PS - Some Reassurance?

UPDATE, 3/24/2023: Moments ago, Governor Beshear just vetoed the anti-trans/anti-drag bill!  🌈🌈🌈

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In the below post, I mentioned that I knew that rigorous assessments were done on children before hormone therapy and/or gender reassignment surgery was performed, but that I didn't know much about them and I wanted more info for my own reassurance with children undergoing hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery, out of the concern that if even one child gets the surgery but regrets it later, reproductively. 

So  I found this study (among others), which did help alleviate my concerns.   I think this one does the quickest and most succinct job of explaining the latest discoveries. 

So the study was conducted from blood samples of both cis-gendered patients and transgendered patients prior to undergoing gender hormone therapy and/or gender transition surgery.

The study was looking for genetic hormone expression in specific genomes that we know are somehow involved in gender identification (though we don't fully understand it yet).

In other words, the medical community has long suspected that there is a genetic component to gender identity and sexual preference, but we've been unable to find it - until now.

And the reason we couldn't previously is because it's not in the DNA (at least that we can find) - it turns out it has something to do with RNA hormone expression and hormone regulation - and not just from one genetic segment or one hormone or one section of the brain, but several, ...

"Results: The principal components analysis (PCA) showed that both populations (cis and trans) differ in the degree of global CpG methylation prior to GAHT. The 2-way ANOVA test showed 71,515 CpGs that passed the criterion FDR p < 0.05. Subsequently, in male assigned at birth population we found 87 CpGs that passed both criteria (FDR p < 0.05; fold change ≥ ± 2) of which 22 were located in islands.

 

The most significant CpGs were related to genes: WDR45B, SLC6A20, NHLH1, PLEKHA5, UBALD1, SLC37A1, ARL6IP1, GRASP, and NCOA6. Regarding the female assigned at birth populations, we found 2 CpGs that passed both criteria (FDR p < 0.05; fold change ≥ ± 2), but none were located in islands. One of these CpGs, related to the MPPED2 gene, is shared by both, trans men and trans women. 

The enrichment analysis showed that these genes are involved in functions such as negative regulation of gene expression (GO:0010629), central nervous system development (GO:0007417), brain development (GO:0007420), ribonucleotide binding (GO:0032553), and RNA binding (GO:0003723), among others

In other words, those who wanted to transition did differ significantly in genetic hormone expression and regulation in key markers believed to be involved in gender identity and sexual orientation markers - in both trans men AND trans women.

We don't understand how this works or why, but it is among some of the first evidence we have that gender identity and sexuality is not only not always binary, but may actually be a spectrum, and it's likely based on gene hormone expression in the brain.

More research needs to be done, but methinks that one day, there's going to be a lot of my fellow Christians who will have to stand before our creator and explain much.

Because I have suspected a biological and genetic component to this since my early 20s, when I began to believe that, most LGBTQ are "created this way" - it's not a choice - and the spiritual lesson isn't for them, it's for us - how to better love our neighbors as ourselves, despite differences.

And if you personally have ever had the blessing of being friends with most LGBTQ people, you'll find out that they are usually pretty easy people to love :)

(Of course, there are bad apples, like George Santos, but doesn't every group have them?)

Now, I will say that I hope this test becomes routine before children received gender reassignment surgery.  It would reassure us all, I think :) 

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PPS - I'm told my contract work will be picking up again, so this is likely my last post for a while. - UNLESS TRUMP GETS INDICTED! :)

I was just bored while we had a lull in work lol.