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Journal tomhudson's Journal: Gender Education: Basic Info On Transexuality 18

Journal by tomhudson

I - Basic Info On Transexuality - this article
II - Are You A Transexual?
III - Social and Moral Implications
IV - Questions by Posters
V - Politics And Gender Identity
VI - What's Involved In A Sex Change
VII - Breaking the News
VIII - Under revision

WHAT: This is the first of several articles I'll be posting over the next little bit about sex, gender and identity.

WHY: Recent journal entries by several people have shown the need.

RULES: Any honest reply or question is welcome, and will be answered, and posted as a top-level JE so that others can read it. This is a sensitive topic, and the people who are most affected are in many cases extremely vulnerable. Please show the same compassion for them as you would want for yourself or a loved one if the situation were reversed.

NOTE: Throughout these discourses, I will be using the term "sex" to indicate the determination of sex based on external genetilia, and "gender" for internal self-identification, what is usually referred to as "gender identity" in other works.

The very first moment of our life outside the womb, the doctor or midwife takes us, takes a peek between the legs, and makes the pronouncement "Its a boy", or "Its a girl". Seems kind of hard to get that one wrong, with something so obvious, so basic.

And yet its not always as simple, as "obvious", as we used to think it was. This is because other factors are at work, even before you were born, that help determine who you are. Most of the time, these factors are congruent with your genital sex, but sometimes ... well, its a bit complicated, but sometimes the organ that determines your gender - how you perceive yourself - undergoes influences that cause it to develop along the lines of the opposite sex.

We used to think that this was quite rare (figures quoted were 1 in 30,000 for male-to-female, and 1 in 100,000 in female-to-male identification). We have had to continually revise those figures, to the point where some estimates put it as high as 1 in 500.

Before we get into the whole "stats" war, some basic biology and psychology.

How you perceive yourself is governed by one organ - the brain. Just as the act of sex begins and ends in the brain, so does your gender. Men and women are different at the biological level, and one of those differences is found in a certain part of the brain - the BSTc region. You can read the first such finding, which has since been replicated in other studies, here: http://www.symposion.com/ijt/ijtc0106.htm reprinted from Nature, 1995

A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality

By J.-N. Zhou, M.A. Hofman, L.J. Gooren and D.F. Swaab

Citation: Zhou J.-N, Hofman M.A, Gooren L.J, Swaab D.F (1997) A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality. IJT 1,1, http://www.symposion.com/ijt/ijtc0106.htm

Transsexuals have the strong feeling, often from childhood onwards, of having been born the wrong sex. The possible psychogenic or biological etiology of transsexuality has been the subject of debate for many years [1,2]. Here we show that the volume of the central subdivision of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc), a brain area that is essential for sexual behaviour [3,4], is larger in men than in women. A female-sized BSTc was found in male-to-female transsexuals. The size of the BSTc was not influenced by sex hormones in adulthood and was independent of sexual orientation. Our study is the first to show a female brain structure in genetically male transsexuals and supports the hypothesis that gender identity develops as a result of an interaction between the developing brain and sex hormones [5,6].

So, we have known for 10 years that sexual identity is at least partly determined by a structure in the human brain. The next question is, what causes the brain to develop differently/divergently from the external genetilia? For that, we have to go to a time before the doctor looked between your legs and pronounced your sex. It all happens in the first 3 months in the womb ...

The development of the foetus is influenced by both its genetic blueprint and the environment of the womb. This includes the hormonal state of the mother carrying the child. Look at your right hand. If you're a man, chances are that your ring finger is longer than your index finger; if you're a woman, they are most likely the same length. This is known as the 2d:4d ratio (for the 2nd and 4th digits of your hand). An interesting starting point, summarizing the research and with lots of references, is here: http://www.dcustom.com/articles/Digit_ratio (first para quoted below)

History of digit ratio research

That a greater proportion of men have shorter index fingers than ring fingers than do women has been noted in the scientific literature several times through the 1800's. In 1975 Wilson published a study examining the correaltion betwen assertiveness in women and their digit ratio. This was the first study to examine the correlation between digit ratio and a psychological trait within members of the same sex. Digit ratio research has exploded since John Manning proposed that digit ratio reflects prenatal androgen exposure, launching a very active and on going area of research. In 2002 Manning published a book summarizing all such research on the topic to that point.

