http://masculinisme.blog-city.com/robert_sheaffer_1.htm (http://masculinisme.blog-city.com/robert_sheaffer_1.htm)
"Feminism, the Noble Lie
Robert Sheaffer
(A shorter version of this article appeared in
Free Inquiry Magazine, Spring, 1995. New text added June, 1996. Minor revisions April, 1997)
"If sex roles really are arbitrary constructions of society, created to keep women "in their place," why is it necessary to give transsexuals - individuals who already display many characteristics of the opposite sex - hormones of that opposite sex, prior to and separate from any surgery, to enable them to genuinely fit into their new role? Invariably these male or female hormones are reported as having profound mood-altering characteristics. For example, in the documentary film Max by the lesbian director Monika Treut, a pre-surgical female-to-male transsexual comments on the profound effects experienced upon being administered male hormones in the course of treatment. She reported that her energy level suddenly increased dramatically, as did her sex drive. Her moods were greatly affected, and she found herself unable to cry as much and as easily as she did before. This is not an isolated reaction, but rather such effects are the norm. Indeed they are the very rationale for the treatment: in order to produce behavior that will be seen as genuinely male or female, it is necessary to have the proper balance of sex hormones circulating in one's body. Feminists, however, attribute such behavior in men to "socialization". "
I think she's extrapolating one person's comment to suit her needs.
I know plenty of MTF or FTM who while having a sense of well being
with hormones mostly explain it by finally being themselves.
The brain has powerfull effects on mood and energy that obscures the
effects of estrogen so much that it would be very hard to truly study
its effect on MTF. Just ask a depressed person how much energy they have,
how much crying they do; most case of impotency under 40 is psychological.
No doubt, that the hormones have psychological effects, but its not massive;
they are subtle mostly.