The above picture is of the twins born as males on the outside, but oh so different on the inside. This blog is a continuation of a look at the book called “BECOMING NICOLE”. In our continued search for The Truth about why TRANSPHOBIA is so prevalent, we now continue with excerpts from the book which is a must read for anyone who values knowledge in order to make informed decisions. We trust our brief review of sections within this book will lead to a greater understanding of the trans issue in our world today, and hopefully an understanding and acceptance of these individuals trapped within their world created by forces beyond their control.
“The need to define ourselves as individuals is a peculiarly modern obsession, but the importance of personhood to self-definition had its beginnings in the Enlightenment.” “By the nineteenth century, urbanization, mechanization, and population growth meant the state needed to keep better track of all these individuals. Categorization and classification weren’t intellectual tools. They served the social, economic, and political status quo. Individuals have identities, but identities can be arranged systematically any way we want, by religion, by class, by trade, by sex, making it easier for the government to control its citizens.”
Included within the book’s story, are what the writer labeled as “gender frauds”, where confusion reigned supreme in sports. Nazi officials forced Hermann Ratjen to compete as Dora Ratjen in the 1936 Olympics. Genetic testing was instituted in 1968, but in 1996, eight women tested positive for the presence of male chromosomes, but it was determined they suffered from a condition known as androgen insensitivity syndrome, where babies are “. . . born with normal-looking female genitals, but with undescended or partially descended testes, a short vagina (or none at all), and sometimes no cervix. The gender test confusion was enough to force the IOC to stop gender testing three years later. The bottom line: No one test could confirm that someone was 100 percent male or 100 percent female.” While we disagree with conclusions drawn by some scientists, we must report that the IOC in 2004, and the NCAA in 2011 amended rules and bylaws allowing the participation of transgendered women when having complied with their new guidelines. Our explanation of why we disagree was mentioned in a previous blog. “Doctors and scientists agree that after a year either on female hormones or male hormone suppressants, any competitive advantage a transgender athlete might have had initially is gone. In fact, because a woman’s ovaries also produce a small amount of testosterone, transgender females (who typically do not have ovaries) may have even less testosterone in their bodies than the average woman born with female reproductive organs.”
“In 2007 . . . there was basically only one endocrinologist in the United States who specialized in the medical care and treatment of transgender children . . .” It’s easy to recognize The Truth that our Nation was way behind in looking into the reasons for, and the care of, transgendered children. The next several paragraphs are a bit more technical, so please read slowly and carefully.
“The Transgender Brain. Scientists studying gender have recently been able to build upon the burgeoning research into the genetic and neurophysiological underpinnings of homosexuality. Researchers have found, for instance, that a son born to a woman who undergoes stress early in her pregnancy is more likely to grow up being gay than a son born to a non-stressed mother. The reason: Stressed pregnant mothers release a hormone called androstenedione, which mimics testosterone but is, in fact, much weaker. This stress hormone disrupts the timing and amount of the release of testosterone into the fetal brain, which, in turn, interferes with the development of the part of the brain linked to sexual orientation. But where is the physiological evidence for being transgender? Beginning in the mid-1990s, multiple studies looked at the brains of transgender individuals’ postmortem and when researchers compared brain anatomy between males and females, they found a profound difference where the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center, begins to send projections into the hypothalamus, the source of many of the body’s essential hormones. This area, called the central region of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, or BNST, is responsible for, among other things, sex and anxiety responses. On average it is twice the size in males as in females. Likewise, the BNST in the brains of transgender females – individuals with male external anatomy, but who have lifelong female gender identification – look exactly like the BNST in the brains of those with female genitalia and reproductive organs, that is, smaller than a man’s. Interestingly, these differences hold whether the individual has undergone sex reassignment surgery, hormonal treatment, both, or neither.” “In 2008, Australian researchers discovered a genetic variation in transgender women: Their receptor gene for the male sex hormone testosterone was longer than in gender-conforming males and appeared to be less efficient at signaling the uptake of male hormones in utero, resulting in a more ‘feminized’ brain. The number and size of neurons in the hypothalamus of male-to-female transgender adults is similar to females, and the number and size of hypothalamic neurons in female-to-male transgender adults is similar to males. The size and the deep brain structure called the putamen, which forms part of the basal ganglia, is also different in transgender individuals, corresponding to a person’s gender identity, not biological or sexual status.”
