Why we are so wonderful - and so different

[MarciManseau]

I did a google on "causes of transgender" and this is one of the links furnished by google: http://www.glsenco.org/Educators/Cou...nsgender_1.htm

It's well worth reading. As much as we'd all love to take credit for wanting to be so pretty and feminine, it turns out we had no choice So get out there and shop till you drop, girls Below is just the first part of the article

Hugs, Marci

What causes transsexualism?
excerpted from “Transsexualism: A Primer,”
2nd edition, August 1996
Re-published by The Looking Glass Society, www.looking-glass.greenend.org.uk
It is now accepted by all reputable professionals in the field that transsexualism stems from a physiological cause, and is in no way a mental illness, perversion or “lifestyle choice.” The consensus of opinion is that gender identity is determined before birth and is unchangeable thereafter.

All human foetuses start off in a female configuration, and in the absence of biochemical instructions to the contrary, will develop into baby girls—irrespective of their chromosomal sex. This “female by default” development is overridden in normal male foetuses by a complex sequence of hormonal processes. It starts about six weeks after conception, when the SRY gene on the Y chromosome causes a weak male hormone precursor to be secreted.

This causes the foetal gonads to differentiate into testes instead of ovaries. Some weeks later, the primitive testes start working, and secrete a large dose of testosterone (the principal male hormone), which causes the foetal brain to differentiate into the male pattern. It is at this point that the brain structure responsible for gender identity, as well as all the other well-known (and measurable) brain differences between men and women, is laid down.

Transsexualism is caused by that second burst of hormones failing to happen, or only happening very weakly. . . There are a number of possible reasons for this failure; in some cases, the genitals do not develop normally, and therefore do not manage to secrete testosterone on schedule to alter the brain. This is likely to produce a certain degree of physical intersex in the infant as well as transsexualism. Most transsexuals, however, are not obviously intersexed, so subtler causes must be involved.

Overall, the condition seems to have three possible causes:

1. Chromosomes: . . . A few, but by no means all, transsexuals have a nonstandard karyotype, leading to hormonal “confusion” during foetal development.

2. Chemicals: some drugs that were administered to pregnant women (most notoriously diethylstilboestrol), or oral contraceptives unknowingly taken after conception, frequently caused transsexual offspring by disrupting the hormone processes. There is also increasing evidence that some pollutants can have the same effect—many man-made chemicals are known to mimic oestrogen and/or disrupt androgen receptors.

3. Random events: sometimes, the biochemistry simply fails to work properly. . . Perhaps the expectant mother is anaemic or the foetus is undernourished for some reason, or maybe maternal hormones cross the placenta in sufficient quantity to disrupt foetal development. . . .

[StacyCD]

Before I accepted my crossdressing as a part of who I am, I always wanted to know why. Now that I have accepted it as a part of me I no longer care to know. However, I think I'll go shopping!

[Nicolette01]

Now I get a better feeling for the saying "getting in touch with your feminine side".

[christina marie]

i try my best to be thankful every day for who i am, i really dont want to know the why, might suck all the fun out of it!

[Marla S]

This "womb wash" hypothesis is the most plausible to me.
Every other hypothesis I've read about has too many exceptions to prove anything.

Is it important to know (believe respectively, because there is no hard evidence yet.)?

I think for me it was part of the process towards self acceptance.

Now, it's not that important anymore, but I think that's a main point of and step towards self-acceptance that you stop to ask why.

[Billijo49504]

Shop till I drop, Hmmmm! Is that why I have a Premier card at Lane Bryant and a VIP card at Victoria's Secret. I think so...BJ

[Marvina Martian]

That is a great find!
I'm going to get my wife to have a read.....

[Kate Simmons]

While it may "seem" to have a lot to do with genetics, there are oher intrinsic factors at work here. Who we are is not necessarily determined by a bunch of chemicals and DNA. The wide range of adaptability in humankind is proof of this and we are able to assume many different "roles" no matter what we are physically. Basically there is no "excuse" of being who we are and it is ultimately a matter of choice.

While it may be "popular" to believe differently, the real evidence belies the "facts." We may say that we are dictated to by "society" to act in a certain way but are we really? We have simply convinced ourselves to accept the standards of others and perpetuate the myth that we need to fulfill a certain paradigm and despite all the "waffling" about it, we keep the so called standards in place ourselves against our best interests.

From that respect we need to have the courage to be different and to be ourselves. The challenge is showing others that we can contribute to society in a positive way, despite our so-called "handicap". The difference is that being ourselves allows for diversity, which promotes growth while going along with the crowd only allows for conformity which is static. The result is either people who truely make a difference or a bunch of happy dummies.Our choice really.

[DonnaT]

It's always been a contention o mine that the cause of being transgendered, not just transsexual, can be genetics, hormones or a combination of the two.

