Tag Archive | biology

Michael Bailey Is A Danger to Trans Kids – Those Kids Know Who They Are

May29

Recently, on another forum, some individuals were defending Michael Bailey’s utter BS that Bailey was using to defend reparative therapy being used on trans kids. There are a lot of problems with Michael Bailey’s nonsense, not the least of which is that he may be nearly as bad as Zucker up in Canada.

Bailey claims that 80% of all trans identified kids never transition and settle into their lives as their birth sex. But the 80% figure is, as Bailey admits, decades old. It is also highly flawed. The core flaw in that study? Children were being actively discouraged from their gender identity (reparative therapy) and Bailey and his henchmen failed to followup after age 18 to see if these people stayed in their birth gender their entire lives or if they subsequently transitioned as adults. I personally know two older transwomen who Bailey claimed to have “cured”. They said they simply felt oppressed, faked it, waited til they were older, and transitioned when they were out of their parent’s (and Bailey’s) control.

Subsequent advances in diagnostic techniques now allow much clearer distinction between what the profession refers to as “gender curious” children and children who are actually transgender.

Two separate recent studies followed two groups of children who were identified as trans using modern diagnostic criteria. One was in San Diego through Rady Children’s Hospital. The second was in The Netherlands. Both groups were followed for over 10 years, and in both groups, 100% of children identified as trans early on chose to transition and live in their identified gender.

Here is info about the Dutch study. There were 55 participants. All transitioned and are happy.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-teens-become-happy-healthy-young-adults/

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/09/16/3567886/transgender-puberty-suppression-study/

Here is the California study involving Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. There were 42 participants. All transitioned and are happy.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/03/10/3631788/letting-transgender-kids-transition-is-for-their-own-good/

In short, Bailey is a quack. He’s full of nonsense. He deliberately quotes outdated statistics. He ignores the last 20+ years of neurobiological research that says this is a medical condition that cannot be reversed or “cured”. And he remains an advocate for conversion therapy, which every major medical and psychological organization in the United States says is immoral and unethical because it consistently leads to increases in suicidality.

Bailey is simply pushing his reparative therapy agenda, just like Zucker.

Siding with Bailey is dangerous, because anyone who does is lending credence to his “reparative therapy for trans kids” argument. And if anyone believes that works, they can tell it to Leelah Alcorn.

One Stop Trans Brain Research List

Aug14

The following list of links is to demonstrate that there is a very large body of evidence pointing to brain differences beginning in utero as the fundamental cause of most instances of transexuality. Part of the resistance to the brain-sex theory comes directly from Dr. Anne Lawrence who critiqued two early studies in this area (clear back in 2002) but who has a personal vested interest in arguing a different basis as she has based her entire career on that different basis. This list is not even close to comprehensive.

