The psychological and social reasons for degendering…

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, was a live guest on BEYAZ TV’s program “Sakın Kaçırma Türkiye!” with Erhan Çelik and Evrim Keklik. Tarhan made striking evaluations on “Degendering, Violence, and Current Issues”. Underlining that degendering is not biologically but psychologically and socially based, Tarhan drew attention to the importance of family and environment in childhood. Stating that childhood experiences can affect personality and identity development through epigenetic mechanisms, Tarhan expressed that social gender is a learned behavior, while biological sex is innate. 

There is only the signature of female and male in the human gene! 

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, speaking about studies on degendering; “There are psychological and social reasons for degendering. It is now understood that there is no biological reason for it. In fact, strong evidence has been presented that there is no biological reason. There is a study conducted on 477,000 people published in Nature magazine in 2019. This study is a genetic research. One of the questions asked in the research is: ‘Is there a third gender gene?’ It's a fairly large study. As a result, it is seen that no third gender gene other than female and male was found. There is only the signature of female and male in the human genome, no other signature. There are studies conducted on approximately 470,000 people until 2019. There's Oxford, there's Harvard, there's Toronto, there's a university from Australia. Also, there is a book written by a British researcher. This book also talks about the destructive effect of transgender ideology. Gender reassignment centers in the UK are currently being closed. Especially for those under 18, they are definitely being closed. Serious regulatory changes are also being made for those over 18. What does this mean? Some research also shows that among people who undergo gender reassignment, there are those who later regret it and want to revert, but reversion is often not possible. It is stated that suicide rates are also high among these individuals. Therefore, it is said that such a justification has no scientific basis biologically, but is rather an ideological approach,” he began his words.

“Reasons for preference are not based on a scientific foundation”

Tarhan, speaking about modern psychology's studies on sexual identity; “Reasons for preference are not based on a scientific foundation. They have a purely cultural basis. Modern psychology up until 2019 stated, ‘Sexual identity is fluid.’ This is the approach called ‘Q theory.’ That is, it argued that whether a person is a woman or a man, this could be variable. In fact, the ‘Q’ added later to LGBT comes from here. It means ‘Queer.’ It is used in the sense of fluid gender. This approach outlines a broad framework that includes not only transsexuality but also many other sexual identity situations. Regarding sexual preferences, according to Queer theory, these were claimed to be innate and unchangeable, but especially the genetic study I just mentioned, the research published in Nature magazine in 2019, shifted this discussion to a different point. Findings pointing to the conclusion that ‘There is no gay gene’ are shared there…” he stated. 

“Childhood traumas can leave epigenetic traces”

Tarhan, speaking about epigenetic mechanisms; “What is genetic is innate. There is also epigenetics. That is, the things that define biological sex in the genetic structure are X and Y chromosomes. In fact, not a gene but a chromosome. There is no separate gene defining a third identity. So, in such a situation, where does this difference come from? Where do these tendencies, these desires come from? This is where epigenetics comes into play. Epigenetics means this: After a person is born, the way they are raised in childhood, their social environment, social learning, and exposures can lead to the learning of certain tendencies. When emotion is added to information entering the brain, and if a person continues this for about 6 weeks, it becomes a belief. If it continues for another 6 weeks, it becomes a habit. If it lasts longer than 6 months, it can turn into a personality trait. At that point, it appears as an epigenetic trait. However, this is not permanent and unchangeable; it can change. For example, childhood traumas experienced at a young age can leave epigenetic traces, but if the person wants to change it, especially after adolescence, change can be possible. For example, long-term substance use can also lead to epigenetic changes in individuals. In this case, the brain enters an automated addiction cycle, and the person may require treatment. As in addiction, when a behavior is excessively repeated, an epigenetic response occurs in the brain. In other words, this is a situation learned through social representations and environmental influences,” he said. 

Sexual orientation…

In the context of biological sex, social gender, and sexual orientation, Tarhan made the following evaluations: “Firstly, biological sex. Genetically, there are two: female and male. Secondly, social gender. The part we call epigenetics is also related to this. The American Psychiatric Association has changed some definitions in this regard. For biological sex, they use the term assigned sex. For social gender, they bring an approach that includes situations like trans, describing it as acquired later or the gender a person identifies with. Thirdly, sexual orientation. That is, a situation related to how a person’s sexual interests and orientations are shaped. For example, similar examples are told in Japan. In Samurai culture, there are mentions of women with masculine appearances who live like men. Women with a masculine lifestyle, outwardly resembling men. Besides this, a group referred to as princess men is also mentioned. Men who are more feminine in appearance. Such situations are mostly given as examples related to sexual orientation or identity expression,” he said.

