Male & Female: Polar Opposites?

An article this week in the New York Time is suggesting that autism and schizophrenia are actually on the same spectrum, an idea that I find incredibly appealing.

A strong bias toward the father pushes a developing brain along the autistic spectrum, toward a fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, at the expense of social development. A bias toward the mother moves the growing brain along what the researchers call the psychoticbipolar disorder and depression. spectrum, toward hypersensitivity to mood, their own and others’. This, according to the theory, increases a child’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on, as well as mood problems like

Basically an extreme “male” is autistic, an extreme “female” is psychotic. And the vast majority of us are both male and female. And there are, of course, women who are autistic and men who are psychotic. Thus, I don’t think that this article or this theory contemplates itself as such, but this could be a model for contemplating “male” and “female” as opposites, as polls, as ideas, and most important as separate from living, breathing men and women, who are not manifestations of “male” and “female,” but rather a combination of male and female – which are descriptive words, and not identities.

Thus, the strategic essentialism of separating male and female (sex- biologic) from man and woman (gender – culturally constructed), may not actually be the best way to move towards gender justice. Rather, if male and female, becomes elements versus biological realities, then perhaps the notion of some static biological reality (which stands in the way of embracing the gender model), can be replaced by the Judith Butler’s (my fav feminist) theory that there is no absolute reason for categorizing the world into two sexes or into any sexes, it is a cultural call.