General Neurobiological Studies, Abstracts, Articles, and Commentary
Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden
Variants of Gender Differentiation in Somatic Disorders of Sex Development: Recommendations for Version 7 of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care
Androgens and the evolution of male gender identity among male pseudo-hermaphrodites with 5-alpha reductase deficiency
On the quest for a biomechanism of transsexualism: Is there a role for BDNF?
Transgender Science: How Might It Shape the Way We Think about Transgender Rights
A sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity
Regional gray matter variation in male-to-female transsexualism.
White matter microstructure in female to male transsexuals before cross-sex hormonal treatment. A diffusion tensor imaging study.
White matter microstructure in transsexuals and controls investigated by diffusion tensor imaging
The microstructure of white matter in male to female transsexuals before cross-sex hormonal treatment. A DTI study.
A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality.
Sexual differentiation of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in humans may extend into adulthood.
Specific cerebral activation due to visual erotic stimuli in male-to-female transsexuals compared with male and female controls: an fMRI study.
Male-to-female transsexuals show sex-atypical hypothalamus activation when smelling odorous steroids.
Intersex, brain differences, and the transgender tipping point
Sexual differentiation in the developing mouse brain: contributions of sex chromosome genes
Update on the Biology of Transgender Identity
Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain
Cortical activation during mental rotation in male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals under hormonal treatment.
Gender Orientation: IS Conditions Within The TS Brain
Increased Cortical Thickness in Male-to-Female Transsexualism
Prenatal Exposure to Female Hormones: Effect on Psychosexual Development in Boys
Sexual differentiation of human behavior: Effects of prenatal and pubertal organizational hormones
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology,
Brief Report: Female-To-Male Transsexual People and Autistic Traits
Dr V. Drantz Lecture: Myth & Science of Sexuality
Male–to–female transsexuals have female neuron numbers in a limbic nucleus
Discordant Sexual Identity in Some Genetic Males with Cloacal Exstrophy Assigned to Female Sex at Birth
The role of androgen receptors in the masculinization of brain and behavior: what we’ve learned from the testicular feminization mutation.
Regional cerebral blood flow changes in female to male gender identity disorder.
Sexual Hormones and the Brain: An Essential Alliance for Sexual Identity and Sexual Orientation
“Prenatal hormones versus postnatal socialization by parents as determinants of male-typical toy play in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia”
Disorders of sex development expose transcriptional autonomy of genetic sex and androgen-programmed hormonal sex in human blood leukocytes.
Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation
Changing your sex changes your brain: influences of testosterone and estrogen on adult human brain structure
Clinical Implications of the Organizational and Activational Effects of Hormones
Dichotic Listening, Handedness, Brain Organization and Transsexuality
Biased-Interaction Theory of Psychosexual Development: “How Does One Know if One is Male or Female?”
Increased Cortical Thickness in Male-to-Female Transsexualism
Prenatal exposure to testosterone and functional cerebral lateralization: a study in same-sex and opposite-sex twin girls.
Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol(DES) in males and gender-related disorders:results from a 5-year study
Chapter 5 of The Transsexual Phenomenon
Prenatal phthalate exposure and reduced masculine play in boys
Brain gender identity
Current Thinking on the Etiology of Gender Dysphoria
Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review
Begging the Question: Autism in Trans Men
Largest Study to Date: Transgender Hormone Treatment Safe
Hormone Therapy and Venous Thromboembolism Among Post-Menopausal Women
Transsexual Gene Link Identified
Transgender: Evidence on the biological nature of gender identity
Networks of the brain reflect the individual gender identity
Transsexual differences caught on brain scan
Brain Mapping Gender Identity: What Makes A Boy A Girl?
MTF Brains.mov
Male-to-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers in a Limbic Nucleus
The (bi)sexual brain: Science & Society Series on Sex and Science
Transsexual gene link identified
The catastrophically bad New York Times op-ed on transgender research, debunked
Charlie Rose: The Brain Series – Gender Identity (an hour long video)
Think Like A Man: Testosterone Treatment Allows Transgender Men To Think And Talk Like A Man
(Note that the above article title is problematic in that it implies trans men are not men so only talk “like” men. But the hormonal research is interesting.)
(Patho)physiology of cross-sex hormone administration to transsexual people: the potential impact of male–female genetic differences
Homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications to DNA This is important because it ties back again to hormonal in utero differences driving white matter brain structure differences.
High-Dose Testosterone Treatment Increases Serotonin Transporter Binding in Transgender People
Sex Hormones Administered During Sex Reassignment Change Brain Chemistry, Physical Characteristics
The brains of men and women aren’t really that different, study finds – This study actually reinforces the neurobiological understanding of being transgender. I explain this here, in New Brain Study Reinforces Neurobiological Explanation of Being Transgender
Sex biology redefined: Genes don’t indicate binary sexes
A Systematic Review of the Effects of Hormone Therapy on Psychological Functioning and Quality of Life in Transgender Individuals
Androgen Receptor Repeat Length Polymorphism Associated with Male-to-Female Transsexualism
Blurred lines: Human sex chromosome swapping occurs more often than previously thought
Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment
Sex isn’t chromosomes: the story of a century of misconceptions about X & Y
Removing transgender identity from the classification of mental disorders: a Mexican field study for ICD-11 (Note that this study shows that transgender mental health issues are not because we are transgender, but because people are cruel and inhumane to transgender people generally, resulting in widespread social rejection.)
Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. “Although the crucial question, namely how such complex functions as sexual orientation and identity are processed in the brain remains unanswered, emerging data point at a key role of specific neuronal circuits involving the hypothalamus.”
Is There Something Unique about the Transgender Brain? Imaging studies and other research suggest that there is a biological basis for transgender identity
Study shows that trans women who have access to GCS and FFS have quality of life and suicide rates comparable to the general population.
2017 Chinese Transgender Population General Survey Report
Familial Sex Reversal This is an interesting study about how widely variant sex genetics truly is.
Testosterone Treatment in Trans Boys provides Measurable Improvements in Quality of Life

Miscellaneous and Useful Documents For Trans Individuals

For convenience, the DSM-5 clearly states, gender dysphoria is not a mental disorder.

