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Gender Identity Paper

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Gender Identity Paper Gender is determined at the time of conception. Gender Identity is defined as a personal conception of oneself as being male or female. Gender Identity issues can arise from several reasons and present in many different ways. Hormonal imbalance in the human body can cause an individual to question their true gender. The human body produces hormones which act as “chemical messengers” to try to regulate certain bodily functions like metabolism and growth. These hormones are produced in the endocrine system which includes the adrenal, pancreas, pineal, pituitary, and thyroid glands and manage things like puberty, growth, and physical changes. Hormones help the body maintain homeostasis or a state of balance within the body. When the body produces to much or to little of a hormone it can cause both physical and emotional problems. What are the interactions between hormones and do these interactions affect determination of gender identity? Hormones are responsible for sexual dimorphism (phenotypic sex differences) in the structure of the body and its organs. For example, hormones affect the internal sex organs, including genitals, and secondary sex characteristics that can operate to influence a person's behavior. Thus some research indicates that hormones are responsible for the gender makeup that acts as determinants of feminine and masculine traits. In addition, hormones affect behavior by interacting with the nervous system through androgens during prenatal development. Thus, sex hormones affect the adult nervous system, which in turn influence physiological processes and behavior. Hormones influence sex in two ways: by influencing the development from conception to sexual maturity of the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics that distinguish one as female or

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