I really wonder how many have used the ship of Theseus as metaphor for a transphobe talking about a trans person in this way. If so many different genes have been activated and deactivated by that time are the genetics even the same anymore at all? Is it still the same ship that first set sail all those years ago?
Certainly the ship of Theseus is a great analogy for race. For example, is a child who is visibly white, and with one grandparent of color, really mixed race? It’s a fascinating and deeply human question.
I can't go there with you on that, because the whole question of the Ship of Theseus is about change over the lifetime of a person or thing, which race just plain isn't about--and especially not how a person was racialized by our culture as they grew up, which is a whole *different* question.
I love this! One comment on simplification of base pairs: So many people don't even remember the short names, and need memory aids like my AT🧬GC t-shirt. Hmm, I feel a song coming on...
As always, a wonderfully written article. I only wish that the transphobes would actually understand that their basic, high school understanding of genetics and chemistry, is far more nuanced than they are willing to understand. I find this all very fascinating, thank you so much for sharing it with us.
I'm excited about this! Some effects of HRT have made themselves evident after only 5 months. (The other girls on my Discord server have high hopes for my transition). I'm so stoked that these changes are expressed down to the genetic level!
And epigenetics may only be the 2nd later of the iceberg. Something like 95% of DNA never gets converted into mRNA. What does it do? At least one hypothesis is that the “junk DNA”, the 95% that doesn’t turn into mRNA, acts as the structural basis for bringing proteins next to each other, so they can efficiently coordinate their actions
The cell is so packed with protein; if the cell was an Olympic size swimming pool, and each protein was a swimmer, that pool would have 10,000 swimmer jammed in, ranging in size from Shaquille O’Neill to a newborn infant
So getting this crowd organized is super important and the “junk dna” might be doing precisely that.
I am soooooooo NOT into science, it isn't even funny. But this was fascinating even though I understood very little of it. I was a math guy, not science. I had to take a Biology class to get my Bachelor's degree and hated it (hahahaha).
So, my DNA changed, eh? I do look very different, and behave even differently. So different that when my father saw me for the first time as a man, he couldn't stop staring at me. Every time I turned around, he was looking like, "Who is this person?"
Unfortunately, that time was during/after my sister's funeral. It was 2 years after I began my medical transition. My voice dropped a lot and I already had a delightfully deep voice to begin with. I'm like the young man at the wedding ... in my element. My DNA now agrees with me.
Thanks for breaking this down in a way I could understand a little. Fascinating.
This is exciting to understand, and really it makes sense, since we know that so much of what makes you male or female is more dependent on hormones than actual genetics. Sharing this all over the placea
Yes! I am so curious about how this comes into play with neuroscience and potential neurological/psychological changes due to HRT? I’m just a teen with very little scientific knowledge, but if anyone with more info on this wants to write further on it, I highly encourage you!!
This is one where, to my knowledge, there hasn't been anywhere near enough research to even guess. Right now, what we have are trans folks' anecdotal reports, and contrary to a saying I've heard enough to irritate me a lot as a researcher, the plural of anecdote is *not* data.
This one is particularly hard to investigate too, because of the limits of fMRI research on brain structures, so it's not one we'll have an answer to for a good while.
I predict exactly zero MAGAs will read this article. A majority of self identified MAGAs are functionally illiterate and haven't read a book since high school, including their Bible. A majority of MAGA homes own NO books, with the possible exception of a bible.
Oh, agreed, and sorry I didn't acknowledge that distinction. I really meant that I enjoyed what you wrote and I REALLY WISHED it could be communicated to them in a meaningful way, and I admit I have no idea how to accomplish that.
Sigh. I'm always hoping for epistemological solutions, even where and when as you say, there are unpersuadables.
Cherrypicking study results is how bad science happens. You don't get to pick one case of one thing and claim it means something for everyone; biology is incredibly diverse and incredibly messy, so outliers aren't just expected, they're normal. And the nurture/nature dichotomy, which that article embraces, is a false dichotomy--genetic predisposition is a thing, and so are the effects of life on genetic expression.
I really wonder how many have used the ship of Theseus as metaphor for a transphobe talking about a trans person in this way. If so many different genes have been activated and deactivated by that time are the genetics even the same anymore at all? Is it still the same ship that first set sail all those years ago?
The Ship of Theseus is a very apt metaphor for transition--and something I have plans to write about in the future!
Certainly the ship of Theseus is a great analogy for race. For example, is a child who is visibly white, and with one grandparent of color, really mixed race? It’s a fascinating and deeply human question.
I can't go there with you on that, because the whole question of the Ship of Theseus is about change over the lifetime of a person or thing, which race just plain isn't about--and especially not how a person was racialized by our culture as they grew up, which is a whole *different* question.
