What Everyone Gets Wrong About Gender Dysphoria

 

 

In the above interview with Andrew Gold, Dr. Az Hakeem claims that "There are no studies that show there's any difference between a transsexual brain and a non-transsexual brain." He's wrong.

The truth about transsexuality is that there are two types: Early Onset Transsexualism (EOTS) and Late Onset Transsexualism (LOTS). EOTS is also called “Homosexual Transsexualism” (HSTS), as it is characterized by erotic attraction to members of the same natal sex. This is the only type for which there is evidence of cross-sex brain development. 

There are several papers that find evidence of “brain restricted intersexuality” that is present prior to any hormonal treatments in EOTS. The findings are consistent whenever researchers are careful to only include this type, as reviewed by Guillamon et al in 2016. Whenever LOTS are included, evidence of cross-sex brain development vanishes. 

These findings are intriguing, as they satisfy nobody involved in The Great Gender Debate. Radical feminists reject the notion that Homo sapiens are born with sex differences of the brain; ergo, they reject a biological underpinning for transsexuality. This includes members of the LGB Movement, who do not want it to be known that homosexuality (“sexual inversion”) is associated with cross-sex brain development. Ironically, gender queer ideologues agree with radical feminists, that neither brain sex differences nor biological underpinnings of transsexuality exist.  

Gender critical conservatives believe in sex differences of the brain, but do not think male-like brain structures can be born in a female body, or vice versa. The transsexual community also misrepresents the science, due to large numbers of LOTS wanting to believe they were born with cross-sex brains when there is no evidence of this. 

That is not to say that LOTS do not have good reason to transition, or that they were not “born this way”. In fact, LOTS outnumber EOTS in data collected from the USTS Survey. Rather than cross-sex brain development, this type displays a "unique brain phenotype". This serves as the biological underpinning that motivates gender transition. 

In order to have productive discussions, we must be honest and accurate about the science of transsexuality.

References

Guillamon, A., Junque, C. & Gómez-Gil, E. A Review of the Status of Brain Structure Research in Transsexualism. Arch Sex Behav 45, 1615–1648 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0768-5 

Sven C. Mueller, Antonio Guillamon, Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza, Carme Junque, Esther Gomez-Gil, Carme Uribe, Behzad S. Khorashad, Behnaz Khazai, Ali Talaei, Ute Habel, Mikhail Votinov, Birgit Derntl, Rupert Lanzenberger, Rene Seiger, Georg S. Kranz, Baudewijntje P.C. Kreukels, Peggy T. Cohen Kettenis, Sarah M. Burke, Nils B. Lambalk, Dick J. Veltman, Mathilde Kennis, Francisco J. Sánchez, Eric Vilain, Alessandra Daphne Fisher, Mario Mascalchi, Gioele Gavazzi, Stefano Orsolini, Jiska Ristori, Udo Dannlowski, Dominik Grotegerd, Carsten Konrad, Maiko Abel Schneider, Guy T’Sjoen, Eileen Luders, The Neuroanatomy of Transgender Identity: Mega-Analytic Findings From the ENIGMA Transgender Persons Working Group, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 18, Issue 6, June 2021, Pages 1122–1129, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.03.079

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