Atypical gender development

Atypical gender development: Biological Explanations of GID

Transsexual gene- one study looked at DNA of 112 MtF transsexuals and found they were more likely to have a longer version of the androgen receptor gene than in a ‘normal’ sample. The effects of this abnormality are reduced action of the male sex hormone testosterone, and this may have an effect on gender development in the womb (e.g. under masculinising the brain).

The Brain-sex theory- This is based on the fact that male and female brains are different and perhaps transsexuals’ brains do not match their genetic sex. One region of the brain that has been studied is the BSTc, which is located in the thalamus. On average, the BSTc is twice as large in the heterosexual men and in the heterosexual woman and contains twice the number of neurons. The explanation for GID is that the size of the BSTc correlates with the preferred gender and no the biological sex. It was found in MtF transsexuals that the number of neurons was similar…