EDITORIAL

 

An essay on individual self-determination

 

 

Margarete Afonso^I; Ernane Pedro Matos Barros^{I, III}; Matheus Paiva Emidio Cavalcanti^I; Mariane Albuquerque Lima Ribeiro.^{I, II}

^ILaboratório de Delineamento de Estudos e Escrita Científica. Centro Universitário Saúde ABC. Santo André. São Paulo - Brasil
^IIUniversidade Federal do Acre. Rio Branco. Acre - Brasil
^IIIUniversidade Federal do ABC. São Bernardo do Campo. São Paulo - Brasil

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

There are several understandings about the role of human gender identity in the scientific field, this discussion correlates definitions of both social and biological basis. The current confusion in the conceptualization of "sex" and "gender" demonstrates the need for a comparative analysis of the scientific dynamic vocabulary, as well as the insertion of an interdisciplinary historical, social and cultural point of view together with the biological view outside the normative binary logic. The word "gender" can be defined as the social construction of sex, differing from the variable "sex" because it refers to a biological dimension of the anatomo-physiological characterization of humans, recognized as essential and innate in determining the distinctions between male and female. Therefore, the JHGD presents a thematic diversity that focuses on issues related to public health, demonstrating the need to develop knowledge and generate impact on public policy strategies, aiming at universality, equity and comprehensiveness in scientific research involving sex and gender and their impacts on health sciences.

Keywords: sex, gender identity, sexuality, self-management, personal autonomy.

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In the contemporary world several debates have been held about the issue of gender identity, its transformative impact on society, as well as the approach of the theme during the conduction of quantitative and qualitative research in the health sciences.

Taking an approach on human growth and development, as well as the definition of self as the expression of individual self-determination and universal right, it is common to find errors when researchers engage in the use of variables in their qualitative and quantitative studies addressing gender and sex.

The definition of sexuality and gender are understood as elements that guide human existence, constituting as pillars for the formation of the individual "self", formed from biological, social, psychological and cultural factors, accumulated together with the individual experiences and generational changes over time.

For Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS), Gender is defined as what a person has in himself to be male and man or feminine and female, or ambivalent, based in part on physical characteristics, parental responses, social and psychological pressures, being expressed by the gender identity of the individual. On the other hand, Sex is the totality of the reproductive structures, functions, phenotype and genotype that distinguish the male organism from the female^1,2,3.

The need to distinguish between the two biological sexes began in the 18th century⁴ from the differentiation of reproductive organs, and biological essentialism emerged at this time⁵. In the 70's, the term gender is conceptualized in Social Sciences as the "distinction between cultural attributes allocated to each sex and the biological dimension of beings"⁶, that is, it expresses a system of relationships that includes sex⁷, but transcends biological difference.

The concepts of sex and gender are terms that refer to two different fields: one expresses exclusively biochemical and physiological characteristics defined by the biosciences and the other encompasses the cultural and subjective dimension of what is meant by "being a woman", "being a man", or also the right not to be defined⁸.

The need for the analytical distinction between the concept of "gender" and "sex" is evidenced by the prevalent historical construction and the inequalities of gender relations⁹.

The concept of gender in epidemiological models should maintain instruments, methodologies and concept that are convergent with other disciplines, especially the Social Sciences, to aggregate the involvement of the health-disease process¹⁰.

Gender is a cultural transcript of biological reality, that is, society builds sexual differences by assigning distinct social functions between men and women. Gender, therefore, refers to the social aspect of human sexuality¹¹.

The implementation of the concept of sex and gender in public health policies, in Brazil, is the result of social issues that emerge from the questions of social control social development along with the diversity of scientific research^5,8.

Thus, it was necessary to expand the areas of knowledge in health sciences and public health, as a product of interdisciplinarity, for example, the insertion of definitions in social sciences with epistemological issues which relates the proper objects of biology combined with sociology and anthropology. In this regard, other philosophical possibilities within the biosciences have proved useful in addressing biological diversity outside a normative binary logic⁸.

As a consequence, it is understood that gender is constituted through a dynamic of social relations, so it does not only imply saying that there are no concrete differences between men and women, but that gender is inscribed in the sexualized bodies, and that these are represented according to the social ideal presented in the culture^7,12.

And within this scenario, the search process for more concrete arguments reinforces that the sexual characteristics that cause the differences between the sexes, and these differences are transposed to social practices, in which gender as a cultural definition is a consequence of an environment. historical^7,12.

This social context deals with a controversial theme, the approach and understanding of the differences between the terms sex and gender, as well as their sociological and biological differentiation will guide science with a universalizing, plural and comprehensive view as its core.

The understanding of these concepts by health science researchers will allow published studies to take a more focused look at minorities, allowing them to understand more clearly and precisely their needs and the reality in which this portion of the population is inserted.

The lack of perception and the constant social invisibility of this part of the population, whose biological sex is different from their gender identity, hinders access to basic services, impairs their access to health and marginalizes them, as if they were not part of society.

It is important to note that despite any choice or political definition, deny another citizen access to health go against basic principles of our federal constitution and violates principles of the International Declaration of Human Rights.

In order to achieve progress in a democratic, fair and cohesive manner, it is not right to discriminate any part of society that is made up of a gender, social and / or economic minority.

