The Science Of Being Transgender

Recently we’ve been hearing a lot about transgender identity. That made us wonder… what makes us the gender that we are? And wha

Recently we’ve been hearing a lot about transgender identity. That made us wonder… what makes us the gender that we are? And what should you do if your kid doesn’t fit the mold? To find out, we talked with endocrinologist Dr. Joshua Safer, psychologist Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper, and psychologist Dr. Colt Keo-Meier.

Check out the transcript right here.

Selected references: 

• 
  A paper from the 70s about shock therapy 
• A review of the science behind the trans kids debate
• Best Practice Standards of Care for Trans People
• Rebecca’s podcast Trans Specific Partnership

Thanks to our sponsor, Cole Haan. You can hear more of Wendy and other Gimlet hosts in conversation at ExtraordinariesOnTheMic.com, produced in partnership with Cole Haan.

Credits:
This episode was produced by Odelia Rubin and Meryl Horn along with Wendy Zukerman and Rose Rimler. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Editorial assistance by Rebecca Kling. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, Meryl Horn and Rose Rimler. Mix and sound design by Emma Munger. Music by Emma Munger and Bobby Lord.   
A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode - including Dr. Jack Turban, Professor Anne Fausto- Sterling, assistant professor Samantha Busa, Associate Professor Susan Stryker, Dr. Katrina Karkazis, Professor Neill Epperson, Paula Neira, Professor Michelle Forcier, and Professor Joan Roughgarden. And thanks to all the trans folks who shared their stories with us. Thank you! Also thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.  

There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Gimlet Media that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to. This season we tackle alcohol, fasting diets, DNA tests, race and the fertility cliff.