Middlesex, gender and science

Middlesex, gender and science

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Published in 2002, Middlesex novel is a dense book that incorporates various literary elements to appeal to the audience. The novel through the elaboration of different transitions generations of an American family tries to understand the hermaphrodite nature of the persona in the book. The novel presents the protagonist as an intersex raising the themes of gender that is developed through most part of the novel. The story of the novel is centered on hermaphroditism that is genetically inherited (Eugenides, 2003). Science in the novel plays an important role as the author takes us through the historical imaginations. In elaborating the main character’s gender crisis, the author successfully shows how scientific theories helps in understanding the contemporary world as characters are fond of using science to show the point of views on intersex and anatomy (Eugenides, 2003). This paper looks at the themes of gender and science as brought about in the book.

The introduction of the novel is very captivating phrase as one narrates how they were born twice “I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974” (Eugenides, 2003). These words seem to be quite contradictory because as reader one gets to wonder how was one born twice. The novel follows three generation of Greek family that are from a Turkish town and the novel follows their life to an establishment in Detroit Greek Community. The narrator is Cal and his characteristics makes him special to be the narrator as he is born physically as a girl but hormonally he is a boy. His story is about the tale of his generation that includes his grandparents. The plot in itself is already about gender as gender is defined as the characteristics possessed by women and men and this may include gender roles, norm as well as relationship that exists between the men as well as the women in the society. He explores and tries to imagine the life of people like him that existed before science was a thing, when people did not understand biology thus how they viewed people born like him.

Eugenides in his novel Middlesex explores the aspect of gender roles where the family tradition seems to be more traditional and also tries to explore the fluidity of gender. Cal has been able to live several versions of himself since he came to earth as now he is 41-years-old. As a young person he was girl, worked frilly dresses, but as he begun to grow up he began questioning his sexuality. As an adolescent he also begun having attraction towards the female friends at that particular period and because of the strict gender definition in America he shies away from his true identity because he is unsure of how people may treat him or the consequences that may have to follow. One thing to note about Cal is that despite his male physique including body structure and him being masculine, he desires to become a heterosexual male although he lacks the male reproductive organs. From the text, he is clearly running from a life that he has run from for years but writing gives him a much clear picture about himself and he is in a position to mold history which enables him to form a phallus, giving him a clear sense of the gender which he establishes is neither masculine nor feminine.

The understanding of science in the book is essential in that the characters are all built around the major theme of a gender crisis. Science through the description of three generations helps to understand the root of the hermaphroditism nature of the protagonist, Cal (Eugenides, 2003). Through the book, science has been abused through the involvement of intimacy between members of the same family as well as secrets. The scientific theme of nature vs. nature arises with much explanation on how science is applied in the novel. The theme discusses on how gender identity of an individual and their character is neither solely to nature nor nurture. Science explains how Cal has both the XY chromosomes that are usually in male after she was examined. At her puberty stage, she had seen several changes that included the increase of muscles, as well as a large Adam Apple, are formed. Application of science prevails as it helps to explain the nature of Cal who at the beginning of the novel was born as a girl but gradually through changes at her puberty stage became a male. Science, however, identifies her condition as neither male nor female.

Science, as used by the author, helps in showing how the varying levels of hormones are formed in an individual explains how, testosterone, they are responsible for the molding of male genitalia. In most cases, the social construct of who is male or female is developed by the culture of the society that believes gender to be either male or female. The doctor characters in the book help in the usage of science as they scientifically determine the causes of deepening of voice and development muscles to be the presence of male chromosomes that are XY. Although Callie was born and raised as a female, she was sexually attracted to women and she knew that hence the reason for her getting away from her family and doctors in an effort to pursue her male identity (Eugenides, 2003). Doctor Peter, however, abuses science usage when he develops a notion and recommendation that the protagonist should keep her female identity thus planning for gender reassignment procedures.

The novel developed various theories such as the construction theory whereby the constructionists believe that the identity of gender is normally based on outer influences (Cossman, 2003). These influences are often the gender social construct of the community that sets various beliefs on how a male and female should be, behave and how they should conduct them. As Cal was raised feminine gender schema, she emerges to pursue the male identity that she knew she was attracted to other girls. This position of the novel negates the discussions that an individual’s traits are guided and influences by their environment. It rather suggests that the biological evolution of an individual has weight and impact in their gender identity may or may not be against their free will (Cossman, 2003).

