One of the interesting things about taking hormones is that it changes your brain, in little (but noticeable) ways. There’s an episode of This American Life that features a trans-man called Griffin Hansbury, who details the changes he went through when he began taking testosterone. In addition to developing the libido of a teenager, he also found himself having a better understanding of math and physics. It sounds sexist, because it is, a little bit. But there are bits of the brain that respond to certain hormones, and apparently “T” makes you better at trig.
I’ve found myself, after taking estrogen for a while now, to be better at arts and crafts than I was before. Now, granted, the pig pictured isn’t amazing, but it’s far more impressive than anything I would have been able to make before I got the magic little pills. And I can draw a little bit now, too. I’m starting to understand shadow and perspective. It’s a little bit weird.
And super-awesome, obviously. I mean, if you enjoy confirming already rampant sexist stereotypes and hetero-normative paradigms, which I apparently do.
