Zareena Zaidi

ARE THEY FAKING IT?: SCIENCE SAYS BEING TRANSGENDER IS LEGITIMATE    

 

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You’ve seen it in the media, walked into “gender-neutral” bathrooms, and heard the buzz about transgender celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox. Maybe you even know someone in your personal life who now claims to be the opposite gender. But how is this even possible? How could someone feel they are a male, if they were born female; and vice versa? Are they just looking for attention or have psychological problems? 

 

Science tells us the answer is no. Transgender individuals’ brains more closely resemble the brains of the gender they identify with, rather than the those of the sex they were born into, suggesting that these people genuinely feel they are the opposite gender.

 

Gender is much more complex than we originally thought. Although XX and XY chromosomes do play an important role in influencing gender identity, our brain takes the driver’s seat. Often times, our brain’s “gender” matches with our assigned sex, but this is not always the case. 

 

Researchers are investigating just how transgender brains are different. Some of this research has focused on specific areas in the brain. Research shows that the number of neurons and size of specific areas more closely reflect that of one’s identified gender, rather than their biological sex. 

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Some of these areas are:

 

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (known as “BSTc” for short) 

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This area acts as a relay center by taking in various information about the body’s current state (such as hormones levels) and then organizes all this information to influence behavior and emotion. 

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This region is usually twice as large in men as in women. Research suggests that this area is also twice as large in cisgender* men compared to Male-to-Female transgender women. Even though both groups were biologically male, their brains resembled those of the gender they identified as — female.

 

The 3rd Interstitial Nucleus of the Anterior Hypothalamus (INAH3) 

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This region is part of the hypothalamus — the body’s hormone headquarters. The INAH3 specifically is known to be bigger in men than women, and plays a role in sexual behavior. Research suggests that, just like BSTc’s, the amount of neurons and overall size of the INAH3 reflects a person’s gender identity, rather than their biological sex. 

 

Okay, so we see some evidence when it comes to the brain. But what about the body? How could a transgender person possibly want to surgically remove a perfectly healthy body part?

 

Well, this does tie back to the brain. Each of us has a “somatosensory cortex,” that is, a part of our brain responsible for interpreting and integrating sensory information (like touch) from various body parts. 

 

Picture it as strip of neural tissue that arches across your brain like a headband; the strip is divided into chunks, each piece representing a body part. 

 

For transgender individuals, the “pieces” responsible for sex-specific body parts seem to act a little differently from they way they act in cisgender* folk, according to this study. These differences mainly manifest as less activation and less communication with the rest of the brain. These findings supports transgender people’s claims that breasts or other sex-specific body parts feel like an “alien” part of their body. They can acknowledge that they have that body part and can feel sensation, but it just doesn’t feel like it belongs to them.

 

Many scientists believe that all these transgender neural differences first develop in the womb — when the foundations of one’s neural circuitry are laid down. 

 

Despite these scientific findings, it’s important to keep in mind that much of this research is preliminary. Most of the studies are only conducted on small groups of people, as it is difficult to recruit a lot of transgender individuals at once. Many studies yield complicated results — many show at least some promising results, but they may vary depending on certain factors, such as whether or not participants are children, adolescents or adults. 

 

Gender identity is a complex phenomenon, and will require a lot more research to come to a clearer understanding of all the neurological processes involved. However, it is clear that some underlying biological mechanism influences gender identity, and in today’s heated political world, it’s important to treat trans people with the respect they deserve.

 

Note: All these studies researched transgender individuals who had not started hormone therapy. So, these findings reflect these individuals’ brains in their natural state and are not simply a result of taking estrogen or testosterone. 

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*Cisgender refers to people who identify with their biological sex. So, someone who is cisgender either is

— born with XX (female) sex chromosomes with female sex organs & identifies completely as female

— born with XY (male) sex chromosomes with male sex organs & identifies completely as male

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