性-人类性的基本层面
Sex - Basic Aspects of Human Sexuality

激素的作用：激素如何决定一个人的性发育？
The Role of Hormones:
How do the hormones determine a person's sexual development?

在日常语言里，人们常常使用“女性激素”和“男性激素”来加以区分。然而，这会令人误解的，因为在两性体内都存在着这两种激素。一个性别或另一个性别的典型情形是，在人生的不同时期里这些激素保持着相应的平衡：

出生前

1.初级性征：在怀孕的第12-17周里，胎儿发育成女性或男性，这首先意味着女性和男性性器官的形成。在这个时期，男胎睾丸激素的水平是女胎的十倍。此后，男胎睾丸激素水平下降并维持与女胎相等的水平，直到青春期启动为止。到这个时候，激素水平又升高。

2.脑：出生前，激素的影响同样导致女性和男性脑发育发生差别。差别是明显的，例如，与男性的垂体对比，女性的垂体仍然维持按月的循环周期（月经）。因为这些个差异和其他的差异，有人甚至已经引入了“脑性别”的概念，把它作为决定人的性的附加因素。但是，仍然不清楚两性脑的这些差异是否和在多大程度上真正决定了性的生物或社会心理方面以及行为方面的差异。需要更多的研究来证实。

青春期
在青春期，睾丸激素的水平是男孩稍微高与女孩。同时，雌激素水平是女孩远高于男孩。这些个在激素平衡上的差异，对次级性征的发育发挥着作用。

In everyday language, people often distinguish between 'female' and 'male' hormones. However, this is misleading since both kinds of hormones are present in the bodies of both sexes. Typical of one or the other sex is the balance of these hormones which varies in different phases of a person’s life:

Before  birth
1. Primary sexual characteristics: Between the 12th and 17th week of pregnancy the fetus develops into a female or male, and this means, first of all, the formation of female or male sex organs. During this period, the level of testosterone is ten times higher in the male than in the female fetus. After that, the level is reduced and remains equal to that of the female until the onset of puberty, when it rises again.
2. Brain: Prenatal hormonal influences also produce a different development of the female or male brain. This is evident, for example, in the female pituitary gland which, in contrast to its male counterpart, remains capable of reacting in monthly cycles (menstruation). Because of these and other differences, one has even introduced the concept of “cerebral sex” as an additional factor in the determination of sex. However, it is still unclear if and how far these brain differences really determine the biological or psychosocial aspects of sex and behavior. Much more research is needed.

During  puberty
During puberty the level of testosterone is slightly higher in boys than in girls. At the same time, the level of estrogen is much higher in girls than in boys. These differences in the hormonal balance contribute to the development of the secondary sexual characteristics.