we have the idea that it is only socialization in childhood that matters: that it takes a certain length of time before a person can claim to be a woman or a man, and that if a critical window of opportunity is missed, a person cannot ever “change gender.” Leaving aside the fact that those putting forth this argument ignore both the existence of young transitioners, and the common occurrence of inner knowledge that predates social transition, this interpretation of how the self is constructed dismisses what we are coming to know of brain plasticity and the evolving field of theory of mind. I
...more
