In their first biology classes, children are taught that people are either born as a girl, with two x-chromosomes, or as a boy, with one x-chromosome and one y-chromosome. It is generally thought that these two genetic variations are the main determinants of a person’s identity. In reality, however, they are rather meaningless. It is society that gives these anatomical differences meaning. “Society constructs and interprets perceived differences among humans and gives us ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ people” (Shaw & Lee, 116). Typically, one of the most exciting moments during a woman’s pregnancy is when the doctor informs her of the sex of the baby. Immediately after learning the sex of the baby, the woman, her family, and her friends begin
