What do we really know about gender? It seems we know far more about physical sex since this is tangible. Both Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation are constructions of the mind thus making them difficult to pin down. It seems now they are not even “hardwired into the brain” as once believed. (All thoughts come from the mind not the brain just in case you were unaware of this). What makes us so malleable? The old debate between Nature and Nurture seems to make vacillations from one to the other on a regular basis. Perhaps it is neither!?! This just came out and changes the game once again.
“A team of researchers successfully changed the gender in the brains of newborn rats from female to male, according to findings published this week in Nature Neuroscience. “Physically, these animals were females, but in their reproductive behavior, they were males,” Bridget Nugent, the lead author said…” (Reed, Carey 2015)
What does this mean to those who identify as Transgender? This new finding would indicate that our status is the result of some chemical change presumably in the environment. It is just as likely to occur after birth as before. Perhaps it was the miscarriage drug given in the 50’s and 60’s, Diethylstilbestrol (DES) or perhaps it is in the food we eat. Soy is now found in much of our foods especially since many children are lactose intolerant now and use soy as an alternative. (I have personally felt the effects of phytoestrogens from foods like soy and flax). There are many other sources of estrogen in the environment and it would follow that there are estrogen inhibitors also. This would explain the gender incongruences and dysphoria’s that some experience throughout their lives.
Even sexual orientation is affected by the hormones running through our bodies. Before starting hormone therapy I was curious about sex with men but had never been driven to seek out sex with them. I was more stimulated by women. After taking estrogen for some time my desires shifted to men and at the peak of treatment with a high dose I was passionate about it. Now that I have no testosterone and take no estrogen (levels normal for a female of my age) I don’t really have any sexual drive. The conclusion I would draw from my experience is that our hormones are behind our sexual drive and perhaps even our sexual orientation.
The question then is perhaps instead of using Contra-hormone therapy to treat Gender Dysphoria or Incongruency a neuter approach is more appropriate. I am sure this would depend on the age of the individual and their desired outcome, but having no sex drive seems more desirable than one which drives you crazy (personal opinion). This is not about sexual reproduction, because we already have far more people in this world than can be easily sustained and we certainly don’t need more egos running around!
Concerning gender identity the jury is still out. It does seem that it is also malleable and if you want to be a girl or a boy that option exists. My question would be Why? Why do you feel wrong in your body? Do you really even have a body? Perhaps this is all just an insane delusion after all! Question Everything!
Sequoia Elisabeth 🙂
Oneness Ministry 
Thank you Diane and Katie for sharing your perspective. Wisdom is indeed held within and accessed through the heart. The brains realm is knowledge. We each must follow our path, for some this means surgery and for others it does not. The goal is to make it all OK, to find acceptance for who you are and to even Love that! Love that you are Love 😉
I have been transgender all my life and now I will be 65 years old and I will have my SRS this year. Because in the past I could not afford it. I do hope that the young people now days get the help so they can understand it better then I did.
Good for you Diane! Our bodies know what they need, although fulfilling such needs is not always possible, at a given time. We unfold and develop according to our own individual timeline. Sequoia questions whether we “really even have a body” and I know what she means, or feel that I do, about existence being somewhat of an illusion, (insane or not — that is as illusive as gender) but all of us here on this plane of existence know that we have a body. Many of us, however, have not been taught to pay attention to the wisdom of our bodies nearly as much as we have been to listen to the rantings of our brains. We are sometimes told to “listen to your heart,” but our hearts and our guts, and our brains are not the only organs in our bodies where wisdom and feeling and memory reside. It seems that your body knows, beyond any doubt, that it is ready to experience having female genitalia. I think this is wonderful, and I am very happy for you! Age does not really matter, as long as one is healthy enough for surgery, and “understanding it better” is not really so important either. Acceptance of who we are, and a willingness to experience all that we need for our growth and happiness is far more important.
Perhaps understanding will come — perhaps not.