Transgender Issues: Hormonal Shower Misfirings

[Felix]

Montreal Gazette
Jillian Page
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/02/13/transgender-issues-hormonal-shower-misfirings/

I'm reading an excellent book by Jamie Johnson called Secret Selves (327 pages, $16, available in bookstores and Amazon stores), about how a mother was — and still is –  affected by her natal daughter's gender transition, and by her other's child's particular problem. I plan to review the book here once I'm done, so I won't get into the details now, except to say that I  have been moved to the point of tears four or five times so far, and I'm only about mid way through.

But I wanted to share something that Jamie mentioned about the causes of gender dysphoria, a view increasingly shared by more and more people these days. Quite simply put: hormonal shower misfiring during the first trimester of pregnancy.

[Kreuzfidel]

What does hormonal shower misfiring entail?

[Felix]

What does hormonal shower misfiring entail?

Abnormal amounts or timing of sexual differentiation hormones during gestation. Mostly speculation right now. Stress and endocrine disruptors in the environment are the current best guesses as to cause.

[Felix]

here she just quotes from a site called Trans 101 (http://ftmichael.transboys.info/trans101.html) -
More on Hormonal Shower Misfirings

Montreal Gazette
Jillian Page
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/02/13/more-on-hormonal-shower-misfirings/

All fetuses, between 8-10 weeks, receive "hormonal showers" at this crucial developmental period. Usually, these hormonal showers lead to the formation of the testes and ovaries in XY and XX individuals respectively. Due to factors unknown, usually attributed to stress in the mother, certain medications or just unusual circumstances, the "dose" and/or timing of these showers can sometimes be a little off-target. XY fetuses receiving too little androgens, yet while still having the XY genotype are thought to most probably eventuate as gay. If the hormonal shower is even more different or ill-timed – i.e., even less androgens are released or the timing is further off, the result will most probably be a transsexual – i.e., phenotypically and genotypically male with testes etc, yet, due to not being showered with enough androgens at the right time, the brain hasn't sufficiently masculinised and remains feminised (feminine is the base "template" for all organisms).

[Shantel]

Then there are those with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) where the child in the womb has XY chromosomes but is insensitive to testosterone during that hormonal shower and when born develops with female sexual characteristics. There have been many female fashion models who were really male. Andrej Pejic comes to mind of one androgynous beauty who claims to be neither male, female or both.