Do Hormones change your sexual orientation? I don't understand how.

[Shawn Sunshine]

First I have to say it is creepy talking about sexual orientation when the poster looks to be about five or six years old in her avatar photo.  However I did look at your profile and saw your age so I realize you are older than that ^_^ .

LOL That is me at age 5 1/2 , i see myself as that child still, so i prefer to show that for now, but I have posted other pictures in the introduction forum



One thing I am still trying to understand here, I have seen time and time again gays and lesbians in the media, on a forum or in a blog, yell it out loud to anyone who will listen "I am a lesbian, I like women" "I am gay, I like men"  or "I am bisexual and I like both"

So you all say Hormones HRT can alter a persons orientation to some degree and also can do a 180 on a person. This seems scary to me, does that not sound like a fundamentalist Christians answer to cure the gay out of someone? "Here take this hormone combination for 2 years, and you will be attracted to women forever and ever" or "here you go mam, after 2 years of this treatment of hormones, you will now go crazy for a guy again"

How far does this go here? It has been said to me that we are all bisexuals to some extent, and yet I have met people that are 100% adamant about being heterosexual or lesbian or gay, would never change, no ifs and's or buts. Does not the mere fact that hormones alter you in at least some way, not suggest that the statement "I was born this way" loses some impact?

[Tammy Hope]

Self analysis ahead:

As i understand myself, my sexual fixation or orientation or whatever was always as a female wanting the attention of males.

but living as a male, i had no hint of interest in male-male contact.

that is, my inner identity was a heterosexual woman but that did not bleed through into my interests while I was repressing her. during repression, I interacted with women because (a) I had no interest in male/male contact and (b) it was the "normal" thing to do and my mask was built out of "do the normal thing"

I have been fascinated to watch myself, as I became more confident in my female personality, to see that the interest in the female form was still there, but as an appreciation of natural beauty and not as a sexual desire. Meanwhile my interest in men grew not so much in the appreciation of the appearance of the male form, but in a desire to interact with one who confidently assumed the male role in my life.

that is, I'm attracted to people who reinforce my own feminine role, which i do not sense can ever be done by another woman. i do not analyze others through the lens of my own experience, but it's how my own life makes sense to me.


and for the record, i've had almost no HRT - i am very anxious to see where things go when I am on full HRT, in regards to emotions and pheromones and so forth.

[Tammy Hope]

So you all say Hormones HRT can alter a persons orientation to some degree and also can do a 180 on a person. This seems scary to me, does that not sound like a fundamentalist Christians answer to cure the gay out of someone? "Here take this hormone combination for 2 years, and you will be attracted to women forever and ever" or "here you go mam, after 2 years of this treatment of hormones, you will now go crazy for a guy again"

that's simply too simplistic. it's sixth grade biology thinking.

there's a TON of different things going on in the transsexual, from biology (not all genetic) to socialization, to internal struggles to reconcile with cultural expectations.

One thing is for certain - hormone treatments to cure homosexuality were tried and failed on a massive scale.

hormones by themselves do not change orientation, but they do changes things like emotional processes, and pheromone sensitivity, and probably some "sense-of-self" feelings that are very hard to quantify.

All these thing play into "orientation"

As I described above, my whole life up until 3 years ago was a matter of duality.

There was the inner, repressed, REAL me, and the carefully constructed, instinctively maintained, rigorously defended persona that i showed to the world. Sexually, the two were quite independent of each other.

some would call that being gay and repressing it, but I disagree - because there was never one moment in life when a male/male thought or scene was remotely sexually appealing to me.

Tammy was, always, a hetero-woman. I remember having fantasies in high school about sex and they always involved me as a girl having lots of sex with lots of guys...but never me as a male with a female or a male with a male.

Nevertheless, the mask was that of a "normal" male and while masked, i behaved as such.

so it's not so much having changed orientation - after all, I'm not on hrt yet - but rather of the authentic me emerging.

YMMV.

[Shawn Sunshine]

Ok Tammy , are you referring to tests and treatments like these? Or do you have another example?


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/02/sheep_research/


ok also how much of this information on this website is true?

http://www.psychologyhelp.com/sexu156.htm

There are widespread misconceptions among heterosexuals about those who are not 100% heterosexual. The question that each heterosexual needs to ask is, "Did I choose to be turned on by the opposite sex, or did it just happen?"
For almost all of us, sexual arousal happens completely outside the control of our conscious minds. Consciously we do not choose to be aroused by one sex or another.

Gay men and lesbians never chose to be aroused by members of the same sex. Few would choose to receive the ostracism and the hatred of others that so often come with not being heterosexual. Gay men and lesbians do choose to act or not act on that sexual arousal. Most gay men and lesbians go through a period where they try to become "normal" with attempts at (1)heterosexual acts (with more or less success) and/or (2)heterosexual relationships, often including marriage and children. Most have tried to become straight, and therefore they know by experience the absurdity of those who say that the goal ought to be to make them straight.


Sexual arousal tends to follow emotional loving feelings. Consider a stereotypical 24-year-old male who for many years had sexual fantasies and dreams of sex goddess bodies. He falls in love with a homely, overweight or flat-chested woman who then "magically" becomes highly attractive sexually to him.


