Every person is born with a physical gender identity (usually determined by the presence of a penis or a vagina), and at some point in life they develop an emotional gender identity (that's why we have transsexuals, homosexuals, and so on.) But when does this emotional gender identity actually begin?
According to this research, it looks like our brains are wired up to reflect that emotional gender identity – it isn't just something that we 'learn' from the environment we are raised in. Rather, there are significant differences in how male, female, and transsexual brains are wired up internally, and that these differences are caused by hormonal development.
All in all, they suggest that it is quite possible that a person's emotional gender identity may be wired into their brains as early as within the womb.
/via +Hans Youngmann
Our sense of belonging to the male or female gender is an inherent component of the human identity perception. As a general rule, gender identity and physical sex coincide. If this is not the case, one refers to trans-identity or transsexuality. In a current study, brain researcher Georg S. Kanz of the University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Medical University (MedUni) Vienna was able to demonstrate that the very personal gender…
Thanks for the tag, +Sophie Wrobel . This is pretty cutting edge, and there are more questions than answers right now.
+Abe Pectol maybe +Rajini Rao can answer that better – i am not aware of other factors, but merely want to point out that no conclusion on which factor is most relevant is statically possible at this point.
+Sophie Wrobel what factors, aside from genetics and the hormones of the carrier (which can possibly be a surrogate mother as well, much as I understand), contribute to the fetus' gormonal balance?
+Abe Pectol From a scientific standpoint – the paper conclusions support the hypothesis that the distinguishment in gender identity takes place before birth, but are not sufficient to draw any conclusions on whether gender identity development takes place before or after birth, let alone whether the relevant hormones originate from the mother or the child itself.
Infrequent hormonal balances a.k.a. disbalances in the carrying women?