When it comes to the nature vs. nurture argument (are transgendered people born that way, or learn that behavior), until fairly recently, it seemed the vast majority of information I had seen pointed towards a nurture theory. In the past, I generally had read that the typical transgendered person had a dominant mother, absent father, and was generally rewarded for embracing a more feminine personae than the typical male. I, personally, couldn't raise much of an argument to that theory. I grew up in a very loving family, but could readily see how this environment could lead me to autogynephilia and cross dressing.
Now the "nature theory" of some sort of hormonal imbalance has been around for a long time as well, but the scientific understanding of how those hormones work, when they work, and how they affect various receptors has exploded many fold in recent times. I found myself reading recent posts in Jack Molay's blog and saying to myself I have those physical quirks and I remember Mom telling me that happened to her during her pregnancy! I was completely "freaked out" many times over.
So here I am, still sitting pretty, and still without an answer I can readily accept as to whether trans people are born or learned. If you read this blog and would like to offer your thoughts, I would love to hear from you! Did your mother force you to wear a dress when you were young and you have continued doing so to this day? Do you know of anything that happened during your mother's pregnancy that might have made you autogynephiliac? I don't personally subscribe to some theories, but still would like to hear if you think you are transgendered because you were the opposite sex in a past life, or aliens from the planet Sunev abducted you and reversed your sex. Until then, maybe I'll start on that time machine...[tongue planted firmly in cheek humor].
Kelli
This is a very interesting subject and I often wonder and thing on it based on my own experiences.
ReplyDeleteI know that my mother was the dominant one, and my father more or less just let her raise the kids. Also I have had longer hair pretty much all my life, when I was young my mother liked it longer, so there's that.
But the more I think about it, the more things I come across in my past that I wonder where I got such ideas, like it just seems I was programmed to be more feminine on things.
I don't know. Maybe it's a combination of both theories. I know I can point to each and say I agree with it, so maybe yeah, both are at work here.