[The Lizard of Oz]

(02-05-2014 01:43 PM)Ocelot Wrote:  

I'm not sure if I agree. If this were the case, why would there be a disproportionately higher number of trannies in Thailand than the USA?

LOL, good question -- that's one of the mysteries of the universe. I'm not sure the Thais themselves know what's gotten into them.

But to be serious -- of course the Thais are a genetically distinct group, so the fact that it's more prevalent there does not argue against a genetic basis. Further, what social acceptance does do is bring this into the open -- there are sissies in Provo, Utah but they wouldn't be so eager to flaunt it as they might be in Bangkok, so you wouldn't be as cognizant of them. But they're still there.

(02-05-2014 01:43 PM)Ocelot Wrote:  

What about people who think they are animals trapped in human's bodies? People who identify as a person with only one arm so strongly, they apply to have an arm surgically amputated (yes, these people do exist)? Is that genetic too? They have all the same components of transsexualism.

Yeah, I'm aware of these (quite rare) sexual fetishes. Yep, they're probably genetic too, but they are so rare that there is not much to say about them.

(02-05-2014 01:43 PM)Ocelot Wrote:  

The problem is, it's difficult to trust any studies done in a field even vaguely connected to gender these days. I'm not saying I'd be surprised if there was a genetic component to transsexualism, but it just seems more likely that it's a mental disorder, like dissociative identity disorder.

It's not a matter of studies -- it's just something you see. You can literally see a 3 or 4 year old little boy and say, yep, that one's going to be a fag, oh well, too bad. The way they walk, act, their posture, manner of speech, you name it -- all these things are super-characteristic from an early age, across cultures. So I don't need any studies to know that you're pretty much either born that way or you're not.