“The relatively new field of epigenetics looks at the external modifications to DNA that turn certain genes ‘on’ or ‘off.’ Researchers in epigenetics seek to explain the no-man’s-land between nature and nurture where environment influences a person’s genetic makeup. This happens when changes in the environment trigger some genes to activate and others to deactivate. Identical twins may have the exact same DNA, but not the exact same molecular switches. Those switches often depend not only on environmental influences outside the womb – what the mother does, how she feels, what she eats, drinks, or smokes – but inside the womb as well. Identical twins, developing from a single egg, usually share the same placenta, but each fetus floats in its own amniotic sac and each has its own umbilical cord. Scientists have found that fetal position in the womb can cause differing amounts of hormones to reach each developing embryo. Every molecule affects every other molecule, and even in close proximity to each other, identical twins will be affected differently, which is why they also have unique fingerprints. Even after birth, gender identity may not be completely set in stone. In March 2015, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine reported they were able to change the gender behavior of newborn female rats simply by injecting a form of testosterone into the preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Despite being a week old, the female rat brains were masculinized by this testosterone derivative, and the females displayed sexual behavior typical of male rats. Physically the rats were female, but their reproductive behavior was male-like. The scientists believe that injections of the testosterone-like substance triggered a mechanism by which certain virilization genes in the brain that had been deactivated in utero were suddenly turned back on. Unquestionably, there are multiple factors that affect gender identity, from the biological to the sociological, and while there are still many questions to be answered, what we know now is that the interaction of genes with prenatal exposure to hormones in the second half of pregnancy affects brain development in such a way that it significantly influences gender identification. Recognizing that the sexual differentiation of a fetus’s brain happens later in pregnancy than genital differentiation and that both are complex biological processes, the fact that variations in gender identity exist should ultimately come as no surprise. If anything, these variations have reinforced the idea that gender identity itself is not a fixed target. Rather, it is only one ingredient of a person’s sense of self, and for some the sense of being male or female is simply not as central as it may be for others. Studies have shown that even those whose gender identity aligns with their birth sex vary in their levels of contentment with their gender identity. Gender variance, it seems, is the norm not the exception, and yet the binary view of male/female and the pathologizing of anything that doesn’t conform to these expectations is stubbornly entrenched.”
“In nature, gender is fluid, dynamic, and even interchangeable. Sex change, in fact, is a normal process in many fish species, including moray eels, gobies, and clown fish. In the hierarchy of a school of clown fish, the female occupies the top rank. When she dies, the most dominant male switches genders to take her place. When the sole male in a school of reef fish dies, the largest female begins acting more aggressive and within ten days produces sperm. In Tanzania, in a species of hyena, all the females have distinctly male-like external genitalia. There are intersex deer and male kangaroos with pouches. In 2015 researchers discovered that the males of a species of Australian lizard, called the central bearded dragon, change sex when the temperature rises, at which time they become super-fecund females. Like humans, the lizards have two sex chromosomes, Z and W. A male carries the ZZ chromosome, a female the ZW. But when male eggs are exposed to temperatures above eighty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, the ZZ male embryos grow up female. It’s important to remember that all this complexity of sexual reproduction among species is not an argument against sexual reproductive success, just further evidence of variation, which some scientists believe carries over to humans.”
Some of what follows is a repeat of what we have already addressed in a previous blog, but we include it here as further source evidence. “In India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, millions belong to a transgender group known as hijra, which dates back at least four thousand years. According to ancient Asian myths, the hijra were accorded special powers that could confer luck and fertility on others. In Indonesia, the Bugis people believe there aren’t two or even three genders, but rather five: male, female, those who are physically male but take on the role of female, those who are physically female but take on the role of male, and those who take on the aspects of both male and female. Without all five genders represented in their culture, the Bugis believe the world would cease to exist. Gender is necessary, in other words, but not necessarily binary.”
In our next blog, we will consider the broad spectrum of gender variance, and focus in on just one segment of that continuum, those individuals who are considered to be “crossdressers”. In the conclusion of this current blog in search of The Truth about TRANSPHOBIA, we conclude with this statement made near the end of the book we have been reviewing. “The philosopher Charles Taylor once wrote: Each of us has an original way of being human: Each person has his or her own ‘measure.’ . . . There is a certain way of being human that is my way. I am called upon to live my life in this way, and not in imitation of anyone else’s life. But this gives a new importance to being true to myself. If I am not, I miss the point of my life; I miss what being human is for me.” As we have emphasized before, we again do now. Each individual’s FREEDOM and LIBERTY applies equally to all, and if not, those words really apply to no one, and are just simple, flowery words, that hold no substantial value.