The development of both your brain and the bones in your hand is influenced by hormones present before birth. What is interesting is that there is a correlation between gender identity and 2d:4d ratios. In both sexes, for example, hypermasculinization caused by excessive testosterone in the uterus is also a good indicator of a later tendancy to same-sex relationships. People can now say that, yes, they WERE born gay. In genetic females, a more male-like finger ratio can also correlate to gender identification as male, and in genetic males, a more female-like finger ratio can also correlate to gender identification as female.

Rather than just look at your hand and guess at the ratio, do this: place your hands palms facing each other, and put the ring finger of one hand against the index finger of the other. Repeat for the other hand.

So, what does all this mean? Well, for one, we can say that a person whose gender is that of the opposite sex isn't "confused" or mentally unbalanced, any more than we would say that someone who is gay or lesbian or straight is. Their perceptions are accurate, based upon the structure of their brain and the influence of their prenatal hormonal environment. What caused this is irrelevent - whether it was maternal stress during pregnancy or exposure to environmental contaminants doesn't make a difference to the person affected. We can't change the brain structure retroactively. Even if it were possible to surgically or chemically modify the brain, the ethical and moral dilemmas would prevent seriously contemplating any such course of action, if only because such severe altering of the brain would change the essential nature of the person - their identity. It would not be a cure - it would be murder.

This also explains why, after 2 generations of trying to "find a cure", and subjecting patients to the same treatments that were inflicted trying to "cure" homosexuality and lesbianism, science has had to admit that incongruent gender is not an illness to be cured, but a condition to be supported by appropriate medical therapies, the same as any other physical condition that causes a patient distress or discomfort.

Coming next - social and psychological impact.

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Gender Education: Basic Info On Transexuality More

Gender Education: Basic Info On Transexuality

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  • One of my friends is a pre-op transexual: She, and others in her circumstance will appreciate this information no end, as will our other friends who are less likely to be aware of it! This of course presumes I've your permission to forward it?

    • Of course, that's why I put it there. If there are any other problems, tell her she can use my real email addy (not the gmail one - that's on google' server - use "hudson AT groupehudson DOT com" - that email gets downloaded every 5 minutes when I'm online, and doesn't sit on a server for prying eyes (don't forget the "e" between the "groupe" and "hudson" parts - its to conform with the local clientele here in "la belle province").

      The biggest problems for transpeople is their worries about how others wi

    • ;) I would hope it was under a creative commons license .
      worst comes to worst you can link to it heh .
      Biologically gender assignment can and does screw up on many many occasions , the brain can develop with one gender identity whilst the body develops in the form of the opposite gender . This can happen in XX females , XY males , XX males , XY females etc. ?his accounts for a number of people with gender identification issues , but not all.
      For others it may just be a personality thing(Spiritual etc) .
      So lon

      • Hmmm ... gotta watch the terminology, my friend. But you DO bring up some good points, for which I thank you, and which I will be going into fuller detail in later JEs. But a synopsis here:

        While I know where you're coming from, some people will see the phrase "gender assignment can and does screw up on many many occasions" and assume you're referring to GRS/SRS (gender reassignment surgery/sex reassignment surgery), when what you're referring to is "Mother Nature".

        There are two schools of thought about

        • I did mean a long term relationship there , personally I am totally honest about everything in my life and was to my wife .
          Perhaps it is not right that people have to be honest about these things , which Is personally what I believe . but the fact remains that most people still have a great deal of problems with this .
          Would you really want to be in a long term relationship with someone who if they knew something like this about you would be really upset to the point of not wanting the relationship .
          I do not

          • Hey, I hear where you're coming from, and in a perfect world, everything and everyone would be okay.

