Dapper, my thinking is that whilst society has tended to take a simplistic view of gender and sexual attraction (gender binary, and opposites attract), in relity, things are much more complex than that.
Whilst I wouldn't like to rule out the taking of hormones as having an effect on ones sexuality with regard to whom one finds attractive, I have to say I'm mildly skeptical thus far. My guess would be that an individuals innate level of plasticity in regard to sexual orientation is affected by the whole slew of stuff happening in their lives at any given time.
As an example, was I going to explore my feelings about guys when the world saw me as a guy? Heck, no! I am not and never was a gay male. Involvement with women who saw me as male was quite bad enough, thank you, involvement with guys at the time - well, I'd rather have died. Only after the world started seeing me as female did I feel ready to start my explorations, and yes, a change in hormones was a part of that process, but it didn't cause my willingness to explore.
Now, I know from chatting with you, Dapper, that with FTMs they are often effectively Butches and leaning toward the masculine (and perhaps seen as male by the world) for quite some time before coming to the conclusion that they need to transition. Could it be that the decision to take testosterone, aided by its effects, is the last piece of the puzzle that then makes some folk happier to explore their sexuality properly? As in 'OK, now I'm properly a guy, I'm happier, hey, who do I really want to fool around with?!' Or do you think that it really is the testosterone all by itself that is inducing a change in sexuality?
|