What makes a man?

NST: As the debate on effeminate men heats up in Parliament and the media, Malaysians should try to understand them, writes CHOK SUAT LING.
IN the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday, Jasin Member of Parliament Datuk Mohd Said Yusof mimicked the way effeminate men wave their hands.
He was urging the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry to ensure that male dancers hired were not "softies". This would not augur well for Malaysia’s image, he argued.
Effeminate men have been in the news recently, with some writing to a local newspaper to say that house-husbands are effeminate and bad role models for their sons. One went further to say that their sons will likely end up becoming homosexuals. Radio stations joined in the debate.
Malaysians generally think men get away with everything and are not under pressure to fit into a certain mould. They are wrong.
In fact, men are often expected to dress a certain way, work in specific jobs and behave like "real men".
Those who deviate from the norm are classified by some — to the consternation of the affected parties — as men with gender identity disorders (GID). Others label them as pondan and bapuk (transvestites), or lelaki lembut and adik-adik (effeminate men).
Experts note that effeminate men constitute all ages, races and backgrounds.
Transvestites, transsexuals and some homosexuals may show effeminate behaviour. (Transvestites are people who dress and act in a style traditionally associated with the opposite sex, while transsexuals are those who have had a sex change.)
But they should not be made the subject of ridicule, jokes and vilification just because they do not conform to societal norms. Malaysians need to be less judgmental, stresses Universiti Utara Malaysia Associate Professor Dr Teh Yik Koon.
She contends that effeminate men do not have a disorder and should not be described as "suffering from GID".
The researcher and author of The Mak Nyah: Malaysian Male Transsexuals underlines the need for more to be done to alleviate their plight and educate Malaysians, who tend to discriminate against them.
Says the criminologist and sociologist: "We have been highlighting this issue for almost a decade but nothing has changed. It is very frustrating."
The Government should allow sex change operations, and provide for a revision of the person’s gender in his identity card following surgery, she adds.
A recent study published in the Department of Public Health journal, asks for more research on the issue so Malaysians can better understand the phenomenon. But the study has raised some eyebrows.
Called "Gender Identity Disorder Among Male University Students and Their Features", the study found that males with GID are at greater risk — seven times more likely compared to "normal" males — of indulging in high-risk sexual behaviour.
"This translates as pre-marital heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual sex," explains Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia researcher Dr Zulhizzam Abdullah, whose study was published last year.
Zulhizzam, now based at the Kangar district health department, conducted his study in three selected public universities through questionnaires.
He estimates that there are about 20 to 30 cases of male students with GID in each public university, and that one in 10,000 Malaysian men have GID, which covers a broad spectrum of behaviour.
The majority speak like women and display feminine movements of the body and limbs.
There are also the "extreme" cases of respondents being disgusted with their own genitalia and wanting to be rid of it, and taking hormones to change their sexual characteristics.
Among the respondents with GID, the study states that the majority are Malay (80.9 per cent), from the science stream (63.2 per cent), live on campus (82.4 per cent) and had attended a co-educational school (76.5 per cent).
UUM’s Teh clarifies that not all effeminate men are homosexual. They just display certain feminine mannerisms.
She notes that while there appear to be more effeminate men these days, it does not mean their numbers are increasing. It is just that more are coming out in the open.
On effeminate men who are homosexual, she is against those seeking to change them, explaining that they can never be "converted".
"Some psychiatrists believe they can make a homosexual man heterosexual, and similarly, a lesbian straight. They may succeed for a while but ultimately the person will go back to his or her old ways.
"It is biological. A person without the propensity to be gay will never be so and can never be influenced by peers to be so. It is also not true when people say that a man is likely to become effeminate if his parents dressed him up like a girl when he was younger, or if all his siblings are girls, or if he was sexually abused."
She also dismisses a study conducted by University Malaya Medical Centre several years ago which links soya bean and lady’s fingers to effeminate men. Tests by UMMC showed that the consumption of soya bean and lady’s fingers caused the estrogen level in men to rise.
What is not disputed is that Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism forbid homosexuality.
National Fatwa Council committee member Datuk Seri Dr Harussani Zakaria says it is haram (forbidden) for a man or woman to exhibit traits of the other gender, and this is so, even if they are not homosexual.
He notes that some men may exhibit feminine traits due to early influence.
"Their siblings may all be girls so they grow up playing with dolls, or they play dress up and cooking. But they must resist the urge to act like a girl. Men must show off their toughness and manliness. If they do not resist and continue exhibiting feminine traits, it is haram," Harussani, who is also Perak Mufti, explains.
"It is haram for a man to dress up and act like a woman, and the longest a man can keep his hair is shoulder-length. It is also haram for a woman to act and dress like a man and have the same hairstyle as a man."
To Harussani, there is no such thing as transsexuality. "It is a word made up by people. All that about ‘men trapped in women’s bodies’ or ‘women trapped in men’s bodies’ is simply nonsense."