Growing Boobs

[JohannK]

I have actually heard one seemingly valid arument in favour of that viewpoint.  From what I understand, pregnant women are sometimes given estrogen to prevent problems.  The thing is, while they're not given hormones at first (which is when the actual organs form), they do sometimes get estrogen later in the pregnancy, while the brain of the fetus is still developing.  It is known that the mother's hormone levels can cause irregularities in the unborn child's development, and we all know that there are differences between the male and female brain.

That said, I do also firmly believe in the nurture arguments.  So as far as I see it, it's a mixture.  Likely leaning heavily towards nurture (disclosure:  I didn't fact-check the nurture-related statistics myself, but the person I heard them from does).  (EDIT:  Thinking again, maybe I should clarify.  When I say nurture, I mean it in the broader sense of the word.  So that can be parenting mistakes, bullying, peer pressure, and so on.)


This bit is purely speculative, but who knows?  Maybe that can even be a contributing factor in cases of pubertal gynecomastia?  Keeping in mind that the brain to some degree regulates hormone levels.

It's actually intersting how people tend to stop caring about being politically correct as they get older.

[p.r.1974]

The only choice is accepting ourselves as we are, barring causing actual harm to others, and living our truth. I would offer this to those that believe gender or sexuality are a choice. Imagine if the predominantly heterosexual world wasn't; and all the breeder comments and bigotry over someone else's private life were reversed.

Ingrained habits taught to us from birth from every source teach us to comfortably survive. For those of us living our truth, most of us would be in a box if we had to live that isolating survival existence. Really living is not for the timid.

[JohannK]

It looks like we're jumping between different versions of the site.  I have my doubts about this version, but let me quickly say this:  I didn't say that it's a choice (if you thought so).  But I do believe it's caused at least to a large extent by external influences at an impressionable age.

[p.r.1974]

My apologies, the comment was for people in general that think it is a choice, I did not clarify that. For me it has been genetics at the start with regard to initial growth, and genetics with side effects of blood pressure and other meds later. Every persons path is different in how they identify. For me, early nurture/guidance is only that; though it may help or hinder the time it takes for us to find our truth. I just don't see it changing the nature of how we identify or who we are attracted to. 

[JohannK]

Personally, I've come to the conclusion that one should not underestimate the power of the mind.  There are just too many things that have been done through suggestion, that almost seem impossible (I haven't seen this one myself, but I've heard that one person for example got sores/wounds on the skin from hypnosis).  Thinking about it though, it does make sense to some extent (I've been warned personally that a condition I have can cause a loop of my brain responding to pain by causing imflammation, which causes pain, and so the cycle goes on).  Remember, your mind is not just the part you're aware of.  I'd rather give such theories some benefit of the doubt (especially if they make sense to me), considering how little we actually know of what the mind is capable of.  That being said, if something sounds impossible to me then I treat it as likely so.

Anyway, I think we're getting a bit off-topic here.  Mods tend not to like it when threads veer off-topic.  So at some point we'll have to end this discussion.