Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Has anyone here ever been tested for Klinefelter Syndrome? For those who don't know, its where someone has xxy chromosomes instead of just xy. It is basically intersex but at the chromosome level rather than external differences (though this is common as well).

I have been wondering about this for some time as I seem to have had very good feminisation results from HRT and my psychological profile and past social experience is very closely matched to the typical examples I have seen. No external aggression at all, introverted, emotional, empathetic, shyness, suffer with anxiety etc etc.

I have heard you can have a genetic blood test, has anyone done this before?

Does any of it it actually matter in the grand scheme? I have heard that some surgeons will tailor techniques for GRS for people who have it and I wonder if it is worth getting checked. But will it really make no difference in the grand scheme of things?

Just curious.

I have not been tested, but, like you, I have wondered if that would explain a lot of my life experiences growing up. But now, I think that it really doesn't matter. Yes, it could be an explanation, but I have accepted who I am. So the "cause" is really unimportant.

I equate it to the biological side of my psychologists' diagnosis of gender dysphoria. OK, I have it. Early on, I did read a lot of research about the various possible causes, but there is nothing definitive yet. Now what? Accept it or deny it. I decided to just accept it and move on.

I think if they did a test, no matter what the results, I would think, "OK, cool."
But it would not change my life even a little bit.

For a long time, I believed I had been exposed to massive amounts of feminizing hormones in the womb but I guess that theory has been substantially disproven.

As Lori responded, the cause of my gender variance no longer matters. At least, not nearly as much. But, Sarah, I am so curious and hope you share the results should you take the test.

I doubt I will ever get tested for this.

I guess I'm not really searching for something to blame it on as such, I've never known anything different. I am what I am and who I am and i have always been this way. It is more just the curiosity factor really.

I think the psychological thing is highly circumstantial but there is a pattern that has been identified in studies. There are of course a multitude of other reasons why I could be that way.

A test would simply satisfy my curiosity is all. Same as a DNA test might be interesting to discover genetic origins.

It is not something I would bother getting tested for.  People with Klinefelter's are usually quite tall, and I am not, so there is no reason to suspect it.  I am much more likely to be a "DES son".

Quote from: KathyLauren on May 16, 2026, 11:08:05 AMIt is not something I would bother getting tested for.  People with Klinefelter's are usually quite tall, and I am not, so there is no reason to suspect it.  I am much more likely to be a "DES son".

Well that answers my question then Kathy! I'm a bit of a short arse at 5'7"! You've probably saved me some money there ha ha!

Quote from: Stottie Girl on May 16, 2026, 09:49:21 AMHas anyone here ever been tested for Klinefelter Syndrome? For those who don't know, its where someone has xxy chromosomes instead of just xy. It is basically intersex but at the chromosome level rather than external differences (though this is common as well).

I have been wondering about this for some time as I seem to have had very good feminisation results from HRT and my psychological profile and past social experience is very closely matched to the typical examples I have seen. No external aggression at all, introverted, emotional, empathetic, shyness, suffer with anxiety etc etc.

I have heard you can have a genetic blood test, has anyone done this before?

Does any of it it actually matter in the grand scheme? I have heard that some surgeons will tailor techniques for GRS for people who have it and I wonder if it is worth getting checked. But will it really make no difference in the grand scheme of things?

Just curious.

I think at one time I thought I had some type of intersex condition. I was researching pretty much every different condition at the time. I have had an MRI and even a chromosomal karyotype. No remarkable findings seemed to have been made.

If you want it honestly. I really didn't go through much of a male puberty. The puberty I was going through was mostly just the normal growth spurts. My voice never dropped and my neck remained smooth as a swan. I even had a little breast and hip growth but nothing significant. I think somebody told me I may have just had an androgen insensitivity syndrome (not that uncommon in MtF.)

Now at this point I have been on HRT about 15 or 16 years. I think HRT really was ultimately the catalyst of me no longer questioning and just living.

I think the bottom line is you could have some sort of intersex condition you don't know about but people don't usually treat you any differently because of it. Unless you had some form of ambiguous genitalia at birth further testing isn't usually prompted. Sometimes people may discover a condition at one point but many stories indicate a regret of lost time.

