A Behavior Analyst Talks about Sex and Gender aired 05/02/23

Abstract

by A. Charles Catania, Ph.D. this session will apply behavior analytic thinking to the proliferation of the LGBTQIA+ vocabulary. Gender identity can vary along such continua as anatomy, behavior, and hormonal balance. Verbal behavior usually leads to discontinuous categories, but failure to recognize continuities leads to social clashes (e.g., consider the politics of the gender labelling of restrooms); it is also implicated in historical practices such as surgically “correcting” ambiguous genitalia in newborns, often without even informing the parents. We would do well to recognize and acknowledge the several dimensions along which sex/gender may vary.