[GoneGirl]

I guess it all reverts to the perennial argument - environment verses genetics - I don’t perceive anything in my genetic past which would have made me receptive to the changes which I now seem to be embracing but neither do I really see that the difficulties of my youth, which subsequently gave me a tremendous appreciation of different lifestyles the cause for the self identity issues I now face....

You touched on a point, Miranda, that I wanted to expand on briefly. There is a body of evidence, or at least educated speculation, that one's gender identity is determined not at conception, but during fetal development in the womb. Thus, it's primarily a congenital, not a genetic phenomenon.

The theory goes that the bio-male fetus's brain must be subject to a certain level of testosterone from the mother and the fetus for the brain to develop as would be expected for a boy. If there's insufficient T, the brain stays more or less like that of a female. The degree to which this occurs varies widely so as to produce the broad spectrum of gender identity mismatch that we see in the population.

BTW, I like this theory whether it's true or not. Part of my seeking acceptance from my wife relied on this theory to explain my gender-variant nature. It's nobody's fault, and there's nothing that can undo it.

Clara