Fraternal Birth Order Effect
I came across this on the internet whilst looking for something else, this is an interesting phenomenon that has I believe a bearing on the life of a crossdresser, me in particular. Fraternal Birth Order Effect (FBO) is the result of a study of 12,000 men in America, the researchers were looking into the effect older siblings may have on a person, with particular interest in homosexuality. I won't go into all the details, you can find it very easy on the web, but essentially they discovered that a male with an older brother was more likely to be homosexual and this effect increases with the number of older brothers. However the trial also discovered that the effect does not increase with sisters older or younger and younger brothers do not increase the effect. In numbers terms, each older brother increases the chance of being homosexual by 33%, in overall population terms, that rates the chance of being homosexual from 2% to 2.6%. Analysis suggests that between 15% and 29% of gay men owe their sexual orientation to this effect. Another part of the research also discovered that each successive boy born to a mother has a decreased birth weight compared with the previous brother. The next question is why does FBO occur? researchers have discovered, in simple terms, that women develop antibodies to male cells and this increases with successive pregnancies. These antibodies are passed to the foetus in prenatal life.
So what does all this mean for me? well I have an older brother, so thats a start, and although I do not regard myself as homosexual, I am on the trans spectrum. I have believed for some time the my crossdressing was the result of something happening during development in prenatal life. This research proves that sexual orientation, can be a result of prenatal development. It would be reasonable to assume, therefore that gender variation could also occur during this period. I would say then, that this at least partly confirms what I have believed for a number of years, that I was born this way and it is a natural occurrence. Just like being right handed, or having blond hair, we do not get a choice......
My only fear is that now they have identified how and why this happens, some scientist will try to develop a treatment to 'cure' it. That would, in my opinion a travesty, the world needs a wide mix of people, cultures and indeed 'genders' to survive. If the world was full of 'macho' men it would not be a pleasant place to live. I am proud of who and what I am, thank heavens nobody had found s 'cure' all those years ago.......................
If it's of any consolation, there was as discussion on Radio Four that asked the question what makes people gay? The scientist, who himself was gay, said that there are a number of genes that when active, have someone a propensity towards being gay. He says it was possible to have those genes and still be straight, as genetics are a complicated science and we don't fully understand them yet.
ReplyDeleteWith the above in mind, perhaps it's true for folk on the Trans Spectrum. That somehow it activates within us and to certain degrees.
There's also the effect of a person's upbringing and culture. I'm not saying behind trans or hat is a choice, I think we are what we are and the only choice - if it's one at all - is if we decide to hide who we are.
For some folk in the world, it's not possible to come out because they would be in danger.
I discovered in my forties in a casual conversation with my mum that I was probably a twin. By which I mean there were two fertilised eggs and one 'miscarried' very early. This is quite common and perhaps has no significance whatsoever but I found it thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI do believe we are toe people we are because of the way nature has taken it's course before we entered the world, so I have no doubt there is some connection, however minor..........
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