The Difference Between Men and Women
One species, two genders. Yes, biologically we are fundamentally different, but what about psychologically? Is the difference between men and women all a 'social construction'? What if you give dolls to a male child? What if you treat him like a girl? What if you dress him like a girl? And what if you surgically reconstruct his genitalia so that, anatomically, he looks like a girl?
Will he be a girl?
Whether you know what the psychological evidence has to say or not, you'll recognise that this issue is political dynamite. If there are fundamental psychological differences between men and women, then perhaps some forms of discrimination are valid? Perhaps it is right that men go to work and women stay at home to bring up the children?
Of course these things don't follow, one from the other, but it doesn't stop people associating these arguments with each other. Bear this in mind while you read the Scientific American article and if you should choose to share this information with people more concerned with political correctness than scientific accuracy.
His Brain, Her Brain [Scientific American]
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It is not either/or. Some boys probably could be turned into girls if they were raised as one. And some girls could be turned into boys. Genes and nuture interplay.
Unfortunately doctors who thought the same way have made some colossal mistakes that have ruined people's lives. Take, for example, the case of John/Joan.
I think it would depend entirely on the boy's male and female genetic balance. The same principle might well apply if you tried bringing up a girl as a boy. But from what we've seen, nature nearly always asserts itself, and wrong decisions can have tragic cionsequences. It's best to let the child decide what THEY want, and be supportive.