It's both but I don't think there's a way of spotting the genes that'd effect your personality to make you more likely to get gaslit into doubting your own gender and being a crossdressing faggot.
I would go as far as arguing that
they (trans specifically) are
entirely the product of upbringing + self-inflicted reinforcement (porn addicts/hypersexuallity).
They
are the social construct, and a fairly recent one at that. It comes across like I'm splitting hairs, but I'm positing they
do not exist.
Homosexual male brains are more similar to heterosexual female brains, and we know the brain's development/shape can be affected as you age by various factors.
Relevant article, research paper's on Anna's Archive. This sometimes gets used as proof that trans people are indeed in the "wrong body," but it ignores that their brain
probably didn't look like that once upon a time, meaning they were dictated by very much
controllable factors. Trannies are a form of homosexual, in that they feel some sense of same-sex attraction, even if it's just towards their own body. They then attempt to "correct" this by ""becoming"" a """woman.""" A tranny born from narcissism/self-eroticism remains largely hetero/bisexual ("transbian"), and might've demonstrated zero autogynephilic tendencies prior to becoming trans—they lack the long, obvious decline for instance: no crossdressing, period of "gender fluidity," etcetera.
The circumstances that bring it about aren't
entirely in control of the parent, so it's not like you can blame
every tranny's parent for their child ending up a tranny, but similarly you can't hold them completely blameless in certain scenarios. It's guaranteed than any "trans" person under a certain age it's their parents (or other adult authority figures) who can hold some measure of blame, either encouraging them or being neglectful of their internet habits. And at a certain point, even if your brain ended up more female than male, it then falls on you whether you decline into porn addiction or some other cope to justify chopping your dick off.
There hasn't been any long-form studies on how drastically someone's brain changes shape according to X, Y, Z factors from infancy to adulthood, only that we know it happens and the reasons why can only be theorised. Around the same time that the above article was published, there were similar studies released to try dissuade a causal link between
real world behaviour and the shaping of an adolescent's brain. So in trying to prove homosexuals were simply "born gay" most of the time, they instead found observable differences which could very well be influenced by the food you eat whilst growing up (or what your mum ate whilst you were in the womb, which doesn't really point to a genetic factor in homosexuality/transsexuality).
As an aside, we know that children who played Pokemon had differently wired brains from those who didn't, as in a portion of their brain was now entirely dedicated to the recognition and differentiation of Pokémon characters. The brain's plasticity is a boon or bane depending on what its been re-wired to do, and what may cause it to become moulded into
It
could be argued that some trannies are born that way (you can't discount the possibility entirely) but given the time we live in, it's highly likely a vast majority of them are the result of upbringing or self-inflicted reinforcement that occurs during a period of hypersexuality (porn addiction).
TLDR: There is (probably) no genetic component to transsexuality, it's all very much the result of controllable factors.
1. Porn exposure in adolescent years (Parents who provide their child unfiltered internet access and do nothing to personally prevent their kids seeing material they ought not to are pretty much neglectful)
2. Social contagion (people who detransition are often the result of social contagion)
3. Possibly narcissistic self-eroticism and passive homosexuality
4. Autogynephilic tendencies (typically result of porn addiction, but can be the result of being more "female" brained—doesn't
always result in transgenderism in Blanchard's theory)
5. Escalation of tertiary kink/fetish—Wachowskis are biggest example: emasculation from dominatrix lead to them deriving pleasure from it, and becoming transgender was merely an escalation
The fact there's so many possible identifiable causes is part of the reason why "They're just born like that" becomes a popular sentiment, it makes it easier to address and makes it an unsolvable issue. If it can't be solved, then it encourages not addressing it at all by most people, since all you can do then is either accomodate or ignore, and these people do not like to be ignored.*
*Wu doing the "I hope we can find the gene responsible for this and eradicate it via eugenics" is a covert admission of their dissatisfaction with their current life and is now attempting to use their own transgenderism as a scapegoat for their own depression/current unhappiness, which is more or less in line with what people thought back in the 1960s.
In the book, "
The Homosexual Society," there were two types of transexual identified which posited transexuals/transvestists were a sub-type of homosexual (I touch on it
here).
You had "True" and "False".
True transvestists were individuals who were in such a state of mental distress that they
would kill themselves or otherwise cause great harm to themselves if let be. So after months of gruelling checks and assurances, they would get some form of help and/or surgery. They would not literally try to blend back into society and disappear in effect. They would even be trained and assisted in acting more effectively and get more in the headspace of the opposite sex. It was a form of delusion, but they appeared to have some degree of self awareness of that fact.

False transvestists were
flagrant exhibitionists living out an escapist fantasy.

"The False Transvestist" refers to a type of homosexual who aims to live as a woman as much as possible — not because they are passive or truly want to
be a woman deep down, but primarily because they are
exhibitionists who love showing off and provoking sexual attention.
Key points:
- They dress in "drag" (women’s clothing) to fool men into thinking they are women. Some make a living as female impersonators; for others, it’s an obsession without direct sexual intent.
- A good-looking youth in women’s dress is described as especially sexually provocative.
- Many men are attracted and proceed with sex even after discovering the truth (in the dark or otherwise), often returning for more.
- Quote from one: He tricks clients by wearing a rubber cover, does it in the dark, and most continue even after being told he’s a boy — finding satisfaction in the deception.
Deeper motivation:
- The split life (man by day, woman by night) has special appeal.
- Some genuinely wish they could become women and feel miserable they can’t.
- Others seem to be trying to escape or shake off their male personality ("pour corriger la fortune" — to correct their fortune/luck).
- They enjoy being courted, loved, and admired in feminine attire, perfume, etc., which gets far more attention than their "boring" male appearance.
- Overall, it’s portrayed as part of a childish fantasy life that many homosexual types indulge in — make-believe, deception of others (while not deceiving themselves), and wallowing in female glamour.
In short: This type uses transvestism mainly for
exhibitionism, sexual provocation, and escapist fantasy rather than genuine gender identity. It’s about thrill, admiration, and rejecting the dull male self through performative femininity.
Unfortunately, it does mean that, in some way, trannies getting any sort of attention is either mentally damaging (for "True"-types) or erotic/arousing for "False"-types.
The book makes observations of homosexuals broadly speaking that can be identified with modern trannies nearly wholesale:
1)
Irrational fear i.e. "Trans genocide"

