=== Transcript of Instagram-1793589429550.mp4 ===
I got this comment on one of my videos, and it was just brilliant. If you don't understand how a person can be trans, you need to hear this.
Be warned, it's long, but I think it's worth it. And I'm sorry I don't have the name of the person who shared it. If you recognize it as yours, please let me know and I'll give you credit.
I have a PhD in biochemistry and taught at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. I know what current science says and why. It says being transgender is completely real and is installed in a person's brain when they are still an embryo. It cannot be changed.
Here is the science: differences in brain structure and/or function, hormone levels during different phases of development, and even genetics seem to shape our internal sense of gender identity. Sometimes these line up with the factors determining body anatomy. Sometimes they do not. Gender identity seems
to be hardwired into the brain.
There is no evidence to support the idea that gender identity can be changed through counseling or therapy. Such attempts have actually been shown to be harmful. We all have a gender identity or an internal sense of self as belonging somewhere on a gender spectrum.
For most people, their gender identity aligns with what is stereotypically expected for their body anatomy, biological sex. In some folks, however, it does not. These individuals may identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender fluid, expansive.
We now have data that helps to explain why and how this might happen.