Having gender variance classified as a mental disorder and relying on that for health insurance coverage is a bit of false logic. Most insurance companies in the U.S. exclude treatments for Gender Identity Disorder, but there hormonal imbalances are covered for all kinds of conditions that are not related to GID. People who need to have medical support to manage their gender variance can and should be able to access competent medical care through health insurance, but for the most part right now a GID diagnosis must be avoided if coverage is expected. There are transgender health advocates working to address this issue systemically, both from the activist side as well as from the health care provider side. Thanks, by the way, for your generally excellent responses to the questions raised about this sorely neglected and unfortunately too long obscured topic.
It's Not as Simple as Pink or Blue
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East Stroudsburg, PA: I am 21, was born male, but am certainly transgender female. I live right now in a rural area, and have hardly any money for any kind of hair removal, which I would want to do first because I LOATHE shaving facial hair. It's painful.
I know a lot about transgender issues, but I do want to ask a question being that y'all are talking about me.
My question is obvious... Why? Why is this happening to all of us? Why us? We can't be all out of our minds. Most of us are very normal people. So what's wrong with us? Why are we faced with this extremely difficult life? Is there any scientific reason for this?
Debra Rosenberg: So far science doesn't seem to have a good answer to your question. We don't know enough about the differences between male and female brains to see if transgender brains are different. We don't know if there is some kind of genetic effect. And so far attempts to prove that transgender people were affected by hormones or other endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy have not panned out. Perhaps one day researchers will get a better handle on this.
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Glendora, CA: Is transgender more common in boys?
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