Honestly I don't think it makes much of a difference whether someone is intersexed or not. I think they are stigmatized too just not necessarily in the same way.

I have, and it came up negative. I really wanted it to be positive because I felt I could justify my trans feelings. I lied to my doctor, telling him I wanted the best because there were others in my family who have it.

I first heard about "xxy males", as they were called during physical education class around the age of 13. I distinctly remember being completely enraptured by the info. This is one of several early "egg" experiences I had, when I had feelings about my gender that I didn't understand.

I have a couple of friends with intersex condition and there have been difficulties they've experienced as a result, so it's no picnic.

It turns out, you don't have to have some sort of physical thing to be trans or to justify your transness. It would be convenient for me if a doctor/scientist could perform some sort of test and say "There it is! This is why you have a female brain; we have positive proof." But it doesn't work that way, at least not for me. I just have to accept that this is the way my brain works and accept that I don't need further explanation.

But I'm tall and thin and wasn't super hairy but did have some body hair. All of my hair disappeared once I started HRT and my extraordinary level of breast development does have me wondering if there's some genetic component to my gender but I suppose I'll never know.

Never even heard of this before, you learn something new everyday it seems. I know categorically I don't have anything like this!

I wish there was a smoking gun we could point to just to say there, that's why we are the way we are as it would help fight all the trans haters out there who think this is just a lifestyle choice or that we have darker alterior motives.

I guess the mystery will not be solved in my lifetime.

For the record there is no suggestion that all people with Klinefelters syndrome go on to become trans either.

I do not think it is a choice for bona fide transsexuals.

I suppose most people may not think that same way.  Instead, they likely overwhelmingly think we just say we are of the other sex than what we were born.  Which cause in their minds leads to some mental defect on our part. 

All well. 

There is a brain region (called the "Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis") that is different in men and women.  Trans women have the female form and trans men have the male form.  While research is ongoing, it does appear that this is a physical indication of gender identity.  It is not a choice.

I am woman, hear me roar!  🎼

Quote from: KathyLauren on May 16, 2026, 04:40:53 PMThere is a brain region (called the "Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis") that is different in men and women.  Trans women have the female form and trans men have the male form.  While research is ongoing, it does appear that this is a physical indication of gender identity.  It is not a choice.

Yes, I saw something on that years ago but it is conveniently never mentioned anymore.

My wife suspects I have some form of Marfan Syndrome. Completely different but interesting

Quote from: Stottie Girl on May 16, 2026, 01:20:55 PMI wish there was a smoking gun we could point to just to say there, that's why we are the way we are as it would help fight all the trans haters out there who think this is just a lifestyle choice or that we have darker alterior motives.

There were ongoing studies before a certain President cut the funding. I wrote about that in this post:
https://www.susans.org/index.php?topic=250649.msg2298395#msg2298395

I have always wanted to be tested. I guess so that I have a reason for being trans. But since the test is not covered by my insurance and in the hundreds of dollars, I will probably never be tested.

I have had the karyotype test for Kleinfelter's because I am extremely tall and I am taller than anyone in my family.  Plus I was showing a few other symptoms of Kleinfelters and they were wondering if it was causing me other issues (before I was diagnosed with autism).  However my test came back as XY.  However they never could clear it or explain my Kleinfelter symptoms, so they definitely figured that I was intersex, but they still can't figure out what caused it.

I think pretty much any combination of chromosomes that are Y will have you legally considered "male" at birth.

When I went through my first puberty I had 266 ng/dl of testosterone. I had a "normal" amount of testosterone. I attributed the hair growth and growth spurts I was having to that. Besides that there really wasn't much "masculinizing."

I don't think you can necessarily tell what someone's hormone levels are just by looking at them. I think that would vary greatly depending on the person's sensitivity to that hormone. You would have to do a blood test to know for sure. I also think intersex conditions are much the same. You have to do an MRI or some other test to know for sure.

