Chapter 11: Sexual Disorders And Gender Identity

Discussion of issues related to non-normative sexual and gender identities as related to mental health began in the 19th century (Drescher, 2010). Initially medical and psychiatric providers viewed issues related to gender identity as resulting from delusional thought processes (Drescher, 2010). As a result the concept of surgery as a solution to gender identity differences was viewed as unnecessary and ultimately an incorrect form of treatment (Drescher, 2010). In 1952 the first gender reassignment surgery was performed in Denmark on an American citizen (Drescher, 2010). The publicity in the American media that followed this surgery brought the concept of gender identity to the public eye. During the 1960s research about gender identity started to develop and it was the work of Money, Stoller, Benjamin, and Green that ultimately change professional and public concept of Gender Identity (Drescher, 2010). These four individuals were among the first to conduct clinical and academic research on gender identity and gender roles (Drescher, 2010). As a result of their research beliefs about non-normative gender identity shifted from a problem of the mind to a biological disorder that was fixed and should be treated with

Chapter five dealt with biological sexes and gender. The chapter begins by stating that there are more than two sexes, contrary to popular belief. There are at least three sexes: male, female, and intersex individuals, who have genital ambiguity. Most of this chapter discussed the difficulties of intersex individuals’ face in the society. These individuals are often ignored or forced to live their life ashamed of their bodies. In the United States these individuals are seen as abnormality, or medical accidents, that are to be corrected through surgery. In many instances the surgeries make the individual a female by removing any male anatomy within them. This is performed since many believe that gender identity is solely developed by environmental

Gender dysphoria is the formal diagnosis for people who experience distress over their assigned physical sex and/or societal gender. People who suffer from this are colloquially called trans men (female to male) and trans women (male to female) respectively. Often, a trans person will elect to undergo medical transitioning to better align their physical body with their mind. As one can expect, transitioning is an arduous process which can include a plethora of medical treatments, such as hormone replacement therapy, mastectomy / breast augmentation, masculinization / feminization facial surgeries, hysterectomy, etc. Trans people who physically transition are said to be transsexual, due to the change of their physical sex instead of simply the change of how they present themselves. Transitioning is often seen as the pentacle of a trans person’s life, and it is a significant, political issue in the LGBT community.

Amongst disorders of modern day psychiatry, gender dysphoria (GD) is one of the more controversial diagnoses (Comer, 2014). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) defines GD, previously listed as gender identity disorder (GID), as “a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender, of at least 6 months duration” (as cited in APA, 2013, p. 452). Individuals with GD generally feel extreme discomfort around their assigned gender, and have a desire to change their social identity and/or secondary sex characteristics to more closely resemble those of the other gender (Comer, 2014). Treatments for GD include psychotherapy, hormone therapy, and sexual reassignment surgery.

Are issues of diversity represented fairly, realistically and accurately or problematically in Australian schools in regards to issues of gender, sexuality and sexual identity.

Sexual health is a very broad and wide topic that has many subjects that are still controversial to some to this day. Chapter four not only focused on the physical side of sexual health, covering topics such as the female and male anatomy and the process of menstruation, but also the social and emotional sides of it, like the difference between gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, , and issues relating to homophobia and hate crimes. These chapters helped me learn how to properly recognize people’s gender identities and to respect them based off of the retained information from the outlines. Identifying as a bisexual woman, I am fairly fortunate with the overwhelming acceptance from the majority of people I have met in my life. I presumably will never know how it feels to not be able to explain who you are to people, and having to find an excuse for being yourself. Learning about gender dysphoria and the disagreeing feelings about one’s gender that arises from it made me question what it might be like to be someone who has these feelings and the conflicts it internally arises. Gender identity and expression being two separate ideas was also something I was originally very perplexed by, but then learned to understand and appreciate, because there is no

Abnormal disorders diagnosed in the DSM-IV-TR, a multi-axial diagnostic tool, used by clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical professionals for the classification of mental disorders (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Axis I and Axis II of the DSM-IV-TR covers classifications of mental disorders that include unwelcome types of distress and impairment, that constitutes mental disease, disorder, and or disability. This paper takes into account the diagnostic categories of sexual and gender identity, personality and eating disorders along with the basic distinction. Axis I and Axis II provides a quick reference for the

Feeling discomfort with one’s assigned gender has been something talked about in the mental health industry for many years. Gender Identity Disorders (GID) is when an individual finds conflict between their own gender and the gender he or she identifies as. Gender dysphoria is a condition of GID, in which ones’ emotional and psychological identity is opposite of one’s biological sex. Gender dysphoric children and adolescents are vulnerable to many forms of emotional distress such as depression. Children and adolescents experiencing this condition can have a troublesome time due to the lack of awareness there is to the existing information of this disorder. There are many risk factors that research says contributes to those who struggle with

