"Anyone who looks at me thinks I'm a man, but I'm not a man. But that doesn't mean to say I'm a woman, because I'm not a woman either..."

Steph

Klinefelters Syndrome means that Steph Tonner has an extra X chromosome. A rare condition for 'anatomical males' it results in small testes and infertility. This has had a huge impact on his life.

Brought up in Clydebank, Steph remembers having a foul temper (possibly, he thinks, a result of enormous frustration), no interest in sport and being constantly exhausted as a child.

His teachers thought that Steph was lazy. Another classic symptom of Klinefelters is poor memory. He was bullied at primary school. So when he opted for a junior seminary for his secondary education, Steph hoped that it would be somewhere he could keep a low profile. In fact he was bullied mercilessly.

While his contemporaries were going through puberty his high-pitched voice and small genitalia marked out his difference. The other boys would mock-up hangings which would leave him petrified. A suicide note to his mother resulted in his leaving the seminary.

Steph's dad was a very shy man who could never express his feelings and could not respond to Steph's emotional needs. His mother knew that Steph was 'different', but he only found this out after her death.

Steph says that his puberty, which finally started at the age of 17 will continue throughout his life. He's been taking Testosterone Replacement Therapy since his late twenties. He feels himself to be more male than female, and is attracted to other men. But it wasn't until two years ago that he was told that he had Klinefelters Syndrome.

That was when he found information on the website (see our links page), and got 'chatting' to an American with the same condition. Finally, Steph has found a group to which he belongs. If the past brings him memories of great sadness, the present and future make him feel strong.