the Female Body GOVERNING

Beyond X-X and X-Y 289
ample room for playing or jamming the score differently in different
contexts.
The fact that a cell does not use all the genes in its genomes at once
problematizes the concept of genetic sex as a static and fi xed object.
An example of this is those X-X individuals who have the SRY (which is
typically found on the Y chromosome) on one of their X chromosomes.
Because the genes required for the typical male phenotype are not on
the Y chromosome, this gene is able to activate typical male genetic
processes in X-X cells and leads to a male phenotype. A notion of genetic
sex related to the genetic process would appreciate the situation in terms
of the person being a genetic male because their genetic processes
are that of a typical male although his karyotype is nontypical male.
Clearly, the concept of genetic sex is tightly linked within both society
and science to the karyotype, and is thus extremely resistant to change.
However, devising a concept of a living genomic sex, where the stress is
placed on the genetic processes of the body, might be useful.
Moving toward a concept of living genetic sex follows Fausto-Sterling’s
(2000) call to recognize that nature and nurture cannot be separated.
Within genomics, genetic processes cannot be separated from the cellular
environment in which they occur, nor can they be separated from the
local (tissue) and global (body) biological environment that they occur.
One example that brings to light the typically hidden genetic processes
that take place during puberty is 5 alpha-reductase defi ciency. This
syndrome is caused by the body being unable to produce the enzyme
5 alpha-reductase, which is needed to process testosterone into its
stronger from, dihydrotestosterone. Numerous genes lead to the person
being born with an X-Y karyotype and ambiguous female genitalia.
Two genes have been shown to be implemented in the defi ciency, with
more than 20 mutations having been characterized, again stressing the
inadequacy of focusing on the DNA sequence. Once the person reaches
sexual maturity she is likely to begin developing male characteristics as
their testis descend and their voice drops. Historically, scientists viewed
these individuals as genetically male, even in childhood. Because this
condition may only be recognized when the child fails to menstruate,
this can cause a confl ict between her self-identity and what science seems
to say has been their “true” genetic sex. I argue that a view of genetic sex
should be rooted in the body’s genetic processes, as opposed to being a
characteristic dictated by the X and Y chromosomes. This would allow
us to understand how the body responds and develops as novel genetic
processes are set in motion, as well as the infl uence of hormones on
existing genetic processes. This last infl uence is especially relevant in the