From - A REVIEW OF PROCEDURES FOR THE DETECTION
OF RESIDUAL PENICILLINS IN DRUGS 232)
"FDA became aware in the early 1960's
of the potential health hazards associated with one particular contamination
problem when reports were received that young males, reportedly being administered
a vitamin preparation,were developing female characteristics.FDA inspections
revealed manufacturing practices suspected of causing contamination with
diethylstilbestrol."
Given
the wide spread acceptance of Money's theories that babies are born
psychosexually neutral, it's easy to understand why transsexualism was
labeled as a mental disorder by the medical community (Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Modern
research indicates that gender identity has much more to do with
prenatal exposure to hormones than other factors and many of us would
like to see Gender Identity Disorder removed from the DSM just as
homosexuality was in 1973. Studies such as the following are
lending credibility to the concept that GID is not a mental illness.
From - Symptom profiles of gender dysphoric patients of transsexual type compared to
patients with personality disorders and healthy adults, IR Haraldsen, AA Dahl, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 264)
"Results: TS patients scored significantly
lower than PD patients on the Global Symptom Index and all SCL90
subscales. Although the TS group generally scored slightly higher than
the HC group, all scores were within the normal range.
Conclusion: TS patients selected for sex
reassignment showed a relatively low level of selfrated psychopathology
before and after treatment. This finding casts doubt on the view that
transsexualism is a severe mental disorder."
Note: PD stands for personality disorder and HC indicates Healthy controls.
From the perspective that a transsexual
persons body gender does not match their brain gender, transsexualism
is more appropriately defined as
a birth defect and not as a mental disorder. In the case of male to
female transsexual people, if we insist on labeling them as mentally
ill and it turns out that they have brain structures which are
typically female as has been shown to be the case in an ongoing study
from the Netherlands....... well then half of the human race have
similar brain structures. Of course the same argument applies for
female to male transsexual people. Perhaps one day a new phrase such as
Body/Brain gender disparity disorder or something similar will replace
Gender Identity Disorder.
It is becoming apparent that
for some of us the disparity between brain and body gender may very well have been caused by the
medical community. The effects of thalidomide were readily apparent but the
effects of drugs to the neurological development of the fetus are not as
easily seen.
A growing number of professional and non professional people are working to have GID removed from the DSM.
GID Reform Advocates
How
Frequently Does Transsexualism Occur ?
The
etiology of gender identity disorder is a difficult subject, below are
several quotes from sources which are very different. By far the
best discussion on the etiology of Transsexualism can be found in
Christine Johnson's new thesis
Transsexualism: An Unacknowledged Endpoint of
Developmental Endocrine Disruption?.
In
addition she does an excellent analysis of how applicable the numbers
from DES-Sons-International relate to the etiology of DES
associated transsexualism. Page 109 (Page 118 on the PDF page
counter) .
From the Merck Manual "Estimated incidence is about 1 in 30,000 male births and
1 in 100,000 female births."
From the DSM-IV-TR, August, 2000, p. 579:
”Prevalence: There are no recent epidemiological
studies to provide data on prevalence of Gender Identity Disorder.
Data from smaller countries in Europe with access to total population
statistics and referrals suggest that roughly 1 per 30,000 adult males
and 1 per 100,000 adult females seek sex-reassignment surgery.”
The Harry Benjamin Standards
of Care web site indicates
the following: "The earliest estimates of
prevalence for transsexualism in adults were 1 in 37,000 males and 1 in
107,000 females .The most recent prevalence information from the Netherlands
for the transsexual end of the gender identity disorder spectrum is 1 in
11,900 males and 1 in 30,400 females."
A study undertaken by Professor Lynn Conway
based upon estimated surgeries performed in the US: "The result is a rough lower bound on post-op prevalence,
which we find to be about 1:2500. In other words, at least one or
more in every 2500 adult males in the U.S. has had SRS and become
a postop woman."
A UK study estimates 1 in 3752 males
have transitioned.
A newly release study by
Mary Ann Horton, Ph.D. entitled the
The Cost of Transgender Health Benefits in the US estimates the
number to be close to 1 in 3000. "1 in
3000 have surgery once in their lifetime".
Although transsexual people have existed since the
beginning of human history, in recent years our numbers (per capita)
have been constantly increasing and the medical community's estimates
are not in line with actual surgeries performed. Why? I've actually
asked Health Canada if they knew how many transsexual people there are
in Canada and they have no idea. What is odd is that they have
absolutely no intention of tracking the numbers.
Who and what to believe ??
Not only does the medical community have problems
with statistics on transsexual people, they also have problems agreeing on
the physiological effects DES has on the male human fetus. From NIH 72): "Observations in DES-exposed
male offspring (both humans and mice) include subfertility and infertility,
decreased sperm counts, hypoplastic cryptorchid testes, epididymal
cysts, testicular tumors, anatomical feminization, microphallus, hypospadias,
retained Müllerian remnants, and prostatic inflammation."
See also 127)130). However there are always studies published which
report contradictory results 129).
We know from studies on mice that the effects of DES can be very
dramatic (see caller 9, 76)) 125) 29):
"That male mouse will have a prostate seminal
vesicle, all the other plumbing to get the sperm from the gonad out,
but it will also literally have a functioning set of fallopian tubes, uterus,
cervix, and an upper portion of the vagina."
"The penis of this mouse is also feminized
to the extent that there is a higher prevalence of a condition called
hypospadias."
A few people in Dr.Kerlin's group
have discovered, usually by accident, that they also have portions
of a female reproductive tract, i.e., after receiving
an ultrasound for a hernia, or when the parents finally confess after
remaining secretive for many years that as a baby their child had corrective
surgery.
In relation to intersexed children, Dr. Diamond comments:
"Typically, patients discover their condition
from an inadvertent family slip, community gossip or personal investigation
into puzzling aspects of their lives. One must expect that the truth
will emerge. And when it does, the patient will learn anyway what she
or he was never supposed to have found out."
To the best of my knowledge no one has done a comprehensive study
on the internal structures of exposed males. See DES Action Canada for a list of DES related
effects and issues or check out the very cautious CDC site.