Tip for Men (Straight/ Gay/ In-Between). If you are looking for that great body first, you may never find your life-mate. If you love first, you will probably find the body you are with to be highly arousing.*

[justmeinoz]

I tend to think that it is a matter of being able to acknowledge your true orientation, once you realise your true inner gender.   
If I felt feminine I tended to think that it must be because I was gay, and therefore obviously had to be attracted to males.  The problem was I was feeling a strong attraction to females.  This was very confusing, especially when others made the same assumptions.   High School was not a happy time. 
From the moment I realised I was a woman, I knew that I had no interest in men at all.  I can  feel attraction to women, whether cisgendered or in any stage of transition, androgyne transpeople who have a Queer identity, or intersex people but  absolutely no interest in men, cis or trans.

Karen.

[A]

Treatments -intented- to change sexual orientation have been found to mostly fail. However, in very varying degrees, from nothing to 180 °, cross-sex hormone replacement threapy in people for whom it was truly the right thing to do, changes have been seen. Maybe there's actually absolutely no way of knowing what will happen. But if does, it does. Maybe it depends on how deeply rooted (both psychologically and physically) and how natural or "forced" the original sexual orientation was to begin with.

Like it's been said, you just don't know what will happen to you. Just go with it. There's nothing to fear. Whatever happens, it should just feel good, because it would just (in theory) be getting closer to the real you.

[Brooke777]

If "Fundamentalist Christians" tried to use hormones to "cure" homosexuality, then they would be giving female hormones to males, and male hormones to females.  Essentially, they would be forcing someone to take the hormones necessary to be the opposite gender/sex they are.  That would not "solve" the "problem".  That would create a whole new world of issues.

As for sexual attraction.  In humans, it is extremely complex.  It is biological, physiological, ans psychological.  I think many of the posts here nailed it by saying that by taking hormones, you are working on becoming your true self.  By becoming ones true self they are most likely going to start to be attracted to whomever they were originally attracted to whether they were suppressed or not.

As you become more comfortable with yourself, and who you really are, you may change your outlook as to what you consider attractive...you may not.  Try not to use social "norms" control how you feel.  Just be yourself.  Listen to the advice of others on her, and be yourself.

[envie]

You are not taking hormones to achieve the desired sexual orientation. You are on HRT to achieve harmony within your gender identity, your physical appearance, social role etc.
If you were hoping to control your sexual orientation by taking one or the other set of hormones you are bound to fail as it has been stated in many previous posts.
If you were hoping to simply decided what orientation you will have, you are also bound to fail as we know this is not a matter of a rational decision.
Would it be nice to be able to control your sexual orientation? Maybe, but since it's impossible it's not worth breaking your head about it. You have to just let it happen and live with it.

[Natkat]

I belive homones might change alittle in your sexdrive and the action you feel for sex, but not in your sexual orientation.
I belive if your sexual orientation change during homones then its because you as yourself change alot, and I belive its pretty normal our sexual orientation is alittle wide, and even if we are strickly gay or straight then we can have "exaptions" for a time.

Once in a while, we get in new aventures by opening new doors, and transition as in taking homones would be a big step for most people. Some people have been holding back on there sexual felling before transition
or had it only in a way who would please others more than themself, cause of what was expected either for being there biological sex, or for what they should feel or not for being "a real man/a real woman".

it can be kind of hard being into something and admitting it if your holding yourself back. Have you ever tried felling attractive to someone/something who was "wrong" and convinced yourself it was nothing but then got told it was "okay" and out of sudden see posibilatys in it?.

like, being raised and belive gay is a sin, and when someone tell you its not, you fell more relaxed in the attraction.
or if your in a country where the age of contest is 18 and your attracted to one at 17, and you reject that atraction,
then you move place to somewhere where the age of contest is 16, and you find someon who is 17 and dont mind the age.
--

thats just how I imaginate it in my head.

I been pretty worried whatever my sexual orientation would change or not during, T, But I started not to care so mu

[AbraCadabra]

Just about 2 years on HRT now...
I was, what I felt, solidly hetero before transitioning.
One thing that made things somewhat, somehow, pretty dang confusing, and NOT only for me! A 'male-lesbian' in 'pseudo-lesbian' relationships... and PLENTY of those to boot. At one time.

Now close to 9 month post-op, things KEEP on 'shifting' - towards hetero cis-female. Hum.
I keep holding my breath - still explaining my now being BI... for how long?

That 'power attraction' to most things female is changing, still some is there, yet it becomes different. It shifted into the 'intimate female friendship' area - I now have some difficulty to imagine to be into vagina and breasts of someone else.
Having my own might have to do with it? Has it? Somehow I think it has, apart from HRT influences.

Imagining sex with a male along the lines that male-brain-sex works? No way! There is now one BIG something that has to be passed before sex would seem an acceptable, thinkable thing to happen.

That person would have to make me feel special, show some caring, really be IN TO ME!
So very different that feels, as I recall it was in male-guise and on T.
I guess it feels like the flip side of the (sex) coin.

And as far as 'insisting' to maintain that former 'outlook' (orientation)?

This shift takes place whilst you sleep, so to speak... go try stop it.
Be my guest It just happens – if, and when it happens.

And as always... YMMV,
Axélle

[Julie Wilson]

I was into men from the beginning and had lots of sexual experiences with boys until the fear of god was put into me and I began trying to live up to other people's expectations instead of being my own person.  Transition reintroduced me to my true self.  I suppose I might be bi except sex is less and less appealing.

Hormones didn't change my "sexual orientation" however about the same time I was willing to live for myself instead of living for other people and transition, sexual orientation got revisited and reexamined and repaired.