One part in the description is not accurate. That being "All human foetuses start off in a female configuration."

All human foetuses start off in an androgynous, or neutral, configuration with gonads that either drop into testes or ovaries, or both.

[Angie G]

I always knew I had no choice But if I did I think I'd choice this way
Angie

[battybattybats]

While it may "seem" to have a lot to do with genetics, there are oher intrinsic factors at work here. Who we are is not necessarily determined by a bunch of chemicals and DNA. The wide range of adaptability in humankind is proof of this and we are able to assume many different "roles" no matter what we are physically. Basically there is no "excuse" of being who we are and it is ultimately a matter of choice.

While it may be "popular" to believe differently, the real evidence belies the "facts."

What if though the apparent 'adaptability' of mankind was partly due to epigenetic switching on and off of pre-determined genes by environmental factors?

An alcoholic has no choice if they are part of the huge proportion of people born with the alcohol addiction gene. They can either avoid ever touching alcohol in the first place or they can learn to fight their alcoholism, perhaps successfully for the whole of thier lives but they never stop being alcoholic.

In reality free-will is far from totally free, but there is a definate capacity for people to work against their circumstances.

In the future the choice for alcoholics might include radical gene therapy to excise the gene from their bodies or to ensure they do not pass it to their children.

For us? Well it's not like it causes the harm alcohol does. But for people with a good deal of internalised transphobia it could be very important for them psychologically to have something external that reflects what they feel internally - that despite years trying to quash this it keeps coming back up to the surface.

[barbra]

i still wish i was born as a girl.love my cding a lot.thats just me.

[Kate Simmons]

Well, I realize that there may be pre-determined programming at work here, especially with things I've been reading lately. The problem with that is that I don't want to be "told" what to do by anyone or anything which is seemingly out of my control. That being the case, I have decided to get in control of my own "vessel" and make it my choice of who and what I want to be on my terms. Only then can I say I'm truely in control of my own destiny.

[battybattybats]

...I don't want to be "told" what to do by anyone or anything which is seemingly out of my control. That being the case, I have decided to get in control of my own "vessel" and make it my choice of who and what I want to be on my terms. Only then can I say I'm truely in control of my own destiny.

I understand that thoroughly. But consider this.

You may train with weights and dramatically increase your strength, but you'll never be able to shift the muscle attachment points on your bones that determine the efficiency of your muscle strength. The variable you can control is huge and it's a worthwhile thing to do, but it is stuck inside biologically determined limits. Not everyone can be the worlds strongest man no matter how hard they try.

Similarly you can exercise your brain and you can grow new neural paths and connections and substantially improve your intelligence, but still only within a certain limit.

We all can make the best of what we've got. There is a huge difference between being unfit or being fit no matter what muscle attachments you were born with. But ultimately you can only push so far with what you are born with.

Interestingly they've found people seem born with a baseline of happiness. Things can shake it around, depression can drop it and there are skills that can be learnt to push the line up. You may only be able to shift it only so far from the baseline you are born with but even that is enough for a melencholy person to gain a lot of joy and pleasure from life.

There are times it can be appropriate to not have full control though. There are some things that you must give in to a little to gain from.. like a 'chinese finger trap'. My disability is like that, fight it, force it and you get worse, work within the limits and you stretch the limits and get (to a reasonable degree) better.

[Kate Simmons]

I understand Batty and I think we're working towards the same goal really. I've realized I can use both my advantages and disadvantages to my advantage. I do know what my limits are in any case and work with them. Getting back to Marci's original post, however, all of this is what helps to make us the wonderful and (refreshingly) different people that we are and realizing that and working with it is half the battle.

[trannie T]

It is an interesting piece. I don't believe much of it, there very well may be a phisiological cause but I also suspect there is a psychological cause as well. The real cause may be a combination of many factors. I think it's those sunspots, or the nuclear tests.

[battybattybats]

It is an interesting piece. I don't believe much of it, there very well may be a phisiological cause but I also suspect there is a psychological cause as well. The real cause may be a combination of many factors. I think it's those sunspots, or the nuclear tests.

I'd say the sunspots
As while there might be an increase in that more people 'seem' to be TG than before that could also be because society is more accepting than before.

There have been TG people in the past, in ancient history. Some were quite well regarded in their societies becoming shamen or priests/priestesses (or divinely inspired warriors like the burnt-for-wearing-pants-and-short-hair Joan of Arc) so whatever the cause it can't be wholely something recent.

[Sarah.]

I'd say the sunspots
As while there might be an increase in that more people 'seem' to be TG than before that could also be because society is more accepting than before.

