A friend asked me whether it’s true that feminizing HRT can affect your emotions.
This is difficult to answer because the idea that women’s arguments on a matter can be discounted as being irrational because “hormones” is, to put it mildly, incredibly misogynistic. They weren’t asking and I’m not arguing this. So let’s not.
That aside, the answer is baically yes, though. The reasons are contested, but there are at least three possibilities, none of which precludes the others.
Firstly, it could be a psychological, socially conformative response to the idea that one is becoming, neurochemically, female. Men are expected to demonstrate a narrower range of emotions than women, culturally speaking, and to do so less expressively. A psychologically undeniable exit from masculinity like feminizing HRT removes that constraint. This is permission rather than a placebo effect, although not permission that is taken consciously.
Secondly, it could be a psychological response to the physical effects of estrogen on the body rather than on the brain. Estrogen has a role in tear production. This effect could lead to an affective feedback loop where the mind takes the body’s lead on this - “I’m tearing up, so I must be sadder than I thought”. There are other factors in tear production, of course, but dry eyes can be a symptom of menopause in cisgender women. And again this says nothing about direct effects on the brain. Although estrogen is also important for brain health.
Thirdly, and I feel like an incredibly bad feminist writing this, whether testosterone inhibits or estrogen disinhibits feeling emotions, switching out your endocrine system does feel different. The mind is a powerful thing, to be sure, but past a certain point we have to at least entertain the possibility that feeling high on joy or grief compared to one’s previous experiences of them might indicate that the endocrine system is as well. This can also interact with either or both of the other possibilities mentioned above.
If the effects of estogen on emotions are neurochemical, this means that women are generally more stoic than men. If they aren’t, it shows how strongly non-neurochemical factors can affect the brain. And that women are generally more stoic than men.
In either case, it also shows that studying trans people’s experiences with an open mind towards their claims can provide humanity with knowledge that would be impossible or unethical to gain any other way. This is a good example of the value of Applied transgender studies that will not be realised if research by trans people is suppressed.