Hormones

Hormones are signalling molecules that act within multicellular organisms (such as plants, animals and people) to send “messages” between different organs so as to regulate their function and development. Processes affected include metabolism, sleep, reproduction and mood. In T* fiction, hormones are a common plot device, used to influence factors such as growth, sexual development and perhaps lactation.

If a character in a story is unhappy with their birth gender, it might detail their quest to obtain hormones that will alter their body over time. (The medical profession is commonly felt to put a lot of barriers in the way of a person who wants this form of medication.) In some darker stories, a character is tricked into taking hormones, e.g. in the guise of “vitamins” or mixed into their food, such that they cause gradual changes that the author will detail.

While stories of hormones being used recklessly are quite common on Fictionmania and BigCloset, this is a very dangerous practice and they should only be taken while under the care of an endocrinologist: a medical professional who specializes in this domain.