My Best friend Says Its All In Our Heads

[Virginia]

Rikki,
I hope that you are not saying that "gender disorder" is chemically induced?? I know that science does not understand "us" but that we are the result of chemical induced variations, llittle tough to follow. I am not saying that it is not possible, but "we " can trace our "heritage" back beyond when drugs were even available, i.e., the Plains Indians. the middle ages, etc.
Love hearing from you!
Virginia

[Anita]

Hi Virginia--
We don't know this for sure, but I would say that chemicals are responsible for more gender "upset" than was naturally occurring before.

Since we've never known what percentage of the population crossdresses, we can't know anything about whether it's increased over time. I would say it has, but that's just a guess.

The comment, "It's all in your head," is always as put-down, no matter what the context. I think the analogy about changing your sexual preference at will is right on the money.

[Laura Ashcroft]

When trying to explain the urge of CDing to someone who doesn't understand it, I have had pretty good luck with the following. Ask them if they ever get horny (if they are human they will say yes). If they go without sex for a long period of time, they go through stages, sometimes the urge is less, sometimes great, but always present. Could they give up sex for the rest of their life?(No). Then add that this is the same kind of urge, same kind of mechanism but a different and independant urge. Having sex doesn't quell this urge, only dressing does. Once you relate it to something they have felt themselves, they may still not comprehend it, but it is more understandable.

[Violet]

deformities of the tube leading from the testicles to the prostate that mean that climaxing is very painful (I do have),

OUCH you poor girl.

and sometimes transgenderism

I wouldn't put too much faith in this particular 'diagnosis', since the 50's were hardly the apex of enlightenment in the psychoceutical community concerning our particular 'disorder'. Sounds to me more like some of the victims of DES just happened to be TG, and it was attributed to the drug by psychiatrists. There may have been some increase towards the tendency, however, since we still have no idea what causes TG or for that matter what causes people to identify as genderstraight, I'd need a lot more evidence before I would be willing to believe that it could be 'caused' by a synthetic female hormone.

[RikkiOfLA]

Girls, girls!

I never said that DES was the ONLY cause of transgenderism! There have been TG people before DES was invented, and there have been many born since it went off the market.

And I never said that being TG is a bad thing; I rather enjoy it!

Would I be transgendered without my mother having been prescribed DES? We'll never know, of course. She might have miscarried. That's what the drug was designed to prevent, and it did a good job of that.

Is anyone surprised that chemistry and biology have a wide area of overlap? Your moods, even your very thoughts are expressed in your brain by tiny chemical reactions by the chemicals that carry signals from one nerve cell to another. That ingested substances can affect such things is known to every drunk in the world, even if his inebriated brain can't comprehend the mechanism.

Scientists now understand that what a woman puts into her system during pregnancy (such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) can have wide-ranging effects on the baby. They didn't understand that in the 50s. They didn't understand that about DES either back then. That understanding only came much later.

It would be pointless to feel sorry for myself for transgenderedness, or for being born, for that matter. Being born wasn't my idea either. But life is a precious gift; it's up to me to open the gift, to use this life to make a better world for myself and the people around me.

Transgenderedness can be a precious gift too. At least it behooves me to see it that way. DES gave me the opportunity to experience the great TG community (some of the warmest, most wonderful people on earth!) and to see life from both genders.

Only when we discover who we really are and who we were really meant to be, can we be truly at home.

Chemicals like DES, thalidomide, and asbestos, that were once treated cavalierly, have taught us to be a lot more careful about chemicals. The human race has a great potential for good or harm. It takes wisdom and care to be a good human being. The responsibility is in our hands.

[Merinda]

I consider myself the result of an estrogen saturated pregnancy, my mother was recieving a number of estro injections each week during pregnancy.

A large dose of estrogen in the blood must have some effect on the developing male brain , according to my mother I claimed to be a girl when I learned to speak and thats before I can remember.


I would like to know more Rikki if you know of any good information links

[Sally]

Dr Domenic di Ceglie, a child psychiatrist and founder of Britains only NHS gender identity development service, at Londons Portmans Clinic said in a recent article regarding gender identity conflicts that, " Nobody knows for sure what determines this profound sense of perception, it could be a whole range of factors working together, involving responses to traumatic events, hormonal influences or different life experiences at critical points of brain development. But, what we do know is that it becomes a permanent fetaure of their personality which stays with them into adulthood."

" The current medical viewpoint, based on the most up to date scientific medical research, is that transgenderism is strongly associated with a neuro-developmental condition of the brain, and this theory of physical development has held for almost 50 years.
There is now evidence to consider that for men and women regarding transgenderism, the differentiation process of the brain which occurs in the first years after birth, has not followed the expected course of the criteria of gonads, chromosomes and genitalia."

" Medical professionals working in this field for over half a century agree that there is no one cause for transgenderism, but that 'genetic, hormonal, postnatal social and postpubertal hormonal determinants,' are all mutually responsible. There are many people for whom not all traditional criteria of physical sex development is in harmony. For a variety of reasons there are about 1/80 babies born with some kind of sex or gender identity anomaly."

An article regarding gene research and nature v nurture, which may be of interest to some people appeared in one of our national daily newpapers in April last year, for those interested it can be viewed at

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/ ... 47889.html

Kind Regards.

Sally.

[RikkiOfLA]

Merinda asks...

I would like to know more Rikki if you know of any good information links

http://www.inbroaddaylight.net/general_info.htm

[KimberlyS]

Great information Sally and Rikki, if we could only get more of this type of information and then get it to the Doctors and Mental Health people. It has been an interesting trip for me educating my counsolor.

KimberlyS - CD