African American Transsexuality - Causes

Causes

Psychological and biological causes for transsexualism have been proposed, with evidence leaning toward prenatal and genetic causes. One such proposed cause is related to the bed nucleus of a stria terminalis, or BSTc, a constituent of the basal ganglia of the brain which is affected by prenatal androgens. In one study, the BSTc of male-to-female transsexual women was similar to those of cisgender women whose psychological gender identity and assigned sex are the same. However, those of both heterosexual and homosexual men were similar to each other but different from those of women (both cis- and transsexual). Another study suggests that transsexuality may have a genetic component. There is considerable evidence that prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting anti-miscarriage drugs such as diethylstilbestrol (DES) may also be positively associated with transsexualism, though research in this area has yet to establish a firm causal link.

Some people consider research into the "causes" of transsexualism to be based on the assumption that it is a pathology, an assumption that is rejected by many transsexual people. Others think of the condition as a form of intersexuality, and support research into possible causes, believing that it will verify the theory of a biological origin and thereby reduce social stigma by demonstrating that it is not a delusion, a political statement, or a paraphilia. Note that social stigma has a role to play in the development of and adherence to both viewpoints. See the transfeminism article's section on GID for further discussion.

Harry Benjamin wrote, "Summarizing my impression, I would like to repeat here what I said in my first lecture on the subject more than 10 years ago: Our genetic and endocrine equipment constitutes either an unresponsive, sterile, or a more or less responsive, that is to say, fertile soil on which the wrong conditioning and a psychic trauma can grow and develop into such a basic conflict that subsequently a deviation like transsexualism can result."

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