I am not a doctor, although I play a nurse on occasion, so I have no professional credentials to support my opinion. But I subscribe to the nature argument because that's how I see my life playing out so far.
From the get-go, I was a feminine being. The fact that I had a male body did not dissuade me from being feminine, often to my detriment. Male peers derided and bullied me, while I socialized better with females ― not because they considered me dating material, but because I was just like one of the girls.
With regards to the Wachowski sisters news, an interesting article popped up on the Internet, "There May Be a Biological Reason the Wachowski Siblings Are Both Transgendered," that supports the nature argument. One point that the article mentions is that the brains of transwomen resemble the brains of cisgender women, while the brains of transmen resemble the brains of cisgender men.
My mother was my role model, so that seems to support the nurture argument, However, was my mother my role model because my father was an absentee parent or because it was normal for a feminine soul to follow in the footsteps of her female parent? (A side note: My sister was viewing some photos she took a few days ago and remarked how very much I resembled my mother in the photos. I was in boy mode in the photos.)
We'll probably never know for sure what made us trans. Perhaps it is a combination of nature and nurture.
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| Wearing Boston Proper. |
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| Ioane Arabuli as Mariah Carey on Italian television's Tale e Quale Show. |
I agree with your premise. So many of us have wondered about the "WHY" issues for so long. It is much nicer and more peaceful to just accept the way we are. At one point I surmised that my mother's use of DES and estrogen while pregnant with me may have been a factor but we know that there have been "T" folks with us for centuries.
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I strongly believe in nature as well. I was raised by a mother and father (no divorces, separations, etc) along with my brothers. My mother had a very strong influence on her sons but not towards the direction my life took. In fact she did everything she could to try to drive my desires out of my existence. I used to blame her for my lifelong desires because her negative approach made it seem to me that she drove it deeper into my brain. I was so wrong, when I think back to my earliest memories (as early as 4 years old) I knew something was different about me but had no words for it. I was born this way, and will go to my grave as a woman in a man's body. It matters not if it was DES or any other problem my mother may have experienced while she carried me, I am what I am and have stopped looking for a reason. I love your piece Stana, it tells me that there are many others who face life under our unique circumstances.
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