Hormones. Everyone has them, but do you know just how powerful these molecules are? How they affect your entire existence, as you know it? So let’s talk about them, but with a focus on what happens when someone undergoes hormone therapy.

When many people hear the phrase “hormone therapy,” the common thought is: It is only for women going through menopause, but we’re going to look at hormone therapy used for transitioning genders.

No matter what your gender, age or race, everyone has both estrogen and testosterone in them. Estrogen and testosterone are the main components in the body that makes a person look male or female. Now what makes a person feel male or female, well, that’s an entirely different post…

Estrogen molecule made of estrogen pills by healthmindandlife.com

In females, the ovaries and adrenal glands produce estrogen and testosterone. Testosterone in females is important for muscle strength, sex drive, and a sense of well-being. Now men have about 10 times more testosterone than females, and males can produce testosterone, in the testes, much faster than females can in their ovaries.

In men, testosterone is chemically converted to estrogen, as the body needs it for maturing sperm and possibly regulating sex drive.

So when a person transitions to the opposite gender, they undergo hormone therapy to adjust the levels of estrogen and testosterone in their body. This essentially puts a patient through a second puberty. While the new hormones can’t totally reverse the effects of the first puberty, it’s the development of the secondary sex characteristics which makes the person begin to physically appear as the gender they identify with.

When males transition to females (MTF), they’re also given anti-androgens. These block testosterone from doing what testosterone is supposed to do and lowers the amount of testosterone overall. This significant reduction of testosterone means the typical secondary sex characteristics in men will start to go away. Muscle mass will shrink, fat will redistribute, and body hair will become thinner and lighter.

In order for the female attributes to develop, transitioning males take forms of estrogen in gels, pills, or shots.

Although hormone levels may reach target levels in the first year of therapy, it takes roughly 2-3 years for the physical changes to occur, but hey, that’s still quicker than puberty.

Females transitioning to males (FTM) are given testosterone, sometimes called T. Does that mean cup of tea? Nope. Ice-T? Still no. Mr. T? Um.. Testosterone – that’s the one. T can be applied topically with a gel or through routine shots. The increase of T lowers the voice, produces facial hair, and increases muscle mass. This increase of T also lowers the amount of estrogen in the body causing the breasts to decrease in size, the shoulders and hips to broaden, and the menstrual cycle to stop.

It takes about one to two years of being on these hormones for a born female to attain male levels of estrogen and testosterone.

So there you have it. Estrogen and testosterone through hormone therapy play a huge role in physically transitioning genders. And since these hormones are so powerful, you should never take hormones without talking your doctor first. I hope you enjoyed this dose of biochemistry for you.

As found on Youtube

Kathoey – The Third Gender

Kathoey in Thailand 0810 by Roberto Trm

Publisher’s Note: I received this article from Walton Cawein and thought it would be of interest to my readers…

Many people from the western world have ask me this question, what is a kathoey? Well a kathoey is an eastern word for the western word ladyboy. In Thailand a kathoey or a katoey is considered a person who is of the so called “third sex”. I believe this is much much more accurate then what the western world considers what they call a “transgender” person.

In the west many people consider a kathoey *transgender” to posess some kind of a birth defect. This is of course not true at all. This kind of false information comes from many psychologists and psychiatrists who have been taught a completely wrong false paradigm in there so called “education”. Which was no education at all but actually was a false ideology. Here is a definition of “third gender” taken from Wikipedia that I believe is much more accurate then what is being falsely taught in the western world:

The terms third gender and third sex describe individuals who are categorized (by their will or by social consensus) as neither man nor woman, as well as the social category present in those societies who recognize three or more genders. The term “third” is usually understood to mean “other”; some anthropologists and sociologists have described fourth, fifth, and even some genders. The concepts of “third”, “fourth” and “some” genders can be somewhat difficult to understand within Western conceptual categories.

Although biology usually determines genetically whether a human’s biological sex is male or female (though intersex people are also born), the state of personally identifying as, or being identified by society as, belonging to neither the male or female genders is considered relative to the individual’s gender role in society, gender identity, and sexual orientation. While some western scholars have sought to understand the term ‘third gender’ in terms of ‘sexual orientation,’ several other scholars, especially the native non-western scholars, consider this as a misrepresentation of ‘third genders.’

To different cultures or individuals, a third gender may represent an intermediate state between man and woman, a state of being both (such as “the spirit of a man in the body of a woman”), the state of being neither (neuter), the ability to cross or swap genders, another category altogether independent of men and women. This last definition is favored by those who argue for a strict interpretation of the “third gender” concept. In any case, all of these characterizations are defining gender and not the sex that biology gives to living beings.

The term has been used to describe hijras of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have gained legal identity, Fa’afafine of Polynesia, and Sworn virgins of the Balkans, among others, and is also used by many of such groups and individuals to describe themselves. Like the hijra, the third gender is in many cultures made up of individuals considered male at the time of birth who take on a feminine gender role or sexual role. In cultures that have not taken on Western heteronormativity, they are usually seen as acceptable sexual partners for male-identifying individuals as long as the latter always maintain the “active” role.

Walton Cawein

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Kathoey – The Third Gender related articles…

[simpleazon-link asin=”0252032160″ locale=”us”]The Third Sex[/simpleazon-link] [simpleazon-image align=”none” asin=”0252032160″ locale=”us” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MFQuMvEbL.jpg” width=”200″]

The recognition of a third gender seems to be spreading from Thailand. Here is another post on a website you might find interesting:
Queer History #6: Looking into Kathoey; Origin of Gender Culture in …

https://rainbowartsproject.wordpress.com3/6/13

Kathoey of Ladyboys are a common sight in Thailand, especially in big city like Bangkok. International tourists flock in to see them, consume sex from them, document them but many seem to humiliate. Ironically, Kathoey …

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Much like seeing a show in Las Vegas, it seems you must see a Katoey show while visiting Thailand, read about one visit to such a show at this site:
icu: eva in thailand: A Kateoy Show

https://evainthailand.blogspot.com3/8/09

Because ladyboys, or kateoys, are an aspect of Thai society that does not seem to appear the same way in our culture back home, most of the Thai Studies students have been asking to see a kateoy show pretty much since …

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One wonders if any other country will become so enamored wih those of the third sex as Thailand has become. Here is another article on the subject more from the tourist guide point of view, check it out here:
Thailand Ladyboys | Lady Boys in Thailand | Katoey | Thailand …

https://holidayguidethailand.com7/21/11

Ladyboys are everywhere in Thailand and they have infected all the tourist hot spots throughout the country. Like them or not, they are there to stay.

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Wacoal Mood Boost-up bra: Kathoey

Wacoal Mood Boost-up bra: Kathoey Creative News & Cannes Lions 2013. Subscribe for more videos! https://ministrypro.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Mini…

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Kathoey