Depression occurs throughout the population but transgender people are subject to a particular kind of depression associated with cultural rejection. Day after day hearing news reports of anti-trans legislation around the country will bring you down for sure. Dr. Dana Bevan looks at the types of depression, examines the drugs used to treat depression, and expounds on some non-drug treatments that may help.
A U.K. transgender website announced it was going to publish a paper by an anonymous research scientist claiming that being transgender was a “biological condition.” The press was alerted but without warning, before the date the paper was to be published the site issued a tweet canceling publication. Dana Bevan outlines the reasons why.
For the past few years our resident transgender scientist has attended a science fiction/fantasy convention in Atlanta called Dragoncon. She doesn’t attend to cosplay as her favorite Star Wars character. She goes to give the science about transgender issues to attendees.
Dana Bevan gives you the latest numbers relating to the transgender community. Her stats were collected in June and cover a lot of ground. From the percentage of young people declaring a trans identity to the number of genes in the DNA of trans people that are different from those in members of the general public, Dana breaks it down for you.
Why do we have transgender desires? That’s a question so hard to answer that most of us just give up pondering it and try to enjoy life. But philosophers keep poking at the problem hoping to one day figure it out. Dr. Dana Bevan catches you up on the latest thinking in philosophy, psychology and physiology in regard to there is free will and what choices we can make.
Dr. Dana Bevan had some time recently to sit down and read through the backlog of scientific papers she had accumulated. Among them she found three papers that dealt with genetic factors that may actually have direct implications for transgender folks and why we are who we are.
Back in 2014, Dana Bevan made some estimates of transgender population numbers based on observed population frequencies. Looking back at them and thinking about they are recently changing, she feels that they can help us understand some of the medical and social issues for transgender people, particularly non-transitioning transgender people.
Chrissy Gann continues her “No Smoking Gun” series on why we are the way we are. While there is no one thing that determines whether an individual will be transgender or not there is research going on all around the world looking in to the possible reasons. Chrissy takes a look at some of it for you.
YouTube talks show host Joe Rogan has gone too far. Several times he has had quests on his show who present skewed, or just plain made up “facts” about transgender people. These guests clearly have an axe to grind when it comes to the very existence of trans people. Dana Bevan has had it with Rogan’s promotion of false information and she is calling him out. How will the duel be fought? With science of course.
Chrissy Gann devotes her The Butterfly Chronicles blog to exploring why we are who we are. She feels there is no “smoking gun” that we can point to and say ‘look here is proof that being transgender is not a choice or lifestyle”. In every study that has been done they have concluded that while the study in itself is not positive proof, still there is something going on we don’t understand.
All humans are not alike. We are made up of a lot of parts and one size does not fit all. Human’s genetic makeup is mosaic, that is, we do not have the same DNA in each cell. So, human are not responsible for being born into a cisgender, binary, rigid culture but we can change the culture. Dana Bevan gives you the science.
Dana Bevan follows up on a couple of stories she previously reported on in her blog. One is the fallout from the paper by Dr. Lisa Littman purporting to prove that Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria is a thing, and is being caused by kids following trends and experiencing peer pressure to claim they are transgender. The second is the rise in stories about “transgender regret” or “detransitioning.” The conservative media latches onto any story about a transgender person transitioning and then having regrets and going back to their birth gender. Dana has facts to refute those claims.
Get your notebooks out and prepare to pay attention. Dr. Dana Bevan’s lecture today is all about the science of choice. Some people say that transgender individuals choose to be trans. Trans people say that being trans is not a choice. If it was a choice many say it is not a choice they would make since being trans can bring so much stress and so many problems. So what does the science say? Today Dana writes about choice and touches both scientific and philosophical views on whether or not we consciously chose anything, at all.
Dana Bevan reviews the scientifically established facts about the transgender condition. From the simple definitions needed to discuss transgender issues on into the DNA of trans people, the discredited theories of why we are transgendered, and the best estimates of how many humans are transgendered. Be prepared. There will be a blue book exam after you’ve read Dana’s column.