In this issue, It can be found articles on specific topics that include the development of infants and adolescents^13-20, including scientific articles focusing on neonatal mortality¹⁹, clinical conditions of newborns exposed to syphilis²⁰ malformations of the nervous system¹⁸, respiratory system¹⁵ and endocrine system²¹ resulting in the development of syndromes during their development, as well as articles on infant feeding through maternal colostrum and its composition¹³, including feeding issues¹⁴ and manual behavioral¹⁶ .

In this edition there are articles that allow the identification of the impact of a minor surgical procedure in the family health community²² and the analysis of the use of psychotropic drugs and their relationship with psychotherapy at the interface of mental health²³.

There were also included a collection of selected studies on cardiovascular research^24-26 the characterization of cardiovascular rate control during spinal anesthesia²⁴ and weaning from mechanical ventilation²⁵, as well as the evaluation of new superficial venipuncture techniques²⁶.

You will also find validation of a Brazilian Portuguese language instrument of psychological measures that talks about the appearance of people living with HIV / AIDS in Brazil²⁷.

For this reason, the JHGD magazine presents a thematic diversity that focuses on issues related to public health, demonstrating a need for knowledge to generate new repercussions in public policy strategies, aiming at universality, equity and integrality in health processes, with the inclusion of new concepts for example in the discussion about gender and gender.

 

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13.Moraes LM, Campos LA, Ferrari DVJ, Saeki EK, Polettini J, Morceli G. Maternal age influence in human colostrum acidity composition in a maternity in a country side city of São Paulo state. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019;29(2): 153-160. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9414        [ Links ]

14.Costa L, Rubio KL, Lopes SMA, Tanoueye ATA, Bertolini SMMG, Branco BHM. Effects of 12 weeks of interdisciplunary interventions on behavioral and eating parameters of adolescentes with overweight or obesity. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2):177-186 DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9417        [ Links ]

15.Santos K, Isoppo N. Risk and protective factors for childhood asthma and wheezing disorders in the first 1000 days of life: a systematic review of meta -analyses. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019;29(2):136-152. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9413        [ Links ]

16.Silva LC, Marques I, Medina-Papst J. Effect of object weight and experience on the organization of object managment task in infants of 10 months of age. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 192-199. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9419        [ Links ]

17.Nascimento AL, Tedesco NM, Marangoni DAS. Evidence of training influence on infant manual behavioe: a systematic review. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2):216-231. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9425        [ Links ]

18.Lima LMM, Vianna RPT, Moraes RM. Spatial and Spatio- Temporal analyis of congenital malformations of nervous systems in the state of Paraiba from 2010-2016. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 169-176. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9416        [ Links ]

19.Rodrigues EC, Alves BCA, daVeiga GL, Adami F, Carlesso JS, Figueiredo FWS, Azzalis LA, Junqueira VBC, Fonseca FL. Neonatal mortality in Luanda, Angola: What can be done to reduce it? J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2):161-168. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9415        [ Links ]

20.Pastro DOT, Farias BP, Garcia OAG, Gambichler BS, Meneguetti DUO, Silva RSU, Prenatal quality and clinical condition of newborns exposed to syphilis. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 249-256. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9429        [ Links ]

21.Calderon MG, Lemos CMB, Alem MD, Pinelli TC, Raimundo RD. Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, and Literature Review. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 187-191. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9418        [ Links ]

22.Sesquim DL, Ramos JLS, Pinasco GC, Lopes MTN, Dalla MDB, Vetis MS, et al. Access to minor surgical procedures in a community family health unit: an initiative for improving care and acess as basic health units. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 257-262. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9430        [ Links ]

23.Damasceno MR, Bezerra IMP, Nazaré LN, Mendes AA, de Abreu LC. Dynamics of psychopharmaceutical use and relationship with psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the mental health interface: an integrative review. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 274-283. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9432        [ Links ]

24.Batista HMT, Silveira GBM, Campos MF, Carlesso JS, Valenti VE, Bezerra IMP, et al. Fractality and chaotic behavior of heart rate variability as hypotension predictors after spinal anestesia: Study protocol for a randomizd controlled trial. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 284-294. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9433        [ Links ]

25.Guerra M, Zangirolami-Raimundo J, Sarmento GJV, Salatini R, Silva PJ. Cardiac autonomic modulation during different modes of weaning of mechanical ventilation. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019; 29(2): 232-240. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9427        [ Links ]

26.Nardino EP, Kafejian-Haddad AP, Silva DAP, Correa JA. Efficacy Evaluation of a non-human experimentalmodel for ultrasound-guided superficial venous puncture: clinical randomized assay. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019:29(2):241-248. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9428        [ Links ]

27.Martins MA, Neves NA, Moss T, Martins WH, Pereira GV, Pessôa KVO, et al. Cross cultural adaptation into Brazilian Portuguese language of Derriford Appearance Scale 24 (DAS - 24) for people living with HIV/AIDS. J Hum Growth Dev. 2019;29(2): 200-215. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.v29.9421        [ Links ]

 

 

Correspondence:
ernanepedro@gmail.com

Manuscript received: October 2019
Manuscript accepted: October 2019
Version of record online: October 2019