Yesterday I had the privilege of seeing Dr. Rebecca Jordan-Young give a presentation on campus about her new book “Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences.” My classmates and I all agreed that she gave a superb talk about why the scientific studies that claim to demonstrate neurological “sex differences” are all very, well, unscientific.

After the presentation an audience member asked Dr. Jordan-Young if any studies have investigated the effects of so-called “cross-sex” hormone treatment in transsexuals. She answered that this is a difficult phenomenon to study because 1.) People who transition have many expectations and hopes as to what the hormones will do and who they will become and 2.) It would be nearly impossible to do a double-blind study in which one group of people is assigned hormones and the other group isn’t, because hormones have effects on the skin, hair, etc. (i.e.: testosterone makes the skin produce excess oil, so it would be rather easy for most people to tell if they were given testosterone). Dr. Jordan-Young then related a story about a man who called in to a radio show she was on, insisting that testosterone administration has profound psychological effects. The man identified himself as gay and HIV positive, and stated that after his doctor prescribed him testosterone for HIV-related hypogonadism, his personality changed...