[GoneGirl]

Personally, I have experienced a dramatic shift in my thinking patterns having been taking hormones for some 7 months or so.

I, too, have experienced changes in the way I see the world around me and my response to it. I would go so far as to say that the mental transformations have been more significant than the physical changes. I should add that these changes have been hugely beneficial in my marital relationship.

Having been trained and employed as an engineer, problem solving is very natural to me. Also, I used to gravitate toward ideological view points. It made decision making so much easier. I saw every expressed problem as an invitation to provide a neat and clean solution based on my black/white, right/wrong, good/bad thought process (imagine one of those troubleshooting flowcharts). Expressing empathy was not something I was very good at. Although I still apply that engineering thought process to deal with problems, I am much more sensitive to the feelings of others than before transition. In many ways this change has made resolving relationship issues in my life a lot easier.

Now, of course, there are women who think in black/white terms, as well, So, generalizing these difference on the basis of gender would be a mistake. Like gender identity and sexual orientation, brain structure is also likely to vary semi-independently of one's biological sex. Still, on a statistical basis, I think there is truth to your point, Miranda.

Clara