Gender Dysphoria Explanation for DSM-5

The following link helps expose why the autogynephelia diagnosis is pure garbage, which means Bailey, Blanchard, etc., are basically full of nonsense. (Because women get aroused thinking of themselves as women too.)

Autogynephilia in women.

The following link is to the 2019 AMA Friend of the Court briefing to the US Supreme Court in the Bostock case.

AMA Amicus Brief in 2019 Bostock Case

Studies, Articles, and Commentary About Trans Children’s Sense of Gender Identity
Gender Cognition in Transgender Children
Update: Gender Cognition in Transgender Children
Transgender Kids Show Consistent Gender Identity Across Measures
This Is What Happens To Transgender Kids Who Delay Puberty (Study next line below)
Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment
Transgender teens become happy, healthy young adults
Allowing Transgender Youth To Transition Improves Their Mental Health, Study Finds
Transgender kids: Painful quest to be who they are
Center For Excellence for Transgender Health: Youth: Special Considerations
Mom Fights for Controversial Medicine for Transgender Youth
Free to be themselves
Perth Year 3 student in transgender row after school cross country run
“80 percent change back”
A New Study About Transgender Kids Proves Something Majorly Important
STUDY: Transgender Kids Are Not ‘Confused’ About Their Gender Identities
Study: Trans kid’s gender implicit; govt report condemns conversion therapy
Good Outcomes With Early Transition in Transgender Youth

Gender is not strictly a social construct

Jul10

I just had cause to have to type this yet again for someone else, so I thought I’d place this answer here, where it can be easily referenced and seen. I’ve used the image in this reference before but it’s good to have the full reference too.

Gender is not solely a social construct. It is, in fact, partly biological. If I can show you just one image that demonstrates this (and there are dozens of scientific studies about this now), will you believe me?

This link contains pictures of actual brain scan results done during autopsies. Please note the image partway down the page. That image is a stained cross sectional slice of the central section of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the hypothalamus (BSTc) in the brain.

Please note that the upper left image is the BSTc of a heterosexual adult male. Then lower left image is the BSTc of a homosexual adult male. They are almost identical, aren’t they?

The upper right image is the BSTc of an adult heterosexual female. It is very different from that of the males, isn’t it? And the lower right image is the BSTc of a male-to-female transsexual. Her BSTc is very similar to the adult heterosexual female BSTc. It is also nothing like the male BSTc, is it?

This is just one of nearly a dozen different physical brain differences between transsexual individuals and the rest of the population. I, we as transsexual women, literally have a female brain inside a male body.

Most people do not realize that there is this duality inside them. They don’t realize it because their brain and their bodies match. So to them it seems like one uniform whole.

But to those of us born this way, it is a constant clawing pain inside. It’s horror as your body becomes something that your brain isn’t intended to work with.

And we don’t know how to fix the brain. These brain structures form and set between the 8th and 16th week of pregnancy. Once set, they can never be changed. No amount of testosterone will change my brain into male. In fact, more testosterone usually makes us more depressed.

So no, gender is not solely a social construct. That is a myth promulgated by Dr. Money and Dr. McHugh (who recently wrote a pile of crap in the Wall Street Journal) back in the 1960s at Johns Hopkins. And their assumptions have all been disproved. Gender really does have a partial biological component and when that component is mismatched to person’s body, significant psychological trauma can occur. This is why we take hormones and undergo surgery – to align our body with our brains, because we have no idea how to do the reverse.

For more information on how hormonal levels in the womb impact individuals, please review this 2011 AMA Webcast. It is about an hour long but contains important medical information that relates to how transsexual brains come to be the way they are.

http://media01.commpartners.com/AMA/sexual_identity_jan_2011/index.html

Medical Information about Transwomen in Sports

Mar9

The following was put together by Transadvocate, a trans advocacy website, on their Facebook page. In order to not lose track of it, I am putting it here. This is not my work! I am copying it for ease of reference! Thank you Transadvocate and Rehan! If I find another link to this, I will add it here for completeness as well.

