All in the mind: Could the study hint at a predetermined image of our gender that we have in our minds before birth?
The experts argue that the study adds to the evidence that body images of gender are hard-wired before birth, and may also hint at a biological basis – one that is predetermined before birth – for why many transsexuals claim to feel a mismatch between their 'gender identity' and the sex that they were born.
While still preliminary, the theory is based on existing knowledge that much of the way we perceive our body is from innate hard-wiring of our brains during embryo development.
Gender identity mismatch
A mismatch between body image and reality has long been documented in some amputees who continue to report the sensation of having a limb after it has been removed – and even in people born without limbs. Phantom limbs are purported to be the result of 'cross-wiring' in the nerves of the brain responsible for the missing limb and surrounding brain regions, said the researchers.
The phantom penis phenomenon is thought to be caused by a similar process, and results in patients without a penis still being able to describe its shape and length and experience 'phantom erections'.
However, not everyone agrees about the conclusions drawn from the results. Psychologist Barbara David, an expert on gender at the Australian National University in Canberra, argues that the study takes its conclusions from the data too far.
"The researchers interviewed transsexuals and can be scientific about what the transsexuals feel. This, however, provides no link with hardwiring of the brain," she said.
