[Misty0732]

I think it's safe to say even without the benefit of pm, I'll still have some feminine leanings in certain aspects of my personality.

That doesn't surprise me at all, Flame. My understanding is that one's female gender identity is formed during fetal development, or maybe, more accurately stated: one's male gender identity is formed during fetal development, but for some that process is interrupted leaving the brain partly or fully female. That can't be undone. Taking estrogens can't turn a male brain into a female brain. My "brain rewiring", if you can call it that, is due primarily to a reduction in T which allows my female identity some freedom to express itself in a positive way. I'd be quite surprised if allowing my T to go back up, by female gender ID would quietly go back into the magic lamp. Too late for that..LOL..I'm hooked!

Clara

Clara,

I agree that brain development and gender identity is determined in the womb. What makes some of us different is a less than full determination (that is, in my case, I apparently started out with the right hormone mix but something changed during gestation, and now I find myself somewhere in-between).

I believe that T is somewhat toxic to my brain. Hence my brain reacts in a negative way and produces urges and desires that I desperately want to avoid. I think that the "brain re-wiring" that is often referred to here, at least in my case, is lowering T and increasing E which in turn satisfies my partially female brain. The trick for me is finding the right balance and sticking to it.

Misty