2)
The Problem of Staying Eternally Young i.e. Can be seen most obviously with 30+ year old transitioners, or those coming up to their 30s.

Especially relevant:
Example:

(RIP Micky D
He's not dead, but it's always unfortunate when it happens. It's a salve for depression typically, a feeling which will return and worse)
3)
The Rebel i.e. Gender identity/non-conformity is seen as a form of rebelling against an oppressive society or parents.

4)
The Homosexual Freemasonry i.e. the open source community, moderators, reddit, etc all rife with trannies working with other trannies, enlisting trannies to joint the ranks, and so on.

5)
The Woman Hater i.e. "skinwalkers"—fixated on a single woman who earned their lust or ire and now they seek to imitate them covertly or subconsciously, and were the most likely to suddenly come out. (If someone comes out as transgender from seemingly nowhere, it most likely indicates coming from quick intense or prolonged period of hate/resentment)

6)
Rejection of the Male Role i.e. they want to be "cared for," reject any individual responsibility/expectations society expects from them—similar to "eternal youth" pursuit except less centered on vanity.

7)
Problem as a Minority i.e. they see themselves and are viewed by society as a distinct "minority" and display all the same problems observable in any sizable minority.

The list + how it pertains to trannies.
(1) A common grievance against the majority — "trans rights"/"transphobia"
(2) A common resistance to the pressure of the majority - DIY HRT, putting their flag everywhere, insertion of pronouns in media, compelled speech e.g. "It's ma'am!"
(3) The creation of a legend to compensate for their inferiority feelings. According to this legend the members of the minority are in some way braver, nobler, more able and in every wav better than the mass surrounding them — "Stunning and brave!" and [porn addict-tier copes about transsexual "beauty" or sexual capability]
(4) They have certain secrets in common, e.g. a secret language. — "Cis," (normals), "Eggs,"/"Cracking the egg" (potential targets to groom into transgenderism), "Gender euphoria," (sexual arousal from engaging in their fetish), "transmasc/transfemme" (trans fetishists who do not commit hardcore to the kink, using it for either performative or sexual reasons) and so on.
(5) They will try to help each other to some extent. — online this mostly consists of brigading someone critical of another member of their minority or coming to their defence whilst camouflaging affiliation, or engaging in the aforementioned "freemasonry" and inviting members of the minority group onto teams or in communities.
(6) They find relaxation in one another’s company. i.e. they will be more at ease and be more open about their shared minority status — check the trans slideshow thread or the reddit thread for this. Because they are ultimately exhibitionists, they do not care how open they are in engaging in their behaviours.
(7) Members mav have to keep their association secret in order to avoid any stigma — depends on some contexts for trannies. A tranny on Kiwifarms is more likely to hide the fact they are tranny as opposed to reddit or bluesky.
( 8 ) If the majority has for any reason become demoralized, it will try to regain social dignity bv viewing with disdain some extreme or unfashionable part of their own-group. They will behave as the majority is behaving to them (perceived or real) — community may make a public display of ousting/condemning one of the "bad" members of their community for optics sake, or begin to ignore the chosen gender identity of a pariah to join the majority
9) There will be a sort of freemasonry. Members will be able to identify one another in secret ways. This link may extend to other similar minorities in foreign countries. — They will help each other embed themselves into other structures and communities, or provide contacts/sources for certain drugs, notably HRT.
(10) Where the pressure of the majority becomes extreme, quite apart from any restrictions that may be imposed they will form their own closely kept ghetto. Then they will show their hostility by fighting the interests of the majority even though these may be their own interests. But with great pressure from outside the opposite may happen. Individual members of the minority may be stimulated to sublimate their handicap and will then participate in the affairs of the majority. They may compete with leaders and become leaders. Potentially able leaders in the majority — Many forums/websites exist as online "ghettos"—reddit, bluesky, discord servers, etc. With enough bullying or wilful self-sequestering from the rest of the community, a tranny may "sublimate" (focus on literally anything else other than being transgender) and may detransition altogether, or subsume into the majority as-is and be found capable of being "leaders" of the community in the eyes of the majority—which does describe Brianna himself I believe?—or they will simply be reinforced and sequester in online "ghettos" and becoming even more hostile towards the majority even if it's to their own detriment. (trannies coming down hard on the right-wing would end up being to their own detriment sooner or later if you look at the past 11 years.
TLDR: Trannies are merely
homosexuals i.e.
men who possess some level of same-sex attraction, intense or weak, by the book's definition, not necessarily someone who engages in homosexual activity altogether and transgenderism is how they mentally cope with it.
You can only be born with the mental wiring to feel some degree of same-sex attraction, but the
character that reacts to said attraction by becoming trans is entirely the result of nurture and self-decision.
Apologies for the unsolicited long post.