twins' brains

[Krististeph]

Does anyone know (or have heard of) twins, either fraternal or identical who are crossdressers?

Don't ask why this popped into my head... I'd bet money that the identical twins would be more prone to both being crossdressers than the fraternal twins, if the causes are primarily genotype related (as in FtoM TS, the CYP17 gene).

But if CD/TG/TS is a function of a change in development of the BSTc (Zhou, et alia, 1995) or INAH3 areas of the amygdala / hypothalamus from conception, there could be a chance that the identical twins might differ in CD/TG expression.

What say you?

[Tina B.]

It would be an interesting study, but so far I've never heard of a pair of twins that cross dress, First you would have to get them both out of the closet.

[insearchofme]

I'm a fraternal twin, my brother doesn't cross dress. Not sure the genetic component is that strong in behaviors. There are identical twins where one is gay and the other is straight. There has to be something else working there.

[mikiSJ]

Remember, everything on the internets is true:straightface:

Why not do a search on the phrase "identical twins cross dress".

You may want to start here: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/identical-twin-boys-transgender-brother-sister/story?id=15142268

[Marcelle]

But isn't that the crux of everything. If studies demonstrated that identical twins were indeed both prone to CD or TS then we could go "Eureka . . . nature wins over nurture". However, this has never been proven. Point in case the news article identified by Miki. One twin was TS the other not. So . . . back to the drawing board or research papers.

Hugs

Isha

[JenniferR771]

I think, it is not likely to be genetic...if the patient never has children...how would the gene be passed on?
Unusual development in the BST-3 area of the amygdala, as you suggest, is more likely. The question remains unanswered? What happens and why?

[Valerie1973]

I do know of a CDer who has an identical twin. They live in separate states. I don't know if the other one is a CDer too.

[Jenniferathome]

Gay Men in Twin Study
Published: December 17, 1991
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"A new study of twins provides the strongest evidence yet that homosexuality has a genetic basis, researchers say, though they say other factors like social conditioning may be important.

The study, published in the December issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, adds to evidence that sexual orientation does not result from a maladjustment or moral defect, one author said.

"We found 52 percent of identical twin brothers of gay men also were gay, compared with 22 percent of fraternal twins, compared with 11 percent of genetically unrelated brothers," said J. Michael Bailey, an assistant professor of psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, "which is exactly the kind of pattern you would want to see if something genetic were going on." By "unrelated," Dr. Bailey was referring to brothers by adoption.

"The genetically most similar brothers were also the ones most likely to be gay, by a large margin," he added.

The study examined 56 identical twins, 54 fraternal twins and 57 adoptive brothers recruited through advertisements in gay-interest publications."

A very small study, but not what I expected. Being gay is genetic. Being a cross dresser is genetic (so I believe).

another study: http://hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/1961to1999/1993-homosexual-orientation-in-twins.html

[Wildaboutheels]

I have not heard of any.

But of course, anything IS possible. Especially when it comes to Human behavior. IMO, only the most UNsharp of folks would think otherwise.

The HGP was only completed 13 years ago.

[Beverley Sims]

You pose an interesting situation there.
It is something to think about.
Hopefully others may have some idea, it would make an interesting discussion and thread.

[Lorileah]

If studies demonstrated that identical twins were indeed both prone to CD or TS then we could go "Eureka . . . nature wins over nurture".


So true, they can't even show that for being gay...and that IS considered "nature". We are such a small pool that if you consider the number of identical twins in this group at all, you would get such a small cross section, statistically it would be irrelevant

[Tiffanyselkoe]

I have a twin sister. Mabe she gave me some of my feminine side:)

[Shari]

You make the wheels turn with questions like that. Interesting thoughts, to be sure.

What's even more entertaining is all the resident geneticists expressing their opinions.
More "scientific" studies, more "scientific" polls, more scientific" opinions.
No answers.

[Krististeph]

Thanks everyone for your input! I did a little research pulling up whatever journals i could on our local EBSCO host database, not much info really, not much definitive due to the low sampling population.

The few articles that did attempt to draw conclusions said what most people here are saying- it does not seem to be primarily genetic- but something that occurs during early development (fetal) in the brain, having to do with levels of maternal hormones at specific stages or points in the fetal brain growth.

I agree that we would need better data and studies to have more confidence in the answer, but like McCoy once said to Spock (paraphrased): I would trust my sisters opinions here over most peoples facts.

Thanks again for all the input!

-Kristi