If you were DES exposed what is your trans experience/ characteristics?

[Sydney_NYC]

I'm in the DES possible age group here in the USA. Always wished I was born a girl. Hated my body. Had the classic Klienfelters shape when my weight was out of control. Always been a tad gynocomastic.

....

About the same for me. I will say that it made transitioning easier once I decided to do it. Feminine hip (pre-HRT) no adams apple, narrow shoulders, the only bad side to DES and Kleinfelter's is being so tall at over 6'5", but I least my voice is pretty good.

[HughE]

My mother died several years ago, so there is no way to tell for sure now, but I am 95% sure I was exposed to DES in the womb.  I recently learned that she had had a miscarriage before I was born, which puts her right in the DES target group.

I can't say that I have any physical signs of it, though my body hair is pretty light.  I have never thought I was a girl, but I always wished I was, ever since at least eight years old.

One thing that seems to very commonly happen with DES exposure is that you end up with hormones that are kind of intermediate between male and female, with lower than normal male testosterone and higher than normal male estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG, a protein that binds up testosterone and renders it inactive, and which women generally have several times more of than men).

One effect of having low testosterone is that, if it's present from a young age, it causes you to develop a type of body structure known as "eunuchoid habitus". Some of the characteristics of eunuchoid habitus include having:
* long, slender arms and legs
* a leg length that's significantly greater than the height of your upper body (the two should be about equal in men)
* an armspan 3cm or more greater than your height.
* sparse or very fine body hair
* a female "escutcheon" or pubic hair pattern (like an upside down triangle and confined to the pubic region)
* difficulty building upper body muscle
* feminine facial features and a generally feminine appearance (soft chubby features rather than hard muscular ones; gracile bone structure etc).
* gynecomastica
* other things such as female digit ratio (index finger equal to or longer than ring finger); female carrying angle; absence of acne as a teenager; long, luxuriant eyelashes and comparatively small, high arched feet (in my case anyway!).

Basically you end up with a body structure that's more like the female members of your family than the male ones. It's more noticeable during your teens and 20s, after that, testosterone (even at below normal male levels) will have masculinised your body to the point where you don't look very different from ordinary men any more.

This is something that often (although not always) seems to happen with DES exposure. It also happens with other causes of intersex though, so even if you have it, it doesn't by itself prove that you were exposed to DES. If you have other reasons to suspect DES exposure, it makes it a lot more likely though!

[KathyLauren]

Thanks for that list, Hugh.

My arm and leg length seem normal, but they are fairly slender.  My index fingers are equal to my ring fingers.  My body hair is very fine, and my pubic hair is more like a female pattern.  (Confession: I had to look this up.  Who looks at guys' pubes in the locker room?)  I don't have a lot of upper body muscle or strength.  My hips are a tad broad for a guy, though not in the female range.  I have a touch of gynecomastia.

So, yes, it fits.  Given my mother's history, it looks fairly conclusive.

[josie68winter]

One thing that seems to very commonly happen with DES exposure is that you end up with hormones that are kind of intermediate between male and female, with lower than normal male testosterone and higher than normal male estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG, a protein that binds up testosterone and renders it inactive, and which women generally have several times more of than men).

One effect of having low testosterone is that, if it's present from a young age, it causes you to develop a type of body structure known as "eunuchoid habitus". Some of the characteristics of eunuchoid habitus include having:
* long, slender arms and legs
* a leg length that's significantly greater than the height of your upper body (the two should be about equal in men)
* an armspan 3cm or more greater than your height.
* sparse or very fine body hair
* a female "escutcheon" or pubic hair pattern (like an upside down triangle and confined to the pubic region)
* difficulty building upper body muscle
* feminine facial features and a generally feminine appearance (soft chubby features rather than hard muscular ones; gracile bone structure etc).
* gynecomastica
* other things such as female digit ratio (index finger equal to or longer than ring finger); female carrying angle; absence of acne as a teenager; long, luxuriant eyelashes and comparatively small, high arched feet (in my case anyway!).

Basically you end up with a body structure that's more like the female members of your family than the male ones. It's more noticeable during your teens and 20s, after that, testosterone (even at below normal male levels) will have masculinised your body to the point where you don't look very different from ordinary men any more.

This is something that often (although not always) seems to happen with DES exposure. It also happens with other causes of intersex though, so even if you have it, it doesn't by itself prove that you were exposed to DES. If you have other reasons to suspect DES exposure, it makes it a lot more likely though!

You have just described so much of me.   I have photos of my teenage years, and I would have thought you were describing me by looking at my photo. I am no longer on speaking terms with my parents, so no way to confirm it.

Jo