In regards to the Crossift HQ refusal of Chloie Jonnson’s participation at the games here are some facts that should be considered before any sensationalistic claims are made without proper knowledge.

First of all the XY vs XX argument is invalid and not sufficient. There are well documented cases of XX males and XY females. The SRY gene region is normally found on the Y chromosome but is not a reliable method of testing since not only is not always found on the Y chromosome it also triggers a gene cascade not well understood by scientists yet that in turn affect other tissues during development which may lead to altered sexually dimoprhic traits in individuals, such as brain structure.

This is evidenced by scientific literature cited

Male-to-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers in a Limbic Nucleus
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jcem.85.5.6564

and

Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relevance for gender identity, transsexualism and sexual orientation

Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09513590400018231
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09513590400018231

and

Sexual Differentiation of the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis in Humans May Extend into Adulthood
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/3/1027.short

and

A sex difference in the human brain and it’s relation to transsexuality.
http://depot.knaw.nl/821/1/15106_285_swaab.pdf

with subsequent study by Dr.Swaab et al. And Kruijver et al. showing differences in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, SDN, Hypothalamus and gray matter volume underlining the importance of brain physiology.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0165380688902313

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811909003176

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J082v28n03_07#.UxoCwRbPPFI

http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr&id=JFpq6hYQRhQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA41&dq=brain+dissection+transgender+Dr.+Swaab&ots=FjtewJ28wz&sig=8F-QOG1Q5QCEIMe1oQwqlWNb9ko#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/2005to2009/2006-atypical-gender-development.html

Also studies showing it to be irreversible

http://aace.metapress.com/content/nm510264636815vk/

There is also an article linking hormone related genes to the atypical sexual dimoprhism. Genes CYP19 (Aromatase responsible for testosterone to estrogen conversion), AR (androgen receptor, the “key” hole for the cell that the testosterone “key” acts on to elicit it’s effects) and ESRB (Estrogen Receptor Beta which is responsible for the initiation of differentiating gene cascades in the fetal brain during fetal hormonal “washes”)

here

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453005000454

Continuing on the topic of performance and gender testing the IOC released a statement before the 2012 summer Olympics.

“The new rules state that a panel of independent medical experts will examine through a blood test the testosterone levels in a woman and will then make a recommendation about whether she could be eligible to compete.”

The IOC and NCAA have decided after extensive research (independently) that Hormone profile is the primary determining factor for gender qualification in sport.

The Olympics requires 2 years post surgery before being allowed to compete at an INTERNATIONAL event.

The NCAA requires only one year of HRT.

This was determined the minimum to not have any unfair advantage as evidenced by the quotes from respective authorities below.
“Requiring sex reassignment surgery before allowing participation for the high school or collegiate student athlete is medically unnecessary and not linked to competitive equity IOC regulations requiring surgery for Olympic transgender athletes have been controversial and it would be unreasonable to”make this requirement for high school and college students”
ERIC VILAIN M.D., PH.D., PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GENDER-BASED BIOLOGY AND CHIEF MEDICAL GENETICS DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS, UCLA
“Research suggests that androgen deprivation and cross sex hormone treatment in male-to-female transsexuals reduces muscle mass; accordingly, one year of hormone therapy is an appropriate transitional time before a male-to- female student athlete competes on a women’s team
ERIC VILAIN: M.D., PH.D., PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GENDER-BASED BIOLOGY AND CHIEF MEDICAL GENETICS DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS, UCLA
“Transgender student athletes fall within the spectrum of physical traits found in athletes of their transitioned gender, allowing them to compete fairly and equitably”
DR. NICK GORTON
AMERICAN BOARD OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, MEDICAL LEGAL CONSULTANT, TRANS HEALTH CARE

Further more, the difference need to be put into perspective when transgender women are compared with cisgender women they fall within a female range after the required time period (1 year NCAA, 2 years post-op IOC).
“Differences within the sexes are considerable and often times larger than differences between the sexes ”
DR. WALTER BOCKTING, PH.D.
PRESIDENT OF WPATH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL SCHOOL

These facts are presented based on scientific literature as cited
here
Elbers JM, Asscheman H, Seidell JC, et al. Effects of sex steroid hormones on regional fat depots as assessed.
here
Australian Sports Commission. Transgender in sport.www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2001/ascpub/women_transgender.asp (accessed 22 Mar 2005).

