The Science of Transgender
The first thing I wanted to cover on these series of discussion topics is the science behind the causes of being Transgender. I think when people understand the reasons why people like me are transgender its helps understanding on what it actually is and, more importantly, what it isn’t.
The first point to cover is the common misconception that it’s either a lifestyle choice, a fetish or in some way linked to sexuality or even sexual deviancy. It’s none of these – being transgender is a perfectly natural variation of human development and has nothing to do with dressing as the opposite sex for personal pleasure.
Gender isn’t a black and white, male or female thing – it’s an infinitely varying scale between extremely masculine and extremely feminine. If you’re not transgender you’ve probably not even considered that your gender is actually a separate thing to your biological sex. You can, in the simplest terms, consider biological sex to be the sex of your body and your gender to be the sex of your brain . While most people don’t even think about it when they both match, everyone expresses where they are on the scale all the time – how many times have you heard the phrases “I’m not a girly girl” “I’m a man’s man” “I’m a sensitive chap” etc – what people are actually doing with those phrases are describing where they feel they are on the gender scale.
So, what causes people to be transgender or anywhere on the gender scale? In a nutshell, in exactly the same way our bodies can develop more or less masculine or feminine attributes, so does our brain. Contrary to popular belief, the way both develop is not due to genes or chromosomes but is due to hormones and the receptiveness of our bodies to them.
There are around 50 hormones produced by the human body and these regulate everything from our breathing, heart rate, digestion and of course how we develop.
The two main hormones that regulate how masculine and feminine we become are Testosterone (masculine) and Estrogen (feminine). How much of these two hormones we receive in the womb and during puberty determines how masculine our bodies and brains become. In addition, every part of or our body can be more or less receptive to these hormones so, for instance, you might have a feminine face shape while having a masculine nose.
In transgender people the areas of the brain that determine our sense of gender have developed in the opposite way to their bodies. Even in non-transgender people, hardly anyone (8%) has a brain that is solely masculine or feminine; most people have at least one area of their brain (whether it’s hearing, or sight or sense of touch) that is the opposite gender to their bodies. Given that about 6% of people identify as transgender, it’s about as rare to be transgender as it is to be absolutely not.
There’s a great article for more on this here
If we understand that being transgender is perfectly natural it helps us understand and separate it from some of the things, like fetish or choice, that prevent acceptance of trans people. There are as many trans people in the world as people that are colour blind or have type 1 diabetes; again perfectly natural variations of being human – can you imagine if those people faced the same discrimination that trans people face?
One of the most amazing and beautiful things about nature is its infinite variation I think that should be something that should be celebrated, not shut away.
Bobbi Feb 2018
The first point to cover is the common misconception that it’s either a lifestyle choice, a fetish or in some way linked to sexuality or even sexual deviancy. It’s none of these – being transgender is a perfectly natural variation of human development and has nothing to do with dressing as the opposite sex for personal pleasure.
Gender isn’t a black and white, male or female thing – it’s an infinitely varying scale between extremely masculine and extremely feminine. If you’re not transgender you’ve probably not even considered that your gender is actually a separate thing to your biological sex. You can, in the simplest terms, consider biological sex to be the sex of your body and your gender to be the sex of your brain . While most people don’t even think about it when they both match, everyone expresses where they are on the scale all the time – how many times have you heard the phrases “I’m not a girly girl” “I’m a man’s man” “I’m a sensitive chap” etc – what people are actually doing with those phrases are describing where they feel they are on the gender scale.
So, what causes people to be transgender or anywhere on the gender scale? In a nutshell, in exactly the same way our bodies can develop more or less masculine or feminine attributes, so does our brain. Contrary to popular belief, the way both develop is not due to genes or chromosomes but is due to hormones and the receptiveness of our bodies to them.
There are around 50 hormones produced by the human body and these regulate everything from our breathing, heart rate, digestion and of course how we develop.
The two main hormones that regulate how masculine and feminine we become are Testosterone (masculine) and Estrogen (feminine). How much of these two hormones we receive in the womb and during puberty determines how masculine our bodies and brains become. In addition, every part of or our body can be more or less receptive to these hormones so, for instance, you might have a feminine face shape while having a masculine nose.
In transgender people the areas of the brain that determine our sense of gender have developed in the opposite way to their bodies. Even in non-transgender people, hardly anyone (8%) has a brain that is solely masculine or feminine; most people have at least one area of their brain (whether it’s hearing, or sight or sense of touch) that is the opposite gender to their bodies. Given that about 6% of people identify as transgender, it’s about as rare to be transgender as it is to be absolutely not.
There’s a great article for more on this here
If we understand that being transgender is perfectly natural it helps us understand and separate it from some of the things, like fetish or choice, that prevent acceptance of trans people. There are as many trans people in the world as people that are colour blind or have type 1 diabetes; again perfectly natural variations of being human – can you imagine if those people faced the same discrimination that trans people face?
One of the most amazing and beautiful things about nature is its infinite variation I think that should be something that should be celebrated, not shut away.
Bobbi Feb 2018