fat in the body or due to their intake of performance enhancing
drugs.
In the next step, blood test will be done to check the hormone level. Men
typically have more testosterone in their bodies, while women typically have
more oestrogen. Perhaps, both sexes have both the hormones in their bodies, and
there are no absolute rules for how much testosterone and oestrogen determines
a woman. In such circumstances, only genetics can confirm the gender of a
person.
Each cell in the body bears the genetic information which includes information
relating to gender. A woman usually has two X chromosomes in each of her cells
(XX), where as a man usually has an X chromosome and a Y chromosome (XY).
However, a female with genetic abnormalities may have some cells with XY
chromosomes in spite of having female genitals. In such situation, she may exhibit
some male characteristics.
However, is it possible to declare a woman, who grew up with a female
gender identity, to be man for having an occasional Y chromosome in her cells? It's
not distinct what role the psychological evaluation plays in determining
femaleness, although its inclusion implies that personal gender identity -- the
way one looks at oneself in terms of sexuality -- is taken into consideration
in a gender test.
What happened with Pinki ?
Pinki was released from the jail after 26 days custody after the experts
commented that she is almost male but yet she is not capable of raping. But the
trauma she had to face during these 26 days throws a question to the civil
society. Does a Gold medallist in Asian Games deserve such kind of treatment?
The way she was taken into custody, the way her MMS of giving sex test leaked hit
a serious blow to the humanity and also to the judicial system. Why it took 26
days to prove her gender? It is to mention here, Santhi Soundarajan, who was
stripped of the silver medal in Asian games in 800-meter race for not being
able to prove her femininity, tried to commit suicide, reportedly by consuming
a veterinary drug at her residence. It’s time to rethink so that no Pinki or Santhi
face such humiliation in life.
