Transsexualism is a condition in which a person experiences persistent discomfort about his or her sexual designation. Such individuals, called transsexuals, want to remove their body's sexual characteristics and obtain the characteristics of the opposite sex. Transsexuals feel a need to act like and be treated as a member of the opposite sex. Transsexualism occurs more in males than in females. Transsexualism's cause is unknown. Some behavioral scientists think it results from an early disturbance in the mother-infant relationship and a lack of proper identification with the same-sex parent. There is no evidence of hormonal abnormalities in transsexuals.