I was a “DES baby”, born in 1947. My mother had 2 spontaneous abortions’ before conceiving me. She took DES treatments to help support the pregnancy. DES is a synthetic female hormone, which was removed from the market after having been shown to cause birth defects in female children and also in males. I had a cancerous testicle removed at age 1 1/2, which leads me to believe the added estrogen from DES bathed my developing brain at the time that my gender centric brain regions, which were supposed to arrange my DNA assigned genitals, caused the tumor and I also believe that the region of my brain that affects gender expression was altered leaving me subject a strong desire to cross-dress in order to satisfy my need to express my feminine feelings. I consider myself lucky in that female DES children are subject, in later years, to cancers of the sexual organs. I feel like I am cross-gendered which explains my need to express myself as a female, at times. I do no regret having my lived my life as a male. However, as rewarding and satisfying my journey as a man has been (husband, father, grandfather, Veteran, and police officer), I sometimes regret not having the opportunity grow up as a young woman and live the life woman are rewarded with. It adds new meaning to the term “the accident of birth”.
Hugs to all, Kathy
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