UGA researcher to look at what shapes gender identity

[suzifrommd]

UGA researcher to look at what shapes gender identity

June 16, 2015, Kristen Morales

http://www.healthcanal.com/mental-health-behavior/64532-uga-researcher-to-look-at-what-shapes-gender-identity.html

Researchers at the University of Georgia will partner with other universities as part of a national study on identity development in transgender populations, the largest study of its kind to date.

The five-year, $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health supports three study sites and partner institutions: New York City (Columbia University), San Francisco (San Francisco State University) and Atlanta (UGA). The study will look at how people who identify as transgender developed their identity as well as gauge how they overcome adversity at different times in their lives.

[Maybebaby56]

That is a major investment.  Transladies and transgentlemen, please take heart, this is good news.  Grant money from NIH is fiercely competitive.  When a grant like this is approved, it means that the scientific and medical communities are taking the issue of ->-bleeped-<- seriously.

[Jake25]

That is a major investment.  Transladies and transgentlemen, please take heart, this is good news.  Grant money from NIH is fiercely competitive.  When a grant like this is approved, it means that the scientific and medical communities are taking the issue of ->-bleeped-<- seriously.

I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure there are more of us than are visible in the community.

[Shana-chan]

So, it'll still take 5 years to get the results of this study back? That's a long time and bad news in my opinion, albeit at least it "should" have better results, it better...

[Gyps]

Sounds interesting, and quite exciting in many ways. 

I'm looking forward to see what comes out of this.

[HughE]

The first year of the project will look at critical incidents, starting from birth, that help shape a person's gender identity.

Since the weight of evidence points to gender identity being hardwired into the brain before birth and being the result of abnormal hormone levels during prenatal development, that straightaway doesn't bode very well!

If the study was going to find anything useful, they should be looking at things affecting hormones during prenatal development, such as genetic intersex conditions, maternal stress levels, and whether the mother was exposed during the pregnancy to endocrine disrupting chemicals, or hormones or other medicines with endocrine disrupting properties.