Dani's Philosophy: The Girl Within

Every male secretly wishes he could look and act like a woman, at least part of the time. And, if given the opportunity, would choose to do it more often.

There are three reasons for this—biological, psychological, cultural.

1. Biological: We all begin life as female in the womb. That pesky Y chromosome doesn’t begin to exert its influence until about the third month. What’s more, the male hormone—testosterone—doesn’t really overwhelm the female one—estrogen—until puberty sets in, for most males around 12 to 13 years of age.

2. Psychological: Due to those biological facts, males spend their formative years awash in female hormones, which have psychological as well as physical effects. Emotionally, a prepubescent male is as feminine as his sister or mother. By maturity, his male hormones have had only five or six years to counteract that feminine conditioning.

3. Cultural: A prepubescent boy—especially one with sisters or other close female relatives—will observe those girls being fussed over, dressed, even spoiled by the adults in his life. Even his mother—his primary caregiver—will pay more attention to his female siblings or cousins than to him. This leads to envy and a desire to be treated similarly.

At puberty, as his interest in sex grows, the male equates all the attention he craves with his equal desire for female companionship. “If only I were more like a girl, the girls would like me more,” he thinks. After all, he has witnessed how all the important women in his life have treated girls as veritable princesses, while ignoring his own need for their loving care. What’s more, he observes how feminine attire enhances the girl’s appeal, drawing attention to their most attractive aspects; but male attire hides everything that might make him appear more girlish and thus more lovable.

He watches the girls in his age group as they emphasize their beauty with clothes and makeup. “I could be as pretty as they are,” he decides, and seeks to free the feminine within him.