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Hand preference, sexual preference, and transsexualism.
1Department of Psychiatry, Imperial College School of Medicine at Charing Cross, Gender Identity Clinic, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom. Richard.green@ic.ac.uk
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|December 1, 2001
Summary
Transgender individuals show atypical handedness patterns, with both male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals exhibiting non-right-handedness more frequently than controls. This suggests altered brain organization in transgender populations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Endocrinology
- Psychology
Background:
- Atypical handedness is observed in homosexual and transsexual populations.
- Prenatal androgen exposure is hypothesized to influence handedness and psychosexual development.
- Further research with larger transsexual samples is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate handedness patterns in a large sample of male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals.
- To compare non-right-handedness prevalence in transsexuals versus controls.
- To explore the potential link between prenatal androgens, cerebral organization, and gender identity.
Main Methods:
- Studied 443 male-to-female transsexuals and 93 female-to-male transsexuals.
- Assessed hand preference for six common one-handed tasks.
- Compared handedness data with control groups.
Main Results:
- Both male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals were more frequently non-right-handed than control groups.
- The findings indicate a higher prevalence of atypical handedness in transsexual individuals.
- Results support the hypothesis of altered cerebral hemispheric organization.
Conclusions:
- Transsexual individuals exhibit a higher prevalence of non-right-handedness compared to the general population.
- These findings suggest differences in cerebral organization patterns in transsexuals.
- The study supports the role of early neurodevelopmental factors in gender identity and brain lateralization.