STUDY: Being Young and Trans Is Not the Result of a Hormonal Imbalance

[traci_k]

STUDY: Being Young and Trans Is Not the Result of a Hormonal Imbalance

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/22/study-transgender-youth-do-not-have-hormonal-imbalance

The Advocate.com
BY  Dawn Ennis
July 22 2015 7:57 PM ET

Researchers in Los Angeles say they've learned that the feelings around transgender identity aren't a result of misaligned hormones.

Scientists researching the question of whether something causes transgender identity in teens claim to have eliminated the possibility that hormonal imbalance is at work, The Boston Globe reports.

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So we can take re-aligning hormones as a cure off the table. Hormones aren't out of whack. To me it would be nice if we could pin-point a cause but my guess is that there isn't just one. Until then, it is what it is. JMHO

[Mariah]

I agree I think it's a combination of things. I think hormones play a role, but just a role. I don't think it's the only role. Hugs
Mariah

[Serverlan]

Hm. I may have missed something, but all the study says is that hormone levels are consistent with birth sex at the time researchers measured them. But this does not rule out hormone level influence at some key moments soon after birth. I'm not sure anyone was actually entertainting the idea that hormone levels were out in adolescent and adult trans people, were they? I mean there are obvious reasons why you wouldn't posit that idea.

[traci_k]

Hi serverlan, Perhaps I'm reading a little bit more into this than was published. What I get out of it is simply that hormone levels were consistent with birth gender levels, and that low levels of birth identified gender aren't the cause of transgender feelings; ergo, supplementing with birth identified gender hormones won't make someone un-trans. Now as with everything in life, may not hold to be true for all people (be careful using the word ALWAYS). In my case I've kind of known for 50 + years I was transgender. However, I asked my doc to give me a script for E and T level tests. Surprisingly, my T levels were low, normal for a male and my E levels were low normal for a female, but off the charts for a male, leading a pastor to tell me all I needed was more testosterone. So what I'm reading into the report is that with normal hormonal levels for birth identified gender, giving more of those hormones won't "cure" a child's ->-bleeped-<-.

[Sammy]

I could not find anything in this article which would say that transgender identity can be caused by hormonal imbalance or abnormalities during prenatal stage of development. As far as I understood they simply examined whether those in target age range (12-24) had hormonal imbalances.

[Eva Marie]

What I read in that article is that the hormone levels of those kids were normal when tested. If being transgender has a basis in the womb with the mother having fluctuating hormone levels affecting fetal development what they are reporting really doesn't say anything useful.

Unfortunately, this article will be used by the naysayers as "proof" that trans kids are just confused and really aren't trans, which we all know is incorrect.

[Sammy]

What I read in that article is that the hormone levels of those kids were normal when tested. If being transgender has a basis in the womb with the mother having fluctuating hormone levels affecting fetal development what they are reporting really doesn't say anything useful.

Unfortunately, this article will be used by the naysayers as "proof" that trans kids are just confused and really aren't trans, which we all know is incorrect.

Exactly.

[traci_k]

Eva Marie and Emily,

The importance is that it takes away the idea that ->-bleeped-<- is caused by hormonal imbalance. If that was the case, "curing" the transgender child would be to simply give him or her more hormones of their birth assigned gender. Those of us who have been around a while know of the probability of in-utero hormonal wash mis-timing of contributing to the manifestation of transgender identity. We also know about the studies that show the similarities of brain white matter structure of transgender people resembling the brain structure of their identified gender, even before HRT.

The key point here that a doctor can't say we can fix your transgender girl by giving her testosterone to make her identify as a boy.

[HughE]

The importance is that it takes away the idea that ->-bleeped-<- is caused by hormonal imbalance. If that was the case, "curing" the transgender child would be to simply give him or her more hormones of their birth assigned gender. Those of us who have been around a while know of the probability of in-utero hormonal wash mis-timing of contributing to the manifestation of transgender identity. We also know about the studies that show the similarities of brain white matter structure of transgender people resembling the brain structure of their identified gender, even before HRT.

The key point here that a doctor can't say we can fix your transgender girl by giving her testosterone to make her identify as a boy.

Probably the point the author (Dr Olson) was trying to make is that you can't fix ->-bleeped-<- by topping up someone's hormones, however the way it's been presented in the media is that there were no differences in the hormones of the trans participants in the study from those of cis people of their birth sex.

I think the weight of evidence shows that being trans is actually a form of intersex, except that the main effects have been on the brain rather than the genitals. An important line of evidence supporting that theory is that, even prior to transitioning, trans people often do have abnormal hormones and other symptoms commonly associated with intersex conditions. The way it's been presented in the press, Dr Olson's study appeared to contradict that, however I've now obtained a copy of her paper and there is no contradiction - both the MTF and FTM participants in her study did, in fact, have abnormal hormones.

Baseline total testosterone levels for transmasculine youth ranged from 7 to 288 ng/dL, with a mean of 42.5 ng/dL (normal female range 2-45 ng/dL). Four participants with pre-existing diagnoses of polycystic ovarian syndrome, and one with another virilizing condition, may have accounted for the higher baseline levels of total testosterone in the sample.

In other words, some of the FTM participants had diagnosed endocrine disorders and total T levels that were out of range, and at least one wouldn't have been allowed to compete in the Olympics as a woman, because their total T was so high!

The MTFs also had abnormal hormones. In table 2a of the paper, average total T for the MTFs is 468.52 ng/dl. This is well below the average for normal, healthy men aged 20-40 (around 720 ng/dl).

[Muscle Matt]

I think the weight of evidence shows that being trans is actually a form of intersex, except that the main effects have been on the brain rather than the genitals. An important line of evidence supporting that theory is that, even prior to transitioning, trans people often do have abnormal hormones and other symptoms commonly associated with intersex conditions. The way it's been presented in the press, Dr Olson's study appeared to contradict that, however I've now obtained a copy of her paper and there is no contradiction - both the MTF and FTM participants in her study did, in fact, have abnormal hormones.

Yes. It's thought that the hormones produced by the mother during a fetus' brain development differ from those being produced when the rest of the body is developing. However, the study seems to specifically be referring to the hormones these teens' bodies are producing themselves. Basically just verifies that the brain has already developed to this "true" gender, and sending hormones in won't change how it's developed.

I was one of many who had incredibly high T as a child/teen (I was covered in adult body hair by the age of 7). I was put on birth control because my cramps each month were so bad I almost had to go to the hospital a few times, and even passed out once from the pain. It quelled my pain without messing up my high T. However, the second time I tried BC, it permanently wrecked my hormones, and took away a lot of the high T I enjoyed, and gave me more female hormones. I made it even worse when I decided to feminize with natural breast enhancement herbs, hoping I could convince myself to be female (now my boobs are fuller and harder to shrink, even off the hormones, damn my way of thinking). Even now while on Natural Transition techniques, I still struggle to get back the hormones I lost (kind of hoping actual T will help level me back out some more). Through all these changes and struggles, I've learned that gender is NOT a choice, no matter what hormones or situations I introduce myself to. My body may have changed, but that doesn't make me another person. I am only myself, I won't ever be someone else, and no hormone is strong enough to make me feel differently about this body.