But gender identity, misunderstood long before Freud weighed in, continues to baffle people today. Often it is confused with sexual identity. Simply put, gender is who you are. Sexual identity reflects who you want to share sex with. Gender identity doesn't change.
Sexual identity can.
McCloskey has several theories on why her behavior became stereotypically feminine after living as a man for 52 years, a life that included a wife and children. But the effects of powerful hormones, the different social expectations women are under and the fact that her true personality has finally been allowed to emerge are all factors. Just last week McCloskey attended a UIC seminar on the human genome. I know I would've, because I did it hundreds and hundreds of times. But when I changed, I had no need to.