The novel portrays the use of scientific theories as essential elements in understanding the contemporary world and various ways that we understand the world (Cossman, 2003). The characters in the novel were of the notion and believe that the outward view of the genitalia identifies one’s gender identity. This belief, however, was shattered with the transformation of Cal to being male, shifting the entire methodology and believe that was used to determine gender (Athanassakis, 2012). Cal’s renunciation of her female gender that she was raised up within her childhood is projected and portrayed as he embraced the male gender identity when she said: “I never felt out of place being a girl, I still don’t feel entirely at home among men either” (Lee, 2010).

The novel portrays both the development as well as the failure of genetics and science. We see that both the technology as well as the science seems to be working against the Stephanides, Desdemona who is seen as a person who is science savvy seems to be unable to predict the gender of Tessies and Milton children. The novel tries to portray the world we live in right now. Nowadays even before birth, people are often in a position to be able to identify the gender of their children. We see doctors seem to also fail science in the diagnosis of Cal as they utter an insensitive comment that “sex of rearing, rather than genetic determinants, plays a greater role in the establishment of gender identity” (Eugenides, 2003). Scientifically, it is not the upbringing that determines a child’s gender but rather it is the scientific composition including hormonal composition and for a doctor to thin this way, then they clearly were failing science. Eugenides also tries to portray a society that does not seem to be understanding at all, when Ca is trying to find where he fits in and uses the Webster dictionary to look at the term hermaphrodite, one of the synonyms that pops up is monster an indication of how people like him were being treated in totally different way and viewed differently by the society.

The gender conventions are often binary with the development of intersex that is developed genetically challenging the usual binary conceptual categories. The book shows how queer theory is generated with the protagonists being presented clearly to defy the usual odds of in the society that had labelled gender and sexuality to be defied as binary. Cal in the book is shown to transition from a girl to becoming a boy due to his masculine features and how he felt attracted to females (Lee, 2010). The odd theory as well as presented through the description of Cal’s body that seemed not to fit in either a male of a female dichotomy of genetics. This novel by Eugenides develops several debates that as well question the hetero and homosexuality binary definition.

Queer theorist believes that in order to understand the world and various forms in it one ought to learn of what is considered to be true and original. In most instances, true and original phrases and definitions are merely constructions of culture. Culture dictates the norms of society and develops guidance on what is morally right and what is wrong. The queer theory develops the notion that in order for the people to subvert from the traditional knowledge they ought to adopt the critical genealogy and develop identity categories critiques that engender naturalizes and immobilizes the contemporary judicial structures (Lee, 2010). In understanding the real-life and world situations, this theory helps in developing his argument that the world we exist in is limited by politics and the language we use. The theory suggested that for the world to be developed with normal life and counter the violent that is normative, the people ought to work from within these limitations to show that the perceived concepts of gender and sexuality, as well as the systems of belief, are not natural (Lee, 2010).

Understanding the plot of the novels aids in showing and understanding how science is addressed and applied in the possible development of options in gender. From the novel, the protagonist explains and describes his father’s scientific mania that overtook him to be a belief in progress that was infecting everyone at the time, 9. As developed by the main character this was in the spring of 1959 when his parents had decided to play God due to the “scientific truths” that were time appropriate (Eugenides, 2003). Before the second birth of Cal which as well as before the introduction of Dr Peter Luce, the author is shown to set up science for fail. The novel as from the beginning of the story portrays the use of science to be a construct; it shows science as nothing more of a cultural construct. The novel primes to show that as any other narratives developed historically, science as well is developed to serve certain means in the society (Lee, 2010). Dr Luce who is so confident about his theoretical view makes him conflict with science. He lies to Stephanides on Callie’s procedure and to him girls are just girls and boys are just boys with no confusion. If it was up to him to decide then he would have just left Cal as Callie. The doctor was willing to use hormones and surgery to ensure that Cal remained a girl.

After the second birth of Cal, the novel as well recognizes the similarly thin claims of what is referred to as scientific evidence. The novel through the narrator shows how Milton abuses science (Cohen, 2007). In that, he had convinced Tessie that they could choose to have a baby girl that was fully backed by hard scientific evidence. Popular science in the time had become a force that people used to conclude by. In this context, the narrator tells the story of how Milton turned to Uncle Pete for help to find the correct approach and method of making a baby girl. The qualifications of Uncle Pete in this scenario, however, are questionable. The misconception of Milt in the story is that he saw Uncle Pete to be a verifiable source merely because he Uncle Pete had studied something that concerned the body and he had subscribed to the scientific American (Cohen, 2007). These two facts had qualified him to be a verifiable source although he had not studied anything that included fetal medicine or gynecology.

