Why am I transgender?

Perhaps that question never occurred to you, but it is something I've wondered about.

Since my mind and body don't agree about my gender, is there a chemical reason for their disagreement? Environmental to an extent? Is it similar to Klinefelter Syndrome and has a genetic basis?

Apparently, I'm not the only one asking that last question. Augusta University, a medical research school in that Georgia city. They have undertaken a study to find out if being transgender has a genetic component:

https://www.augusta.edu/research/studies/trial.php?study=1010884

I am at once both fascinated and a little afraid of what that study will reveal. On one hand, I truly want to know what made me the person I am. Why don't my mind and body align?

But there is also a disturbing aspect that has to considered.

If researchers find out that it is a genetically-caused condition, and they identify the particular gene[s] that lead to a person being transgender, then does it follow that they will try to find a way to turn off that gene early in a person's life? In other words: cure them of being transgender.

I have very mixed emotions about that possibility. On one hand, I have benefited greatly during my life from the progress of modern medicine. I have rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that only a generation ago was a life sentence of crippling pain and an early death. Now, thanks to the development of biological drugs that target specific aspects of my RA, my pain is tolerable and my life span greatly increased.

Same goes for my pituitary. Most people don't realize the importance of this little gland that sits at the front of your brain, right between your eyes. Despite its tiny size, it is referred to as the "master gland," as its main function is controlling the production of hormones.

I've had two pituitary tumors, both requiring surgery. As a result, this gland doesn't work properly and its main purpose of hormone production is basically non-existent. Thankfully, injections of testosterone allow me to stay alive. But those same injections prevent me from ever undergoing HRT. It's a cruel curse; the final blow to my ever enjoying the fullness of womanhood.

That said, I wonder if my pituitary issues also had a hand in me being transgender? I've never broached the subject directly with a doctor (of which I have seen many), as it is probably something they wouldn't have ever considered, nor has ever been studied.

That is why I am excited by this Augusta University study. As noted in the overview describing this clinical trial:

"The biological basis for transgender identity is unknown, but there does appear to be a genetic component especially involved in sex steroid metabolism in the brain during development."

If that turns out to be true, and since the pituitary is so important to the endocrine system, did my personal pituitary issues cause me to be born transgender?

I'll be following this story and if anything comes of it, I'll keep you informed.

--- Anni