here
as contrasted between these two
↵ Stamm R, Veldre G, Stamm M, et al. Dependence of young female volleyballers’ performance on their body build, physical abilities, and psycho-physiological properties. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2003;43:291–9. [Medline][Web of Science]
↵ Viitasalo JT. Anthropometric and physical performance characteristics of male volleyball players. Can J Appl Sport Sci1982;7:182–8. [Medline]
and here
Pilgrim J, Martin D, Binder W. Far from the finish line: transsexualism and athletic competition. Fordham Intellectual Property Media & Entertainment Law Journal2003;13:495–549.
And the rest of these studies

↵ Federation Internationale de Volleyball. Medical regulations, ed. 2004. http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/main_menu/downloads/file_28430/fivb_med_regulations_-_revised_7.pdf (accessed 23 Mar 2005).
↵ Lausanne Declaration on Doping in Sport (adopted by the World Conference on Doping in Sport). 1999.www.sportunterricht.de/lksport/Declaration_e.html (accessed 23 Mar 2005).
↵ Ritchie I. Sex tested, gender verified: controlling female sexuality in the age of containment. Sport History Review2003;34:80–98.
↵ Batterham AM, Birch KM. Allometry of anaerobic performance: a gender comparison. Can J Appl Physiol1996;21:48–62. [Medline]
Thomas JR, French KE. Gender differences across age in motor performance: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull1985;98:260–82. [CrossRef][Medline][Web of Science]
↵ Shepard RJ. Exercise and training in women. Part I. Influence of gender on exercise and training responses. Can J Appl Physiol2000;25:19–34. [Medline][Web of Science]
↵ Dickinson BD, Genel M, Robinowitz CB, et al. Gender verification of female Olympic athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002;34:1539–42. [CrossRef][Medline][Web of Science]
↵ Simpson JL, Ljungqvist A, de la Chapelle A, et al. Gender verification in competitive sports. Sports Med 1993;16:305–15. [Medline][Web of Science]
↵ Introducing the, uh, ladies. JAMA1966;198:1117–18.
↵ Doig P, Lloyd-Smith R, Prior JC, et al. Position statement. Sex testing (gender verification) in Sport. Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine. 1997. http://www.casm-acms.org/PositionStatements/GendereVerifEng.pdf (accessed 23 Mar 2005).

There is no “residual” advantage and often times transgender athletes are at a disadvantage due to severely lowered testosterone levels in comparison to native females. Cisgender women have a higher testosterone than transgender women who have had reassignment surgery and the related information.
http://transathletes.org/hormones.php

Other issues that arise in the form of practicality

1) Her numbers pale in comparison to other female athletes

Crossfit profile comparison between her and CLB:http://games.crossfit.com/compare/161983/8404

Back Squat: 225 lb Clean & Jerk: 165 lb Snatch: 125 lb Deadlift: 275 lb

These numbers pale in comparison to the top competitors as well as compared to many other regional athletes.

2) Let her compete, if she has an unfair advantage it will be very apparent and provide evidence for these as of yet unfounded claims of unfair advantage. There are yet to be any instances of a transgender athlete dominating competitions if this were to be so likely.

3) Saying this will open the door for other males to “become” transgender and dominate is very short sighted. Firstly they would have to adhere to the strict protocol involving Hormone Replacement Therapy which would remove that advantage. Secondly transgender people face a MASSIVE amount of discrimination not to mention the amount of money and physical pain of procedures that need to be endured to complete the requirements. The transgender suicide rate is 41%, forcing someone to live as the opposite identity is devastating psychologically and would also be true of someone trying to “fake” it. (Remember once the surgery is done it is a PERMANENT change, is winning crossfit that important?)

4) Having larger bone structure and lowered muscle mass constitutes a disadvantage.

5) Furthermore there is no consistent testing policy in crossfit for PED’s. A cis-female using AA has a much larger and much more distinct advantage which could be considered universally as an “unfair advantage”.

The most shocking thing is the completely deplorable and inappropriate reply from Crossfit HQ, who seem to be the ones lacking in understanding of the human genome and biology.