Quote from: CosmicJoke on May 20, 2026, 10:11:45 AMI think pretty much any combination of chromosomes that are Y will have you legally considered "male" at birth.

When I went through my first puberty I had 266 ng/dl of testosterone. I had a "normal" amount of testosterone. I attributed the hair growth and growth spurts I was having to that. Besides that there really wasn't much "masculinizing."

I don't think you can necessarily tell what someone's hormone levels are just by looking at them. I think that would vary greatly depending on the person's sensitivity to that hormone. You would have to do a blood test to know for sure. I also think intersex conditions are much the same. You have to do an MRI or some other test to know for sure.

As far as I can tell you have to give blood for a karotype analysis as per what Nancy has said above. Ultimately I feel the only benefit of this would be to satisfy curiosity. I'm not sure it will truly benefit me knowing. There are several other ways you can be intersex other than Klinefelters Syndrome too. Apparently you do not have to be super tall to have that condition it will make you taller than what you were genetically pre-disposed to be but if your family were all shorter this could mean you don't get above 6'.

There is little logical reasoning to take the test. You can do it at home yourself.

Sex Determination: The SRY gene (Sex-determining Region Y) on the Y chromosome triggers the development of testes in an embryo. Without this gene, a fetus will develop female reproductive organs.

So, if I look down, I can see that clearly a Y chromosome was present during my fetal development.

But there are other conditions that can also affect an intersex condition. It is possible to have both male and female organs. That is something a Y-chromosome won't tell you.

Then there is AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) where the body has the Y-chromosome, testes are present but the body is essentially immune to the effects of testosterone. This results in a body with feminine shape and appearance, except for those dreaded dangly bits.

There are many other possibilities, and Kleinfelter's is only one of them. For most of us, the only thing the test will tell you is if you have multiple X's along with your Y. That really doesn't answer most of the questions we have.

Quote from: Lori Dee on May 20, 2026, 01:22:52 PMThere is little logical reasoning to take the test. You can do it at home yourself.

Sex Determination: The SRY gene (Sex-determining Region Y) on the Y chromosome triggers the development of testes in an embryo. Without this gene, a fetus will develop female reproductive organs.

So, if I look down, I can see that clearly a Y chromosome was present during my fetal development.

But there are other conditions that can also affect an intersex condition. It is possible to have both male and female organs. That is something a Y-chromosome won't tell you.

Then there is AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) where the body has the Y-chromosome, testes are present but the body is essentially immune to the effects of testosterone. This results in a body with feminine shape and appearance, except for those dreaded dangly bits.

There are many other possibilities, and Kleinfelter's is only one of them. For most of us, the only thing the test will tell you is if you have multiple X's along with your Y. That really doesn't answer most of the questions we have.

Plus it isn't cheap! You will have to be very curious to pay the money I think. I probably am that curious but I don't have hundreds of pounds to spare ha ha!

Quote from: Lori Dee on May 20, 2026, 01:22:52 PMThere is little logical reasoning to take the test. You can do it at home yourself.

Sex Determination: The SRY gene (Sex-determining Region Y) on the Y chromosome triggers the development of testes in an embryo. Without this gene, a fetus will develop female reproductive organs.

So, if I look down, I can see that clearly a Y chromosome was present during my fetal development.

But there are other conditions that can also affect an intersex condition. It is possible to have both male and female organs. That is something a Y-chromosome won't tell you.

Then there is AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) where the body has the Y-chromosome, testes are present but the body is essentially immune to the effects of testosterone. This results in a body with feminine shape and appearance, except for those dreaded dangly bits.

There are many other possibilities, and Kleinfelter's is only one of them. For most of us, the only thing the test will tell you is if you have multiple X's along with your Y. That really doesn't answer most of the questions we have.

Not always.  In my case they thought I might've been a XX female as well with an attached SRY section (they are also wondering if I have AIS, but that was put on the back burner) from a Y chromosome (but not have a Y).  But on the Y chromosome the SRY sequence is the main part that gives the instructions for creating the testicles and it occasionally breaks off and attaches to a X chromosome.

Hmm read up on it and I might be a candidate indeed.