i been reading lisa’s post over on questioning transphobia that highlights an article published in cosmos magazine entitled “Gene linked to transsexualism”. another link in the comments points to a bbc article covering the same study. in a nut shell:
…some male-to-female transsexuals carry a different form of a gene, called an androgen receptor, which modifies the body’s response to testosterone.
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…the form of the gene found in the transsexual group had a larger number of repeats of a short, repetitive sequence of DNA – making the gene significantly longer than the form found in the control group of non-transsexual men.
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…”This [study] supports the notion that transsexualism has a biological basis rather than being due to psychosocial factors in early childhood…
many of the comments in lisa’s post express many of my concerns. while i support studying gender identity and its causes, i’m not very confident that the resulting data will be used to my benefit, and/or for the benefit of other members of my tribe.
i can imagine that at some point, some biological template will be developed to diagnose “gender identity disorder”, and those who don’t “measure up” will be denied medical treatment or insurance coverage. or worse, that the unborn will be tested for this and either aborted or “cured” while still in the womb.
it’s unfortunate that a culture who has the technology to study and identify the causes of humanity’s diversity, also has the technology to destroy those types of people that are arbitrarily deemed undesirable.
and frankly, i think we’d all be a lot better off studying the cause of bigotry, and working on a cure for that.
“and frankly, i think we’d all be a lot better off studying the cause of bigotry, and working on a cure for that.”
Now, that I think makes a huge amount of sense! That’s something that really needs to be cured!
Comment by Emily S — October 26, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
I also had just posted on this — much more briefly. I will have to go over and read Lisa’s stuff now.
Comment by Dyssonance — October 26, 2008 @ 7:55 pm
If it helps, the data right now shows a 7-8% difference… About 55% of trans women and 47% of cis men have the genes that are kinda sorta indicative of possibly being trans.
Comment by Lisa Harney — October 26, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
And yes, I agree, I wish there were more actual time spent researching bigotry and -isms and giving such research serious weight, as well as proposed ways to dismantle the oppressive systems that maintain it.
Comment by Lisa Harney — October 26, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
“About 55% of trans women and 47% of cis men have the genes that are kinda sorta indicative of possibly being trans.”
and it scares me that the rest of us will be considered “not trans enough” to transition, or that the non-trans people who exhibit these anomalies will be euthanized in the womb. or worse, forced to transition.
a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. paranoid? me? you betcha!
Comment by nexy — October 26, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
Maybe this math will help.
I’m worried about anyone, trans or cis, euthanized in the womb for having these genes.
Comment by Lisa Harney — October 27, 2008 @ 12:09 am
[...] Marti Abernathy has disappeared into a calorie induced haze. Mercedes Allen is silent. Nexy is worried someone might be cured. Donna Rose just waves the transgender flag higher. Monica [...]
Pingback by More Good News and the Threatened Crossdressers « Enough Non-Sense — October 27, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
In a different place, with a fellow transwoman who’s ideologies are, um, markedly different from mine, I take them to task briefly for using scare tactics.
I agree — there is reason to be concerned, and as I’ve noted before you can be certain that the IVF places have already set such on their “not allowed” lists.
will it happen? Almost certainly. And, imo, its wrong to try and stop it fr being done voluntarily though anything other than simple discourse
Make it required, and I’ll buy Nexy a tank.
Comment by Dyssonance — October 28, 2008 @ 1:28 am
and what i wouldn’t do for a tank
Comment by nexy — October 28, 2008 @ 10:12 pm