"Living out something you've spent countless hours daydreaming about and wondering about is an experience that isn't easily put into words." - Will Krisanda Finding Masculinity is a collection of stories from a small cross section of the transgender male community that shares insight into the diversity of life experiences of transgender men, beyond the traditional narrative. This anthology examines the many facets of life that transition impacts; transitioning on the job, emotional and spiritual growth, family, navigating the medical community, as well as romantic relationships. The stories within come from scientists, teachers, fathers, veterans, and artists who share how being visible as the masculine humans they identify as has developed, changed, and evolved their sense of masculinity.

Geary (psychology and anthropology, U. of Missouri-Columbia) thinks culturally constructed gender roles alone cannot account for the differences in the social behavior of men and women. He turns to Darwin's theory of sexual selection as the best avenue for understanding. His main focus is how th etwo elements of competition between males and of females selecting mates has influenced human behavior over the centuries and across cultures.

It's obvious why only men develop prostate cancer and why only women get ovarian cancer. But it is not obvious why women are more likely to recover language ability after a stroke than men or why women are more apt to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Sex differences in health throughout the lifespan have been documented. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health begins to snap the pieces of the puzzle into place so that this knowledge can be used to improve health for both sexes. From behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of self as male or female in society). Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health discusses basic biochemical differences in the cells of males and females and health variability between the sexes from conception throughout life. The book identifies key research needs and opportunities and addresses barriers to research. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health will be important to health policy makers, basic, applied, and clinical researchers, educators, providers, and journalists-while being very accessible to interested lay readers.

In this ground-breaking study, Aaron Devor provides a compassionate, intimate, and incisive look at the life experiences of forty-five trans men. Emerging into 21st-century political and social conversations, questions persist. Who are they? How do they come to know themselves as men? What do they do about it? How do their families respond? Who are their lovers? What does it mean for everyone else? To answer these and other questions, Devor spent years compiling in-depth interviews and researching the lives of transsexual and transgender people. Here, he traces the everyday and significant events that coalesce into trans identities, culminating in gender and sex transformations. Using trans men's own words as illustrations, Devor looks at how childhood, adolescence, and adult experiences with family members, peers, and lovers work to shape and clarify their images of themselves as men. With a new introduction, Devor positions the volume in twenty-first century debates of identity politics and community-building and provides a window into his own self-exploration as a result of his research.

Deciding to transition gender is likely to be the biggest decision you will ever make in your life. It will change your life irrevocably - and based on research, it will most likely change it for the better. Nevertheless, it is not an easy choice to make. When the author, Thomas Underwood, began to become outwardly the man he always was inside, he found it a very difficult and challenging journey, emotionally and physically. He sought advice from friends, counselors, support groups, websites, and books. Thomas spent fourteen years going through his transition from female to male, and learned a great deal from this experience. Having lived now as both a woman and a man, Thomas wants to share his journey, in the hope that it will help others on the same journey. When transitioning it is usual to need lots of help and advice - it's a normal and healthy part of your transition. This book will provide some of the guidance that the author wishes he had had on his journey. He shares how he experienced his transition, and also provides a wealth of information and resources.

Deciding to undergo sex change surgery is a life-altering decision that needs to be considered thoroughly. If you're at the point where being female is affecting your emotional and mental health, or where you simply hate yourself for being a female, then perhaps a female to male (FTM) sex change surgery is the best thing to do so that you can finally feel more authentic in your own body. Sex changes from female to male have been successfully done thousands of times all around the world. This success rate is excellent with more and more people opting to resolve their Gender Dysphoria through sex change in order to lead happier lives. Before moving forward though, there is a lot of important information that you should be aware of. But just as with any procedure, there are risks involved, and it's crucial that you are aware of them. Sex change can be a daunting process, especially if you don't know the specifics of and what to expect from the procedure. Knowing and understanding the process will make for a smoother transition to your new gender and social environment after the surgery. The process of changing gender is not as simple or straightforward as you may think. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (or WPATH) has certain standards that must be met before you will be allowed to undergo surgery. Also, it's important to fully prepare yourself for the permanent, irreversible transformation that gender reassignment surgery will have on your entire persona. This book was written to provide you with various things you should consider as you make this critical life-changing decision. I'm going to help you understand the process of gender reassignment surgery, and also explain what the actual steps are that you can follow. Included too are estimated expenses, as well as other advice and tips to help guide you along this life transformation.

Human genomes are 99.9 percent identical—with one prominent exception. Instead of a matching pair of X chromosomes, men carry a single X, coupled with a tiny chromosome called the Y. Tracking the emergence of a new and distinctive way of thinking about sex represented by the unalterable, simple, and visually compelling binary of the X and Y chromosomes, Sex Itself examines the interaction between cultural gender norms and genetic theories of sex from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, postgenomic age. Using methods from history, philosophy, and gender studies of science, Sarah S. Richardson uncovers how gender has helped to shape the research practices, questions asked, theories and models, and descriptive language used in sex chromosome research. From the earliest theories of chromosomal sex determination, to the mid-century hypothesis of the aggressive XYY supermale, to the debate about Y chromosome degeneration, to the recent claim that male and female genomes are more different than those of humans and chimpanzees, Richardson shows how cultural gender conceptions influence the genetic science of sex. Richardson shows how sexual science of the past continues to resonate, in ways both subtle and explicit, in contemporary research on the genetics of sex and gender. With the completion of the Human Genome Project, genes and chromosomes are moving to the center of the biology of sex. Sex Itself offers a compelling argument for the importance of ongoing critical dialogue on how cultural conceptions of gender operate within the science of sex.

This Briefs is the first national study on female-to-male (FtM) transgender people’s experiences in Australia. It describes an extensive study that fills the current gap in Australian research on the specific experiences and beliefs about transition for contemporary Australian FtM transgender people. Following an overview of current literature on the various aspects of and approaches to transgender issues, this briefs describes in detail the design, participants and findings of the study. The Briefs offers useful statistics and stories related to participants' identities, education, health, sexual and social lives. It ends with recommendations to all those working in the various offices and institutions that FtM transgender people encounter in their everyday life, and represents and invaluable resource for researchers, service providers and gender diverse communities alike.

"In Gender Shock, Phyllis Burke explodes the many myths surrounding our rigid gender system of male and female by looking through three lenses of gender identity: behavior, appearance, and science. Analyzing the latest research in psychology, genetics, neurology, and sociology, Burke finds that gender (or behavior) is not the result of one's biological sex (the body itself) and that gender and sexuality are separate elements of the self. With common sense and compassion, Burke challenges the notion that men and women are from different planets by revealing how there are more variations within each sex than there are between the two."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A breakthrough work in neuroscience—and an incisive corrective to a long history of damaging pseudoscience—that finally debunks the myth that there is a hardwired distinction between male and female brains We live in a gendered world, where we are ceaselessly bombarded by messages about sex and gender. On a daily basis, we face deeply ingrained beliefs that sex determines our skills and preferences, from toys and colors to career choice and salaries. But what does this constant gendering mean for our thoughts, decisions and behavior? And what does it mean for our brains? Drawing on her work as a professor of cognitive neuroimaging, Gina Rippon unpacks the stereotypes that surround us from our earliest moments and shows how these messages mold our ideas of ourselved and even shape our brains. By exploring new, cutting-edge neuroscience, Rippon urges us to move beyond a binary view of the brain and to see instead this complex organ as highly individualized, profoundly adaptable and full of unbounded potential. Rigorous, timely and liberating, Gender and Our Brains has huge implications for women and men, for parents and children, and for how we identify ourselves.