Buddhist view is -
When a person dies, he/she can become someone else with
opposite sex. A male can become female, and a female can become a male. Although
one is a male now, one could be a female in past life; the same to a male - he
could be a female in the past life.
A woman may wish to become a man for whatever reason. For
example, some women dislike the burdens of womanhood and want to become male.
If they have appropriate deeds for support, they can become male afterlife. Men
too can want to become women next life with appropriate support of kamma.
Some women became men but they still have the tendency to
feel like women. Some men became women and they feel so uncomfortable about
their womanhood. They feel misfit. Here a male who was a woman (several past
lives) could act like a woman. For the same reason, a woman would act like a
man. These people could be stuck in their old mindset.
Some women might have been women in many past lives, so
might many men. In general, some women never became men in the past infinity of
existence. Womanhood is not necessarily easier than manhood but for a man,
womanhood is humiliating. Men can become
women due to their sexual misconducts.
Sexual misconducts are generally adultery, sexual
relationship with a minor (a kid age under 10), sexual relationship with a
young person without the permission of his/her guardians (such as parents,
grandparents, uncle, aunt, sister, brother, teacher, etc.).
Sexual misconduct (Kamesu
micchacara) can cause a man (or woman) to be born in boiling copper
molten hell, after that to be born as hermaphrodite, to be born as male but
castrated, to be born as a woman who doesn't want to be woman, etc. This person
can also be born in several different life forms either as god,
human or different animals but with above physical and mental
defects.
Only the bodhisattas
(who are to become Buddhas or Paccekabuddhas)
cannot be born female. Once they a man is recognized as a bodhisatta by a Buddha , his gender is determined that he will not want or do
anything to become a woman. This is the kamma vipaka of bodhisattas.
It's all about kamma vipaka (cause and effect or causality).
Gender is not a problem in Buddhism. A being may wish to be
either male or female anytime he she can change the mind. Some people are
either or neither. Some people seem just confused that they can’t decide to be
male or female. Culture is a very big impact to cause confusion. Ideally, we
should be straight – in spite of confusion and indecision. We don’t have the
right to say who should be what. People may want whatever they want.
The best is not to criticize others. We Buddhists are to
mind our own business (mindful of passing phenomena – insight meditation) to
free ourselves from the recurring life i.e. sufferings. Freedom (nibbana)
is the best bliss. Buddhists who practice Dhamma toward freedom shouldn’t see
gender, shouldn’t see species, and shouldn’t hold any concepts of any kind so
that they will only see the reality the Dhamma.
More on Paccekabuddha: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.116.piya.html
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