Steensma et al. (2010) conducted a qualitative study based on biographical interviews on twenty-five adolescents who were diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder in childhood. From the ages of 10 to 13 years old, they considered that time period to be crucial for adolescents with persisting gender dysphoria and adolescents with desisting gender dysphoria. Both persisters and desisters claimed that the factors that influenced their gender-related interests and behavior and feelings of gender discomfort and gender identification were the changes in their social environment, the anticipated and actual feminization or masculinization of their bodies, and the first experiences of falling in love and sexual attraction. Persisters are defined in

For most, identifying who you are, the population you belong to you, and the group you identify with is an incredibly simple task. Anything outside the standard gender parameters would often ostracize you from your family, friends, and community; however, an increasingly larger group of individuals do not follow these constructed parameters. About five in every 100,000 individuals do not fall into the sex and gender roles they are born into. These individuals face a lifetime of psychological abuse, physical abuse, depression, and in some cases suicide. The transgender community faces a plethora of problems that limit their acceptance into society. Transitioning can be the single most important step toward a healthier, happy life.

In accordance to this, the following are examples of two common sexual identity labels based on differing sexual orientations. When one person is sexually attracted to another person of the opposite biological sex, he/she embodies the label of ‘heterosexual’ or ‘straight’. Regarding my sexual orientation, this encompasses the attraction I believe to feel and the label that I attribute to myself. In contrast, when one person is sexually attracted to another person of the same biological sex, the label he/she (most likely) identifies with is ‘homosexual’, which can take the two more colloquial forms of ‘gay’—when males are attracted to males—and ‘lesbian’—when females are attracted to females. All that said, this doesn’t necessarily mean that one’s attraction to a certain perceived gender fully indicates the biological sex of a partner. To reiterate, assigned anatomical sex and the gender one believes to embody don’t always match. This is where the descriptors involving gender identity come into play, and (again) the following are definitions of the two most common gender identities. When the gender one identifies with and/or expresses corresponds to the sex assigned at birth, he/she is labeled as a ‘cisgender’ person. I am anatomically a female, which is also the gender I identify with and externally present so, this is the label I relate to. On the other hand, when the gender one identifies with and/or expresses differs from the sex assigned at birth, he/she is labeled as a ‘transgender’ person. There are an incredible amount of equally important terms and labels in respect to these broader categories, but for the purposes of this essay, these are the ones I’ll be using most

In the early 1980’s, “transsexualism” is an official disorder in the DSM-III and is eventually changed to “gender identity disorder” in DSM-IV. In 1987, the DSM-III0R reclassified gender identity disorders into four sub-types: Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood, Transsexualism, Gender Identity Disorder of Adolescence or Adulthood, and Gender Identity Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. In the early 1990’s many transgender rights activist groups are formed. In 1999, gender dysphoria becomes classified as a medical condition and not a state of mind

June 2016 represents a historical Throughout history, there are thousands of people that suffered from their physical appearance and their gender identity but the medicine could not help them. In today’s society thanks to the medical process, individuals can now experience the surgical sex surgery and be who they really dress to be. Gender identity disorder started around the 1920’s throughout 2000’s in the U.S. transsexuals were individuals who had a form of gender dysphoria, and they started making themselves known in America. Gender dysphoria has been around for centuries it goes all the way back to the Greeks and has been recognized throughout Europe, Asia, and America. Research shows that “ The ancient mythology was replete with stories

Many people experience uneasiness or misery due to their biological sex and gender identity, which is known as gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is formally known as gender identity disorder (GID), gender incongruence or transgenderism. According to Mohammaed Meomon, gender dysphoria is a product of highly complex genetic, neurodevelopmental, and psychological factors (Meomon, 2016). A person’s biological sex is given at birth depending on the appearance of the genitals. What a person identifies with is called gender identity. For example, a woman may have the genitals of a female but identify herself as a male. She will start acting and showing characteristics of a male. This confusion between gender identity and sex cause

There is prevalence in recent times to speak and understand more about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals and identities within in the community. However, more often than not, the conversation of the LGBTQ community typically strays away from transgender individuals not because people discriminate against these individuals but due to a lack of understanding and generalization of information seen or heard through the media. Nevertheless, the public is becoming more aware of the transgender population and the struggles they face with their transitions. People such as Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox, and novelist Jennifer Boylan of openly expressed to the world their experiences and have provided others with a newfound understanding to the subject. Although, the world seems to be evolving about the views of the LGBTQ community the outlooks between different cultures especially in Western Cultures vary in response. Some controversy lies within cultural differences, ethics, and types treatments. The purpose of this paper is to explore the disorder of gender dysphoria between cultures, examine societal responses to the disorder, and to further discover and understand available treatment options.