I,too, was exposed to DES in utero. My mother had a history of miscarriages, and was probably given the drug to avoid the issue when she became pregnant with me. And like, you, Riven, my mother could have gotten it from prenatal vitamins, as I was born in 1953, right in the middle of the time when DES was considered to be a worthy supplement.
I have some of the characteristics of DES exposure, namely microphallus (approximately half to two-thirds the size of "normal") plus being hypothyroid (little family history of thyroid issues). In addition, my behavior was VERY female from an early age, and had appropriate information been available in Oklahoma's libraries in the early 1970's, I might have very well not "buried" my female side and learned behaviors more appropriate for a male. I also had a very severe case of depression that began at age 50, and was only alleviated when I began low-dose estrogen. (I'm still on that today, seven years later.)
While I would agree with Northern Jane that there's no scientific statistical link between DES and transsexualism, I think that there's more to it. For example, it's implied in all of the articles that I've read about DES exposure, that the earlier the fetus was exposed, the more likely that "abnormalities" appeared. In my case, I've always believe that I was probably mid-range. My TSism has never been of the "transition or die" kind, nor can I ever remember having feelings so strong that I felt "born in the wrong body" at an early age. I just feel that life would have been a hundred times better (with no internal conflicts) as a woman. Even today, when I'm "out" as a woman and accepted as one, there's a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and a calmness that I never get as a male. Unfortunately, I'll probably never have that permanently as my family situation has prevented me from transitioning.