The case of nature vs. Culture is developed as from the beginning of the novel during the conception of Cal. This is developed through the moral dilemma of genetic and fetal selection through which Cal’s parents had struggled to for a long time to have a baby girl only for their regressive genes to work against them (Renneflott, 2011). This occurs when they gave birth to a girl who was although behaving like a boy. The development of this science argument is developed well in the novel with the author applying the use of foreshadowing that shows how the audience should anticipate the change in gender of the main character. Although Milton had gone through various troubles to search for a way to have a baby girl through the use of science, his mother had her own means of deciding the baby’s gender which is mainly through intuition (Lee, 2010).

According to the first persona narrative Desdemona, Milton’s Mother and her spoon had never been wrong and from the first paragraph, the reader definitely believes her as Cal will inevitably become a boy (Eugenides, 2003). She never gives up hr. faith and when 14 years later when Cal returns home as boy, she is happy that she was right all along. At the moment of Cal’s birth, his grandfather collapsed as the coffee cup overturned in the effort to read his fortunes on the ground becoming speechless. This according to Desmond and her never-failing spoon was a bad omen. Despite her beliefs, Callie had been born a girl. The narrator of the novel brings us to a story of many possible truths that are mixed with superstitions, mythology and science (Renneflott, 2011). Eugenides also looks at the conversation between faith and science using both Desdemona and Lefty. Lefty gets to suffer from strokes and she realizes that brain is nothing but just an organ ruling out the soul and the afterlife that he had acquired from religion, “he finally arrived at the cold-eyed conclusion … that the brain was just an organ like any other and that when it failed he would be no more” (Eugenides, 2003). This shows a transition from a religious belief to a more scientific approach on matters including health

The novels relate both science and gender in trying to build a theme around gender conformity. We live in a society where gender is no longer just two as now we have so many genders that people relate with. The science in the book that relates to gender is the issue of Disorder of Sex Development, a disorder that has seen some people being discriminated in the century we live in. When Eugenides was writing his book the issue of Disorder of Sex Development was not widely discussed but he was using his character to try and paint a picture to the society. For Cal’s case he was suffering from a deficiency of 5-alpha-reductase a factor that alters production of dihydrotestosterone a hormone necessary for development of the male genital hormones. Because of the absence of this hormone, Cal’s gene Talia appeared female. Reading through the book, the person I had in mind was Caster Semenya a female athlete who has been on the lime light for her masculine characteristics. She has won several races and some athletes have come out to question whether she deserves to run in female races because of her physique. This kind of treatment by the society illustrates why Cal was hesitant about his gender and he really had to go through so much before completely accepting who he really was and accept himself. It is such treatment by the society that lead people born like Cal to develop even depression as the society judges them and treats them differently yet it is not their fault but rather it all revolves around the genetics of a person. In a society where people look at a person’s genitalia thus determining if they are either female or male without really understanding science, those born with deficiency of dihdrotestosterone are likely to be raised as girl and such a person may eventually never be comfortable with themselves because all their physiques are actually masculine, the only thing that is feminine to them is their genitalia.

There are different ways of understanding the world that involves different views such as mythology, superstition and science. The novel uses the application of science to explain the various ideologies of intersects although at the beginning of the novel was set up to fail. Martin abuses science by verifying Uncle Pete merely because he had studied something to do with medicine and was registered with the scientific American. Uncle Pete as well decided to advise Cal on retaining her feminine identity while trying to schedule a gender rearrangement program. The novel develops a perception to the readers that although there are different views and truth approaches, one needs to carefully examine the information’s that we are often provided to develop our own interpretations that would develop our own truths as we continue to questions the sources of the information. The novel also opens up a discussion that should be held by the society especially on individuals born with masculine structures yet they have feminine genital and vice versa. With science in place it is important for people to be taught this and eliminate the ignorance that some people tend to have.

References

Athanassakis, Y. (2012). ‘The American girl I had once been’: Psychosomatic trauma and history in Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex. European Journal of American Culture, 30(3), 217-230.

Cohen, S. (2007). The Novel in a Time of Terror:” Middlesex”, History, and Contemporary American Fiction. Twentieth-Century Literature, 53(3), 371-393.

Cossman, B. (2003). Sexuality, queer theory, and feminism after Reading and rereading the sexual subject. MCgill lJ, 49, 847.

Eugenides, J. (2003). Middlesex. 2002. Toronto: Vintage Canada.

Lee, M. (2010). Why Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex Is So Inoffensive. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 51(1), 32-46.

Renneflott, L. (2011). Power and identity in Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex (Master’s thesis).