I think this is the biggest reason. Society is quickly becoming aware of this and many other things, that's why we're so dissatisfied with many worldwide issues as compared to the past. It seems like things are going crazy these days, but it's just because people are able to pay attention to more things today. Humans have probably always been in a gender soup, but we've naturally filtered reality through our dualistic rose colored glasses.

[Laurie]

You may train with weights and dramatically increase your strength, but you'll never be able to shift the muscle attachment points on your bones that determine the efficiency of your muscle strength. The variable you can control is huge and it's a worthwhile thing to do, but it is stuck inside biologically determined limits. Not everyone can be the worlds strongest man no matter how hard they try.

Similarly you can exercise your brain and you can grow new neural paths and connections and substantially improve your intelligence, but still only within a certain limit.

We all can make the best of what we've got. There is a huge difference between being unfit or being fit no matter what muscle attachments you were born with. But ultimately you can only push so far with what you are born with.

Interestingly they've found people seem born with a baseline of happiness. Things can shake it around, depression can drop it and there are skills that can be learnt to push the line up. You may only be able to shift it only so far from the baseline you are born with but even that is enough for a melencholy person to gain a lot of joy and pleasure from life.

Batty, pretty profound post. Over the past few years, I have come to feel that for most of us, most of the time, as we go about our daily lives, happiness is more a function of one's innate outlook rather than external circumstances. I do think that there is something biological underlying crossdressing because personally, for me, the urge is so strong and despite trying to resist it, it never goes away. The longer I resist, the stronger the urges become until I finally do it to relieve the pressure. This is not an activity I consciously chose to become involved in -- this is something that chose me. Analogous to sexual orientation, it is just as people do not choose what gender they are attracted to, but it is more a function of biology / development.

[happy sam]

i've tried to fight it over the years and always returned to wearing female items.a part of me thinks its wrong but the rest of me really enjoys it.i just except it now,this is who i am

[battybattybats]

Over the past few years, I have come to feel that for most of us, most of the time, as we go about our daily lives, happiness is more a function of one's innate outlook rather than external circumstances.

That's pretty much what I've heard recent studies have shown, events can shift you about depending on where you sit naturally and what your level of resiliance is. What can shift someone into deep depression a more resiliant person might be able to shrug off easilly but everyone has limits and no-one is at fault for becoming depressed. However the upside of this is apparently happiness is a skill or set of skills that can be learned. That it is possible to learn to be more happy.

I do think that there is something biological underlying crossdressing because personally, for me, the urge is so strong and despite trying to resist it, it never goes away. The longer I resist, the stronger the urges become until I finally do it to relieve the pressure. This is not an activity I consciously chose to become involved in -- this is something that chose me.

While you may not have chosen to be a crossdresser you aren't powerless. I believe you can take control of your crossdressing. Not in the most obvious way by repressing it which drags you deeper into the quicksand trap.. the more you struggle the worse it gets.

Recognising that despite not choosing this, this is where you are you can gain a lot of freedom and power. The crossdressing desire is an inevitability. So if it's inevitable you can choose to struggle and suffer in perpetuity or you can choose to actively crossdress. By choosing to actively crossdress you can make it your own. You can explore it. You can master it not by not-doing but by doing. On your own terms and in your own way. In the most beneficial and enjoyable way. Also it's important to learn how it works rather than just trying to impose your will over it. A sailor or swimmer will get the analogy that there is little point in fighting the wind or fighting the tides but by knowing how they work, by going with the flow, not in an aimless way but a controlled way, you can be the master (or better the mistress) of it and not it of you.

But even if the desire goes away, as many of us have found out the hard way (myself included) it comes back stronger than it was before.

[DonnaT]

Here's a web site some may be interested in:

http://www.sickkids.ca/childphysiolo...evelopment.htm

[docrobbysherry]

A lot to absorb from your many informative posts. Yet, I can't relate much of it to my situation, except for Salandra's comment.
I never had any doubts about my sexual orientation growing up. It never occured to me to try on women's things until I was well into my forties and married. Maybe the "married" had something to with it. I guess sex diminishes for most couples after a number of years. However, trying on a bra and tite top and jeans is far cry from my dressing today. ( See avatar!)

After my divorce, I was over 50, and thought I was too old for sex. I had no interest in it. Then, I started serious dressing. My interest in sex returned, thanks to Sherry! But, back to the thread question.

How does anyone explain men like me, who start CDing late in life? Ones that never had the desire to, when they were young?
RS

[DKA]

I love being a girl!!!!

[nancy58]

The article talks about transsexualism, which I believe is not the same thing as crossdressing. From what I've read of the experience of transsexuals, the problem isn't that they want to get off by wearing women's clothing, etc., it's that they want to be women. Genetic women don't generally experience a sexual thrill when they put on a dress, but a lot of us here do. I'm not saying we aren't hard-wired to be crossdressers, just that crossdressing probably isn't what that article is about.