Born This Way
I have been analyzing the available scientific data on causal factors in transgenderism and transsexualism (TSTG) for the past 8 years. Bottom line is that we were “born that way.” The exact mechanisms are not clear at this point but we know which causal factors are involved.
The first causal factor is genetic. For some of us, our DNA just gave us a gender predisposition that does not agree with the sex and gender behavior category we were assigned at birth.
The proof of a genetic factor comes in two parts. The first proof is that studies of identical twins indicate that if one twin is TSTG, then the other will likely be TSTG. The other proof is that DNA genetic markers have been found for TSTG, both MTF and FTM (in different spots). DNA markers are configurations of the DNA molecule that are present in TSTG and not in other people. Markers have been found for many traits, for example, eye color and certain types of breast cancer.
For others of us, our original DNA did not cause our TSTG but so-called epigenetic mechanisms influenced our development while we were still in the womb. Epigenetic mechanisms either modify our DNA, change how the DNA message is used, or provide chemical messengers that are not part of the DNA molecule. Epigenetic mechanisms include drugs taken during pregnancy (especially anti-seizure drugs) and environmental chemicals that your mother had absorbed. There are hundreds of these environmental chemicals that have been detected in pregnant women including chemicals like DDT which were banned long ago but are still in the ecosystem. We do not know which or if any of these environmental chemicals cause TSTG epigenetic effects but they are certainly candidate epigenetic mechanisms.
Many TSTG suspect that their TSTG resulted from their mothers taking the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) which was mistakenly prescribed to avoid miscarriage between World War II and 1973. It is clear that DES causes modifications of DNA because its effects, such as certain cancers, persist at least through three generations. The CDC has a database of those exposed to DES and their offspring but they have never asked the people in this database whether they are TSTG. (I am working on this issue.)
So some of us are TSTG because of our DNA inheritance and some of us may be TSTG because of prenatal epigenetics but it is also possible that the two factors interact and both contribute to our TSTG. At least we know what factors are involved. The mechanisms should be discovered as the sciences of genetics and epigenetics mature. (I will review the evidence for/against other candidate factors in future posts.)
Dana J. Bevan holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and a Bachelors degree from Dartmouth College, both in experimental psychology. She is the author of The Transsexual Scientist which summarizes both her experience and her research on the causal factors involved in transgenderism and transsexualism. It is available from Amazon. She is a transitioning transsexual and can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter @danajbevan
Category: Transgender Body & Soul
About the Author (Author Profile)
Dana Jennett Bevan holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and a Bachelors degree from Dartmouth College both in experimental psychology. She is the author of The Transsexual Scientist which combines biology with autobiography as she came to learn about transgenderism throughout her life. Her second book The Psychobiology of Transsexualism and Transgenderism is a comprehensive analysis of TSTG research and was published in 2014 by Praeger under the pen name Thomas E. Bevan. Her third book Being Transgender was released by Praeger in November 2016. She can be reached at [email protected].Subscribe
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