I do love science, and one of my favorite parts about it is the way in which we share information in peer-reviewed journal articles. There hasn’t been much research on transgendered people, especially the “rare” female-to-male variety… and as I filled out the MMPI for the unpteenth time as a part of my participation in a study on the mental effects of testosterone on transmen, it occured to me that I’ve done countless google searches for accredited resources and information to aid my transition as well as consulted with multiple doctors, but I haven’t exactly delved into the scientific resources directly.
And thus began my journey. I’m not going to pretend to understand the statistics or psychological methodology, I’m just going to bring forward highlights from my search. First, my general notes and comments:
- There’s virtually nothing on FTM transgendered people before the 1980’s.
- I don’t recall a single article pre-1990 that included more than 10 people in the sample.
- To my frustration, in articles prior to 1990-2000’s, males that were born in female bodies are referred to as transgendered females, and vice versa for MTF transgendered people. Not only was it flat out confusing at first, once I figured out the backwards system I was appalled by how little these researchers must have understood their subjects to label them with the opposite gender to which they identified with.
- There’s still not much in the journals on transgendered issues, the majority of the articles I found covered surgical techniques. (which we know I am grateful for surgical techniques, but there’s still a lot of ground to cover in general)
Onto the articles.
- It has been shown that gays and lesbians have a higher occurrence of being non-right hand dominant, and a study done in England with nearly 100 FTMs and over 400 MTFs. They concluded that in addition to homosexuals, transsexuals are also more apt to being non-right handed. The hand-dominance is of significance because it brings support for the prenatal hormone exposure influencing ones sexual orientation and gender identity. I’m left-handed, by the way.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 30, No. 6, December 2001 - While voice therapy/coaching is prevalent for people transitioning male-to-female, it is virtually unheard of for those transitioning female-to-male. It is generally accepted that the introduction of testosterone from hormonal gender reassignment changes the voice of a transman (umm, have you listened to my videos?) but there were 1, maybe 2 articles on the voice change of a female-to-male transexual. Sixteen transmen with over a year of hormone use returned a questionnaire for a study run in Belgium in the 1990’s. Almost all reported that they had wanted/expected a faster or more pronounced change in their voice from the testosterone, but they also reported that others did notice their change. In addition to those 16 participants, a more in-depth look was taken of 2 transmen and the frequencies of their voices. With such a small sample, virtually no conclusive results can be drawn except that testosterone therapy did indeed reduce the pitch of their voices.
Int. J. Lang. Comm. Dis., 2000, Vol. 35, No. 3, 427–442 - I was pleased to see an article covering the availability/comfort of gynecologic care for transmen conducted in 2008. While the conclusions were somewhat “duh” for me, I hope that the article reaches at least a few clinics that may someday have a transmale patient. Transmen know that they still need to receive gynecological medical attention, but several barriers get in the way of doing that. For transmen without reconstructed chests, breasts cause serious gender identity conflict, which would make a breast exam extremely uncomfortable despite the fact that breast cancer does not discriminate based on gender. Beyond that, pronoun usage and binary boxes on intake forms are difficult to navigate for some in the setting of a gynecological exam. (I swear, I’m going to stop avoiding healthcare after surgery)
J. Midwifery Womens Health 2008;53:331–337 - The last article that I’m going to mention was one that I really appreciated reading because it presented in a quantitative format what I’m trying to say when I say that life is better and easier for me now that I am on testosterone. A study run from San Francisco but largely conducted over the internet by survey questioned over 400 FTMs about their quality of life. Firstly, in all categories but Role Physical and Bodily Pain, FTMs from the US reported a significantly different than norm quality of life. Mental health issues were a decrease in quality of life from the norm, but Physical Functioning and Physical Health Summary were an increase from norm. The use of hormone therapy caused a significant increase in quality of life from those who did not take testosterone, especially in categories such as Social Functioning, Role Emotional, and Mental Health. Participants that had received chest reconstruction surgery also reported a higher quality of life than FTMs that had not. The authors noted that they did not collect information on the quality of intimate relationships during the transitional period of beginning testosterone and chest reconstruction. Win some, lose some.
Quality of Life Research (2006) 15:1447–1457
If you don’t have access to any of these articles, feel free to shoot me an email (link on the right). Also, if you know of an article that you think I might find interesting, please comment the citation below and I’ll be sure to read it.
Oddball Orbital Transformation: FTM 