Verbal characteristics of male and female transsexuals

Slater's Selective Vocabulary Test was given to a group of 56 male and a group of 14 female transsexuals and the results were compared with those of 15-year-old boys and girls, and a group of normal male adults. It was found that whereas normal males and females have a ratio of gender appropriate words to cross gender words of approximately 2 to 1, in both male and female transsexuals that ratio is more like 1 to 1. The way in which this abnormal vocabulary acquisition may come about is briefly discussed. The factors related to this abnormal learning are not known.