What if God planned for Chaz to be born transgendered? Maybe that's why his brain is hardwired differently. It might be God has a lesson about accepting difference to teach us. As long as we continue to treat people as freaks we are causing unnecessary suffering. It's easy to be depressed in such a situation.
I don't believe it's as straightforward as "born a girl", or "born a boy" for transgendered individuals. Embryonic development is not an either-or situation in this regard, sometimes it's an in-between thing. The chromosomes may say you're one thing but if there is something unusual going on with the hormone levels, receptors and other factors that play a role you may develop differently than what your chromosomes say. Androgen insensitivity syndrome is an example of this.
Androgen insensitivity syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Another example could be homosexual identification. It has been shown that boys with older brothers are a little more likely to be homosexual and it is theorized that this is because the hormonal environment in the mother's womb is changed because of previous male pregnancies. The mother might be immunized to certain antigens important in the masculinization of the brain.
IMO it is conceivable that transgender identity may develop because of a similar situation. The sex organs are fully developed earlier than the brain so if there is something going on a bit later in the pregnancy it might not cause a genital abnormality but it might cause the brain to be hardwired differently and lead to a different gender identity. Usually transgender people say they've always known they're different somehow and I see it as a sign that it's probably something they were born with.
If I'm on the right track it's a gross oversimplification to say that a transgendered person is a boy, or a girl, when it might be that their genitals are one thing and their brain is another. IMO the brain is more important than the genitals in determining who we are but that's just me.
IMO talking about depression confuses the issue a little. Anybody can be depressed, regardless of gender identification, and while some depression may be related to the trials one faces as a transgender individual it's a different disorder and one can't IMO conclude that it was wrong to do the sex change operation just because it doesn't solve all the problems. If someone jumps from a building trying to commit suicide and breaks his leg we wouldn't say the doctors should not have operated the leg just because the person continues to be depressed and kills himself soon thereafter. Even if the depression and suicide rates continue to be high among people who have undergone sex change, it is not necessarily indicative that it was wrong for them to have the operation. IMO it may be indicative that depression in that group needs to be screened and treated more actively and that we as a society need to change so we don't make their situation worse by discriminating against them.
If I took part in Dancing with the Stars I would be voted off the first thing because I'm a total nobody and an appalling dancer to boot but I probably wouldn't cause a collective sigh of disgust because of who I am and people wouldn't start to argue about my identity, thinking they know better, wondering if my mother can really love me because I'm such a freak.
