Hand preference, sexual preference, and transsexualism

Atypical handedness patterns, i.e., persons being less exclusively right-handed, have been found previously in large samples of male and female homosexuals and in small samples of male and female transsexuals compared to controls. The posited role of prenatal androgen influencing both cerebral hemispheric dominance and psychosexual development warrants further study with large samples of transsexuals. 443 male-to-female transsexuals and 93 female-to-male transsexuals were studied for their use of the right or left hand in six common one-handed tasks. Both male and female transsexuals were more often nonright-handed than male and female controls were. Results suggest an altered pattern of cerebral hemispheric organisation in male and female transsexuals.