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Understanding the Brain, 2nd Ed.: Stress, Trauma and the LGBTQ Community

Historically, sexual minorities are the first targets of authoritarian movements. Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat of New York University has documented that you can draw a through line of attacks on gay people by dictators from Mussolini right to the present. Ironically it is this degradation that causes stress and trauma in the lives of the LGBTQ community.Professor Eric Kandel of Columbia University has stated that "Brain science can be a liberating influence in our lives. As we understand the biology of our own gender identity and sexual orientation better and become more comfortable with ourselves, we've become more empathic to somebody else's identity and orientation."Evidence is accumulating that the brain plays a crucial role in the determination of sexual orientation and gender identity. We must look at pre-natal development, the crucial time in the mother's womb when changes, fueled by hormones, affect the development of the fetus and set in place structures in the brain that will impact sexual development throughout a lifetime. Evidence is accumulating that prenatal levels of testosterone are directly linked with human sexuality. This doesn't surprise anyone who comes from the world of biology, particularly those who conduct animal studies. In fact, studies as far back as the 1950s and 60s found that if you took rats and expose them to high levels of testosterone, if they were female rats, as adults, they would tend to be attracted to and have sex with other female rats. Whereas if you took young male fetuses and exposed them to testosterone suppressors, those male rats would grow up to be attracted to and primarily have sex with other male rats.The conservative, far-right backlash to social advances (e.g., marriage equality) made by the gay community reveal more about the propagators of lies and distortions than about LGBTQ sexuality. As Dr. Kandel says, "The problem is urgent, particularly for transgender people of color who suffer horrifically high rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide, and murder."In t

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