The Guide To Being Transgender

Let's Talk Biology

I know, I know. Biology is sex, psychology is gender. However, everything psychological is simultaneously biological. Everything has a cause, and while we aren't really sure what the cause of being transgender is, we do have theories. As well as that, I'd like to put a few more things out there about biological sex in general.

First off, sex is determined both by your primary, chromosomal sex characteristics and the outward genitalia you possess when you're born. If you have a vagina and everything, the doctors deem you a female. If you have a developed penis and testes, you're deemed a male. Some people outwardly exhibit traits of both female and male genitalia, and those people are a form of intersex, but there are also many different types of intersex. I don't have time to go over them here, but I plan on making a chapter all about intersex conditions in the future.

Chromosomes are what determine who you are. They comprise what you look like, sound like, in some cases act like, and what sex you are. The sex chromosomes that everyone tends to know are XX(female) and XY(male). However, there are other forms of sex chromosomes. They aren't super common, but they are worth noting and they're almost as common as autosomal abnormalities. These chromosomal abnormalities are usually not lethal.

XO, XXX, XXXX, XXXXX, XYY, XXY, and XXXY are all examples of these chromosomal abnormalities. Some of the conditions have more serious side effects, but a good portion of them hardly affect the person's life at all. In fact, many people with XYY never even realize they have it unless they get a test done. You can do research on them as you please, but Wattpad deleted the section where I explained each of them and I don't feel like rewriting all of that.

So, back to the actual gender aspect of everything.

There are many, many theories surrounding why people are transgender or cisgender, or whatever. One theory suggests that it's because the fetus is flooded with testosterone or estrogen in the third trimester, and that offsets their hormonal balances, causing a disconnect between the mind and the body.

Another theory is that it's caused by repressed conflict in your childhood, which creates feelings of insecurity and identity confusion. I'm not a fan of that theory.

Your identity is largely controlled by your frontal lobe. That holds your personality and most emotions. How you feel and react to things. Your judgments and decisions. This is where your sense of self is held.

Brain scans between men and women are very different. This can, in some cases, help us to prove that being transgender is not a choice. The brain scans of a trans male and a cis male are usually very similar. Same goes for trans and cis women.

The brain scan factor isn't very affected by hormone replacement therapy. Studies have been done to make sure, and it seems that people who haven't undergone hormones yet still have the brain structures similar to that gender they identify with.

We have used twin studies to show the genetic side of gender identity. Identical twins who'd been separated at birth have been studied to establish the genetic component. If one twin was trans, the other was much more likely to be trans as well. That means there is definitely a genetic component to being trans. Of course, the environment comes into play as well, but genetics is what we're looking at today.

Some scientists believe that your gender identity could have something to do with the hormones you're exposed to in the womb. A trans man, therefore, would have been exposed to less estrogen than was needed to make him a cis girl. There is some evidence for this, but not a whole lot. It has been found that trans men are less susceptible to estrogen processing, though.

So, science proves that it isn't a choice, guys. My main source for this was an article done by a third-year Harvard student. I think they summed it up pretty well in this paragraph...

"So, where do we stand on transgender issues? Science tells us that gender is certainly not binary; it may not even be a linear spectrum. Like many other facets of identity, it can operate on a broad range of levels and operate outside of many definitions. And it also appears that gender may not be as static as we assume. At the forefront of this, transgender identity is complex – it's unlikely we'll ever be able to attribute it to one neat, contained set of causes, and there is still much to be learned. But we know now that several of those causes are biological. These individuals are not suffering a mental illness, or capriciously "choosing" a different identity. The transgender identity is multi-dimensional – but it deserves no less recognition or respect than any other facet of humankind."
                               ~Katherine Wu