            But to answer your question:

            Would you really want to be in a long term relationship with someone who if they knew something like this about you would be really upset to the point of not wanting the relationship .

            It's no more relevent than skin colour, or ethnic background, or anything else you had no say in. But at least your question focuses on where the problem really is - the person to whom this would m

            • Well my liberal views are each to there own , if someone wants to have it their way then fair enough .So long as I am not pressured to follow .
              Hell if (and when I have some) any of my children wanted to marry anyone I would not have a problem ... well unless they were a neo nazi , then I may have a few things to say about it .

              Well in the future if we are able to do that , then I am sure psychiatry would have improved to , allowing people to avoid shame of things or the torment of crystallised trauma.
              What I
  • Ah, the bastion of civility it was where people could be whom and what they always wanted to be without ridicule, persecution or fear of social stigma lain down upon them.

    Now that I have that bunch of BS out of the way...

    In junior high the big insult (back in the early 80's) was to call someone gay. Being at the bottom of the social ladder I was called that a lot. I mean daily. It was a source of pain, but from pain comes growth. Being an introspective youth (part of the cause of my low social ranking

    • Ah, school - the school of hard knocks, that is. Nothing meaner than a bunch of kids ganging up on the teachers' pet. About the only thing worse was having your younger sister then beat the crap out of the bullies. Boy, do I remember THOSE days ...

      Speech therapists couldn't do a thing to help me with a lisp, or with not beig able to make a proper "f" sound either (I'd go one, two free - couldn't lisp-like noise when I had to, or an "s" if my life depended on it) - it took a dentist less than 5 minutes to

  • Look at your right hand. If you're a man, chances are that your ring finger is longer than your index finger; if you're a woman, they are most likely the same length.

    I was born a man and still am with no desire to change that nor any lustfull thoughts towards my fellow men, and my index finger is longer than my ring finger. I wonder what deep, dark secrets this tells about my personality... Must eat brains ! Brains ! Braaiins...

    Just thought I'd give a counterexample as a reminder that it is dangerous

    • There are always exceptions. In some ethnic populations, for example, the ratios are pretty much equal as the norm. However, a counter-example doesn't invalidate the work as an indicator.

      The 2d:4d ratio phenomenum has been known for over a century; one more recent study did amniocentisis to determine in-utero hormone levels, and checked them against later results, and confirmed that statistically its valid.

      And of course not all transsexuals will have the female 2d:4d ratio either.

      As with anything else

      • Same case as ultranova. I am a heterosexual man, like my sex partners with boobies (and certainly without penises), but on both hands, my index finger is about 1cm longer than my ring finger.

        So what's the correlation coefficient of digit ratio to gender identity? Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest "low"...

        There are always exceptions. In some ethnic populations, for example, the ratios are pretty much equal as the norm.

        My ethnicity is Russian/German.

        • Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest "low"..

          That's why we don't rely on anecdotal evidence when we can actually get statistics :-)

          Don't forget - those who it DOES apply to are not very likely to post ...

  • A co-worker told me about one of our clinic's patients. This kid was about first-grade age when the family moved to our town and got into our clinic. The kid was born with ambiguous genetalia. The doc they saw after the birth recommended reconstructive surgery to assign a gender, and the parents went with the recommendation. When the surgeon reconstructed the genitalia to make the child appear as a girl, the chart says, he found a couple cysts and removed them.

    The kid arrived at our clinic. All the pediatri

    • Sounds a heck of a lot like David Reimer's story.

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/reimer/ [www.cbc.ca]

      The high points:

      The doctors had chosen an unconventional method of circumcision, one in which the skin would be burned. The procedure goes horribly wrong and Bruce's penis is burned so badly it can't be repaired surgically.
      One night, the Reimers see a television profile of an American doctor and his theories on sex and gender. Dr. John Money of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore argues that boys - caught ear

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