TikTok: The Truth About Trans Identity Is Plain To See
The brain reflects lived experience, and it lights up according to gender identity, not sex at birth.
By Ben Rein
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In 2020, Swedish neuroscientists put 30 trans and 30 cis research subjects into a brain scanner and showed them pictures of their bodies. Then they showed them images where their body had been morphed to look more masculine or more feminine. Guess what happened next.
@dr.brein Which gender does the trans brain resemble? ______ This video was supported by the Pulitzer Center through the Truth Decay Grant Initiative in collaboration with OpenMind Magazine. To read more about this topic, check out the accompanying article on OpenMind’s website, which you can find linked in my bio. #neuroscience #transgender #brain ♬ original sound - Dr. Ben Rein
In 2020, Swedish neuroscientists put 30 trans and 30 cis research subjects into a brain scanner and showed them pictures of their bodies. Then they showed them images where their body had been morphed to look more masculine or more feminine, all while recording brain activity. When the cisgender group saw gender-affirming images—for example, when women viewed these images their brains lit up in all these different areas.
Amazingly, the transgender group showed the same thing, but when viewing their body morphed in the opposite direction, toward their gender identity. On the other hand, when the cis group saw their body morphed away from their sex assigned at birth, their brains looked like this—much less activity—and this same activity was seen in the trans group when they saw their body shifted toward their sex assigned at birth.
The takeaway here seems clear to me: The brains of trans people behaved just like the gender that they identify with. And there’s plenty more evidence for this too. For example, another study showed that trans men—who transitioned from female to male—showed less brain activity in response to breast stimulation than cis women. We’re not looking here at psychology or surveys, we’re looking at biology—data directly from the brain, and those data seem to tell a very clear story.
Take that however you will, but I will ask that you please take it in peace and in kindness. I appreciate your interest—please follow for more neuroscience.
#neuroscience #trans #lgbtq #brain #science #scicomm #biology #neurology #scientist #transgender
This video is part of a series of OpenMind essays, podcasts and videos supported by a generous grant from the Pulitzer Center's Truth Decay initiative.
November 13, 2023