Gender-identity, body-experience, sexuality, and the wish for having children in DES-daughters

The main focus of the present study is to examine the impact of being a DES-daughter upon gender-identity, body-experience, body-acceptance, sexual satisfaction, and the wish for having children. Subjects were DES-daughters (N = 206) and age-matched controls (N = 121) who were not prenatally exposed to DES. All subjects completed a battery of measures including Bem's Sex Role Inventory (1977), a written gynecological anamnesis, and questionnaires concerning body-experience, sexuality, and the wish for having children. First, it was expected that DES-daughters would be more masculinized in their self-concepts than non-exposed control subjects. Our second hypothesis was that DES-daughters would be lower in body-acceptance and sexual satisfaction, and would have stronger wishes and more emotionality concerning reproduction. Contrary to expectations, DES-daughters were not more 'masculinized' than controls. Instead, they tended to have higher scores on femininity. Furthermore, no differences between DES-daughters and controls appeared in body-acceptance and sexual satisfaction. However, the DES-daughters reported a stronger wish for having children and expressed more emotionality concerning the subject.