“How a child is raised at a young age is important” 

Referring to the issue of identity diffusion, Tarhan stated that his work ‘Raising Children at Peace with Their Gender’, published by Aile Yayınları, is a remarkable study in this context, emphasizing the importance of how a child is raised at a young age. Tarhan, stating that there are examples we experience, said: “For instance, consider a boy who grew up among older sisters and aunts in the family. In such a situation, at a young age, he might show interest in his sister's clothes or start playing with his sister's toys. The family plays a very critical role here. If the family applauds and encourages this, the child can reinforce that behavior. Especially if a boy has always grown up among older sisters and aunts, and the father's role has remained cold and distant, such an environment can affect the child's development. After a while, the child may experience questions about their own sexual identity. In the past, young people were mostly asked the question ‘Who am I?’ Now, the question asked is ‘Who should I be?’ A similar situation exists regarding sexual identity. When children globally are asked the question ‘Who should I be?’ instead of ‘Who am I?’, many identity areas such as ethnic identity, social identity, cultural identity, sexual identity, and religious identity begin to be questioned. This, along with the discourse of liberation, can lead to a state we call identity confusion or identity diffusion in psychology. In other words, identity breakdown can occur. Some of the cultural debates we experience today actually stem from this,” he concluded.

“Both anger, love, and resentment can coexist”

Tarhan, touching upon the influence of parents as role models; “For example, a girl can be closer to her father. The mother, let's say, is caught up in household chores and hasn't spent enough time with the child. In psychology, we call this distant abandonment. The mother is in the same house but hasn't established sufficient emotional contact with the child. In such a situation, the girl can identify with her father. She boxes, plays sports, and war games with her father. In such environments, the girl can model her father's masculine behaviors. However, traditionally in all cultures, children learn gender identity roles more from their mothers. Cultures have transmitted this for centuries. But today, different approaches are also becoming widespread within the discourse of cultural diversity and popular culture. Slogans like ‘Identity is freedom, everyone can choose their own identity’ come to the fore. However, it is said that such individual identity choices gain more meaning in adulthood, i.e., after the age of 18. Similar situations can also be seen in boys. For example, a boy can be very close to his mother, while the father remains distant and cold. In some cases, the mother projects the problems she experiences with the father onto the child, criticizing or denigrating the father. In such an environment, the child can develop complex feelings towards the father. Both anger, love, and resentment can coexist. In this situation, the child can identify more with the mother as a role model. Over time, it can also be observed that more feminine behaviors may emerge in the boy,” he explained. 

“We learn social behaviors later”

Tarhan, emphasizing the critical role of social learning; “Testosterone and estrogen hormones begin to be secreted in the child in the mother's womb. These hormones are innate, genetically coded. There is an important point here: sexuality, meaning sex, and gender, meaning social gender, are not the same thing. Sex is biological sex, while gender is social gender. Biological sex is innate, it is an assigned sex, whereas social gender is an acquired sex. Sex hormones are secreted in the womb. When a child is born, they are born as a girl or a boy, with separate sexual organs and secondary sex characteristics. After this innate biological structure, social roles are acquired through environment and learning. The human child is born psychologically premature. For example, a duck swims as soon as it hatches from an egg, but a human stands up at 1 year old and can distinguish good from bad at 15 years old. Social learning plays a critical role here. We learn to be human, to love, and social behaviors later,” he said.

“A global shift in meaning occurred”

Tarhan, stating that modern culture wars continue; “Currently, this situation is more noticeable in areas where aesthetics are glorified in career choices. There is a feminine approach. It is more pronounced in cultures where aesthetics are prioritized. Because globally, a shift in meaning has also occurred in humans. Due to this shift, we confused individualism with selfishness. A person being self-centered and having narcissistic tendencies was perceived as self-confidence. However, self-confidence and self-admiration are different things. Self-admiration is to admire oneself, while self-confidence is different. This led to an identity crisis. Today, modern culture wars continue under its influence,” he concluded.