Yet more evidence that sexual orientation is biologically determined and has little to do with how people are raised comes from MRI and PET studies conducted at the Stockholm Brain Institute (abstract available) . The researchers found that brain shape and size was similar between gay men and straight women and between straight men and gay women. They also found that activity in an area of the brain called the amygdala had the same pattern.
Once more, the evidence suggests that gays are 'born that way' and that sexual orientation is not a 'lifestyle choice'.
What's this got to do with transvestites? Well, nothing really except that it provides further evidence that developments in the womb and early infancy can significantly alter brain structures which have outcomes in terms of sex-related behaviours. That something as significant as sexual orientation can be affected suggests to me that scientists should be looking more closely at how atypical brain development can lead to atypical gender presentation and gender identification preferences - i.e. transvestitism and transsexualism.
I have always argued that men like me, who cross-dress, do so because a part of our brains has been wired up the wrong way so that we feel the need to present ourselves as women. I believe that once we (the transgendered community), the psychological and psychiatric worlds, and the public in general accept this explanation, attitudes to transvestitism will begin to change. If the world (and especially the world of psychiatry) sees us not as 'perverts' or 'fetishists' but as perfectly ordinary people, coping with a small glitch in our brain's wiring, I can only think that we will be treated with more understanding and less contempt.
These studies on the neuroanatomy of gays don't help us directly but at least they establish the principle that such things are an accident of birth not the wilful embracing of a moral corruption.
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I've read with fascination all of what you have expressed on both your blog and whytv. So much of what you say I couldn't agree with you more. I'm a hetrosexual male 63 years old and have always wondered why I love dressing in lingerie. I started when I was 14 with panties, slips and nighties. Greatest feeling in the world next to the orgasm.
The scientific study finally coming to a conclusion that we are hard wired to be either gay or straight is something I've sort of known for a while. How would one choose to be gay or straight? Does one choose his gender, male or female? Hardly.. we give credit to genes,chromosones and DNA for color skin, eyes, hair and how tall we might be etc., but sexual orientation through choice has always been a ridiculous assumption. Now I realize that we apparently make choices later on when we are old enough to unscramble and assemble all of the information our five senses have downloaded to our brains through our experiences and influences. Some do make a choice to try out a gay experience or not, but to say we would deliberately be gay at the expense of own peace of mind and place in the world is ludicrous.
As far as transvestitism is concerned, I was more in doubt of us being hard wired and thought maybe nurture rather than nature had something to do with it. Now I understand we are hard wired for our fetishes and cross dressing through the influences in the womb, as babies, and our formative years. How would we be able to make these kind of choices on our own? For example we all start out with a taste or tastes for certain foods and what gives us as babies the ability to discern and create our likes or dislikes for certain foods?
Exposure as children to what females in our lives would wear
such as nylons on their legs makes us wonder how do some of us get fascinated with such a garment or any female garment? The female of the species is nursed on the same breast as males but once weaned the female usually never returns to or desires to nurse or suck on another females breast. Men instinctively want to fondle and suck on a womans breast. What signal gets sent to a mans brain and doesn't activate in the female brain, unless she might be gay?
Here's a thought; In all of your writings on this subject of transvestitism, you never directly made mention of how that dressing up as a female is a direct contrast to our masculine side. Think on this abit, a 'contrast'. Hence the absolute fascination and sexual turn on within. We create this woman out of our own source and substance or intellect. This absolute source or spiritual essence of our consciousness is neither male nor female. Yet we form our male personalities from it and our attributes of intelligence, wisdom and knowledge aren't male or female either. We can create or will a female persona out of the self same ungendered substance. I say that is a gift and a talent. What say you?
Keep up the good works of self discovery, it will help us all understand our hidden natures and make peace with them. I would love to see a day as you suggested that everyone would understand these sexual preferences once and for all and allow us to just be.
Sincerely, Woody
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