I love this! One comment on simplification of base pairs: So many people don't even remember the short names, and need memory aids like my AT🧬GC t-shirt. Hmm, I feel a song coming on...
'Cause it's DNA, It's in your genes,
DNA, We don't know what it all means,
DNA, I'm on HRT,
DNA, And I'll redefine me!
As always, a wonderfully written article. I only wish that the transphobes would actually understand that their basic, high school understanding of genetics and chemistry, is far more nuanced than they are willing to understand. I find this all very fascinating, thank you so much for sharing it with us.
I'm excited about this! Some effects of HRT have made themselves evident after only 5 months. (The other girls on my Discord server have high hopes for my transition). I'm so stoked that these changes are expressed down to the genetic level!
And epigenetics may only be the 2nd later of the iceberg. Something like 95% of DNA never gets converted into mRNA. What does it do? At least one hypothesis is that the “junk DNA”, the 95% that doesn’t turn into mRNA, acts as the structural basis for bringing proteins next to each other, so they can efficiently coordinate their actions
The cell is so packed with protein; if the cell was an Olympic size swimming pool, and each protein was a swimmer, that pool would have 10,000 swimmer jammed in, ranging in size from Shaquille O’Neill to a newborn infant
So getting this crowd organized is super important and the “junk dna” might be doing precisely that.
I am soooooooo NOT into science, it isn't even funny. But this was fascinating even though I understood very little of it. I was a math guy, not science. I had to take a Biology class to get my Bachelor's degree and hated it (hahahaha).
So, my DNA changed, eh? I do look very different, and behave even differently. So different that when my father saw me for the first time as a man, he couldn't stop staring at me. Every time I turned around, he was looking like, "Who is this person?"
Unfortunately, that time was during/after my sister's funeral. It was 2 years after I began my medical transition. My voice dropped a lot and I already had a delightfully deep voice to begin with. I'm like the young man at the wedding ... in my element. My DNA now agrees with me.
Thanks for breaking this down in a way I could understand a little. Fascinating.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Hey, to get me to even read it was a miracle. I saw Biology and started to run away, but you're a good writer that kept me engaged. :)
This is exciting to understand, and really it makes sense, since we know that so much of what makes you male or female is more dependent on hormones than actual genetics. Sharing this all over the placea
Yes! I am so curious about how this comes into play with neuroscience and potential neurological/psychological changes due to HRT? I’m just a teen with very little scientific knowledge, but if anyone with more info on this wants to write further on it, I highly encourage you!!
This is one where, to my knowledge, there hasn't been anywhere near enough research to even guess. Right now, what we have are trans folks' anecdotal reports, and contrary to a saying I've heard enough to irritate me a lot as a researcher, the plural of anecdote is *not* data.
This one is particularly hard to investigate too, because of the limits of fMRI research on brain structures, so it's not one we'll have an answer to for a good while.
Thank yo so much; I am now smarter and more informed. Biology is not destiny, and it can be updated at its most basic level. Frickin' cool!
Fascinating, wow! Thank you.
I predict exactly zero MAGAs will read this article. A majority of self identified MAGAs are functionally illiterate and haven't read a book since high school, including their Bible. A majority of MAGA homes own NO books, with the possible exception of a bible.
I mean, this wasn't written for them. It was written for us.
I'm a rhetorician. I don't waste time trying to persuade the unpersuadeable.
Oh, agreed, and sorry I didn't acknowledge that distinction. I really meant that I enjoyed what you wrote and I REALLY WISHED it could be communicated to them in a meaningful way, and I admit I have no idea how to accomplish that.
Sigh. I'm always hoping for epistemological solutions, even where and when as you say, there are unpersuadables.
I have sincerely very high hopes that one day we will be able to write disease out of our DNA
Well… consider, for instance, that every neurodivergence andany disabilities in general are considered diseases. That would be eugenics.
And it's likely they'd eliminate trans embryos too, if they could identify them.
So I hope you understand why I'm generally against such an approach.
Two humans fused into one. https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-05-08/the-fusion-of-two-sisters-into-a-single-woman-suggests-that-human-identity-is-not-in-our-dna.html
I we are Relentlessly Gay. ❤️🔥💜🌙
Cherrypicking study results is how bad science happens. You don't get to pick one case of one thing and claim it means something for everyone; biology is incredibly diverse and incredibly messy, so outliers aren't just expected, they're normal. And the nurture/nature dichotomy, which that article embraces, is a false dichotomy--genetic predisposition is a thing, and so are the effects of life on genetic expression.
It's not nature OR nurture. It's both, together.
https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/what-we-know-about-trans-brains