More on the scientific causes of gender-variant identity:
http://www.gires.org.uk/dysphoria.phpIt's been a long-standing saying in the transgender community that "Gender is about what's between your ears, not between your legs." Referring to the fact that your mind, brain, and self-identity is what determines gender, not your genitalia. And there is a growing mountain of scientific evidence that this is exactly true: the sex-differentiated regions of your brain are what determine your sense of identity as 'male' or 'female' in the womb, long before your sexual organs have even developed.
Some data on the statistical prevalence of transsexualism, showing that it's far more common than most people think!
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/ ... lence.htmlhttp://www.timesunion.com/local/article ... z1fz2xxxmVI get the feeling that awareness of transgendered people is growing (as evidenced by both the growing amount of media coverage and legal/societal acceptance, and the growing number of transgendered people being murdered around the globe. We're becoming more visible, and finally gaining some legal rights and equalities, though we have a long way to go, as many laws and protections given to the LGB community don't usually extend to their TI members.
Another good article on Transsexualism 101:
http://tranarchism.com/2010/11/26/not-y ... trans-101/And an interesting article that reflects briefly on the differences between Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sexual Identity, as well as the gender expressions "allowed" to men and women, and how they differ. I'd like to find more research on that sometime.
http://www.gendertalk.com/info/tgism.shtml