Transgender news: Scientist finds people who can “switch” between genitals
Indian supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community participate in the ‘Queer Azadi March’ in Mumbai on January 28, 2012.
Human sexuality, it appears, has never been more complex.
Not to mention elusive.
A scientist has studied a group of men and women who report that their sexual identity can switch involuntarily to that of the opposite sex and back again, Scientific American reports.
For some people, the switch can occur several times a day.
Most of them however, report the frequency is more like once a week.
The “switch” is accompanied by the sensation of phantom breasts or genitalia of the non-biological sex.
The study, Medical Hypotheses, “Alternating gender incongruity: A new neuropsychiatric syndrome providing insight into the dynamic plasticity of brain-sex,” was published by Laura Case, a graduate student of renowned neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran.
It is based on research with 32 respondents (11 anatomically female) from an online bigender forum that hosts about 600 members.
Scientific American listed the following fascinating quotes from research subjects:
"I still have the same values and beliefs, but a change in gender is really a change in the filter through which I interact with the world and through which it interacts with me."
I"f I’m in male mode and I see someone crying, I’ll think more along the lines of ‘Man up… while if I’m in girl mode I’ll think more long the lines of ‘Oh sweety!’"
"I sometimes wake up thinking I have a penis,” says one female respondent, “or that I have no breasts…I usually end up in tears and I can’t get out of bed because once I get up I’ll know for sure it’s not really true and it’s just my mind playing tricks on me, so I just lie there and cry. It’s strange though because I normally don’t even want to have a penis.”
This is an amazing discovery, with the possibility of deep implications for what it means to be transgender in the world.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.