Why Transition is the Overwhelming Treatment of Choice

Mar2

Recently, at a forum where I am involved, a poster asked about evidence for non-transitioning therapies for transsexuals. Now on that forum are a tiny number who consistently pound an anti-transition drum. But as I demonstrated in my reply, their position is not congruent with the position of the medical community today. Here is what I wrote, with minor edits to make it more appropriate for this blog.

__________________________________________________

The AMA is now overwhelmingly on board with fundamental brain differences being the root cause of transsexuality. And the APA (both of them) both state that the most effective therapy statistically for transsexuals is transition.

One of the most important of these is brain differences concerns the BST in the hypothalamus. “In the hypothalamus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) is thought to be important for gender identity. One study showed that male-to-female transsexuals had decreased BST staining identical to that for genetic XX female subjects (8). In contrast, genetic XY male subjects had significantly increased BST staining. BST staining was not influenced by sexual orientation or sex hormone levels.”

These differences can be seen below:

MTF_Brain_Scan_differences

In addition, further brain structure differences are being identified as well that impact transsexuals.

This NIH document references the study (by van Kesteren PJ, Gooren LJ, Megens JA. An epidemio-logical and demographic study of transsexuals in The Netherlands. Arch Sex Behav. 1996;25:589–600) that sex reassignment as overwhelmingly statistically successful in addressing the needs of the transsexual community. Given the size of the TS community the size of the study is significant. If the rates of transsexuality are as high as 1 in 600 as has been suggested by various studies, and if 1 in 2500 actually undergo SRS which have been suggested by direct analysis of number of surgeries in the US per year, then the size of the study in question was almost 25% of the SRS population of the Netherlands and 3% of the overall Netherlands TS population. If the rates of transsexuality are lower, then the size of the study is even more significant because it represents an even larger cross section of the TS population!

Here is the NIH position:

Quote

__________________________________________________

Treatment options for patients with gender identity at variance with physical appearance can be evaluated in the order of extent of invasiveness. The least invasive intervention would be counseling such patients to accept the circumstance. As already noted, however, no available data support the success of such therapy. The next least invasive approach might be a targeted treatment of the underlying problem. The medical community, however, has little knowledge about the brain region associated with gender identity, and even less is known about techniques for manipulating it.
Although current transgender treatment is relatively invasive and does not address the problem completely, it is the most successful intervention available. Studies report very high transgender patient satisfaction with sexual reassignment. Thus far, the largest evaluation has been a survey of Dutch transgender patients (10). Among the 1,285 patients surveyed, 1,280 were satisfied.

__________________________________________________

As noted, “no available data support the success” of counseling patients to simply accept their circumstances. The second discussed option, manipulating the brain to become more accepting of the body, is not currently possible because the “medical community, however, has little knowledge about the brain region associated with gender identity, and even less is known about techniques for manipulating it“.

This leaves transitioning as the primary therapy for dealing with GID. As has been noted in the past here, there are people who do manage to live out their lives without transitioning to live in a new gender role. Good for them. But they are also the statistical minority among patients suffering from significant GID. For that category of patients, the number one therapy of choice today is transitioning (aside from suicide and I think we all agree that suicide is a bad option, yes?).

Therapists will assist a patient in trying to meet their personal goals but a transsexual suffering from significant GID ought to be prepared to discover that non-transitioning treatments are very likely to fail to bring them to a level of comfort with themselves that allows them to live a full and fruitful life. Certainly there will be those cases that do succeed at this, but as the NIH document notes, the medical community’s primary treatment therapy today is transition, including HRT, and optionally including surgeries to further assist the body to conform to the expectations of the mind.

Therefore, in answer to the original poster’s question – you are unlikely to find any large scale answer to your question of non-transitioning treatments that work. In almost every case where that does occur, the patient has developed their own unique regimen for coping with their GID that is specific to that patient. The single treatment option that does work and which is medically and statistically supported at this time by the medical and psychiatric and psychological communities is transition.

To the original poster, if you choose to not transition, it’s pretty much you and your therapist in uncharted waters. It’s possible you will succeed. Good luck if you choose that path. I will not dissuade you from taking whatever path you choose but I will stand by the statements in this post that transition is the proven most effective treatment for transsexuals suffering from severe GID.

P.S. This is the reason that there is so-called “cheerleading” for transition in the community – because it works. And because it is overwhelmingly statistically successful. Those are facts.

__________________________________________________

The above was the body of my response in that discussion thread.