Developmente of Sexuality and Gender Identity

Adolescence is a dynamically evolving theoretical construct informed through physiologic, psychosocial, temporal, and cultural lenses. The most readily recognized hallmark of adolescence is the pubertal metamorphosis or chest rating the visible transformation of a “child” into an “adult. Development occurs both within the individual and through interactions with the environment. At the stage of adolescences, it’s hard for teenagers to figure out their sexual identity because girls menstruate cycle begins, the level of adult hormones increases, the pubic hairs begin to grow, development of sex interest increase, and one begins to wonder who they really are. The process of accepting one’s sexual orientation is particularly difficult for adolescents who identify as LGBTQIA and face that is not necessarily accepting of anything outside traditional expectation of

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has never received as much attention as they are right now. Much of this attention is stemming from this population struggling to obtain the same rights given to the remainder of the population. The LGBT community faces many challenges in their personal system, social environment, and then in the public system. In working with the LGBT population, the social worker needs to examine how the individual views themselves, not only through sexual identity, but as an individual. We need to look at the prejudices and condemnation they have encountered which may have led to further uncertainty or confusion.

“To do no Harm” is a part of the Hippocratic Oath taken by Healthcare professionals. In this instance, harm was done to the patient. It is not argued that harm was intentional or maliciously carried out, but the lack of proper and timely communication is and would fall under the category of malpractice.

Between the Sexes is a compelling narrative. Through several anecdotes, it illustrates the devastating psychological implications of early surgical intervention on intersexuals. According to the article, the surgery robs individuals of their sexual gratification, their gender identity, and their innocence. It's argument is noble, yet flawed. Authors Christine Gorman and Wendy Cole spin several sad yarns of intersexed people who are upset with handling of their gender assignment. They tell horror stories of people kept in the dark about their intersex, about a child forced to stop acting like a boy and become a girl, a teen who was raised to be a girl, but developed into a male. Gorman and Cole stumble into the fallacy of hasty

Various studies recognize a deficit of information related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults with even less information related to transgender individuals (Muller & Hartman, 1998; Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2010; Tharinger & Wells, 2000). LGBT individuals seeking social support from others to gain understanding of themselves and their own development may become discouraged in their endeavors. Many family members and medical professionals lack sufficient knowledge in sexual orientation and/or identity development, believing LGBT identification as a result of external influences or just a “phase”

What would you think if you knew that throughout your whole life, an untrue assumption had been made about you? How would you feel about total strangers believing that the assumption was reality, the media advertising products and marketing movies to you based on this assumption, and even your family supporting it? If the assumption was about a personal issue, this would be hurtful, confusing, and maybe even psychologically damaging. This hypothetical situation comes alive when examining the problem of heteronormativity: defined as believing that everyone is heterosexual, thus ignoring the LGBT population. To someone who is heterosexual, it might not seem like a big deal for straightness to be the “norm.” However, the more than 8 million LGBT people in America are affected by heteronormativity everywhere they turn. It is true that civil rights for LGBT people have progressed enormously. As of January 2, 2015, 35 states have legalized same-sex marriage, 18 states have workplace discrimination laws that cover both sexual orientation and gender identity, and the majority of public schools must have bullying policies that protect LGBT students. Despite how far we have come, there is still a lot of work to do in the area of acceptance. The only way homophobia will be diminished on a large scale is through education. This education can be spurred by eradicating heteronormative standards in the media, in the sales market, and most importantly in institutional settings, namely,

The subject of intersex individuals is a mystery to many, as it was to me before my research began. I found it interesting to discover that many babies born with ambiguous genitalia, such as a very small penis or a larger than normal clitoris were often surgically altered to make their genitalia appear more ‘normal’, regardless of their internal body structures. In addition, I found that many of these infants’ bodies were able to function without pain or discomfort and yet intervention surgery was still

There are numerous theories regarding the development of one’s gender identity. Gender identity refers how one identifies as either male, female or transgender.

With the new age of technology and the incredibly fast ways anyone can access information, having conversations about controversial social topics is not uncommon. When talking about the grey area that is sex and gender, the argument of gender dysphoria and the surgery that goes behind it is questioned. Gender dysphoria, often the biological condition that goes behind gender reassignment surgery, is a health condition that emanates when one lives with ongoing feelings of being physically incongruous with his or her birth sex. The general public is divided in the situation, either against the surgery and the transgender population, or advocates of the medical advancements that society has achieved. There are an abundance of components and processes that goes into sex reassignment surgery (SRS), ranging from physical surgeries to the psychological and hormonal changes amid the various procedures and practices.

The different themes in the readings and video are understanding, and supporting children’s gender and sexual identity. Understanding consists of being knowledgeable about the LGBT community and empathic to the individual’s journey. There are many different terms to be familiar with and one should be knowledgeable about the different terms. It is also important to be empathic and supportive to the individual’s journey, and understand that no journey is alike. Horning the individual name and using preferred pronouns is also of importance and implies that you are accepting to the individual and his or her journey. An individual should never make assumptions so asking the individual questions for clarity misunderstandings is important.

So in case of a what they call a “state of medical emergency, ” where there is an urge to give the child a sex, doctors take immediate action and pressure the parents to take a quick decision (Hanley). “Adult "patients" were simply left behind—traumatized by unwritten rules of silence and forced surgeries, deprived of sexual sensation and riddled with painful scars”(Zwischengeschlecht.org). Since most of these procedures are done with mere facts of what that Childs chromosome count or sex really is, these children often face traumatic events that often lead them to take drastic decisions, so drastic that many even consider suicide as an open doorway way to end their confusion. In the long run when these children try to identify their true sex, they have a tendency to suffer from psychological traumas. Many of them find out that they are able to carry a baby in their body, while others feel that they were given the wrong sex, and then there are the ones that had their testes removed who feel more identified with the masculine gender. Scientist insist on giving every condition a terminology which creates the separation amongst individuals. The ignorance of scientist is the reason why these individuals feel as if they are excluded from the normal world. Scientist cannot fix or even try to manipulate the sexual preference of a human body. Inter-sex individuals do not need

The goal of the researcher of gender identity is to identify where and when identity is developed, furthermore it will explore how this plays a role when working with transgender adults.

After anxiously waiting for my child to arrive, I was prepared to find out what sex my child would be. However, as the nurse completed the ultra-sound, and I asked, is it a boy or a girl, she stared blankly at me. I asked once again, what sex is my child, and this time, the only thing that came out of her mouth was intersex. Intersexuality was a condition that I had never heard of until this moment in my life. The question of what this condition would mean and how it would affect my child made me afraid because there was nothing that could be done to “fix” my child. According to the doctor intersexuality is a condition that occurs in about 1 in 12,000 births (Hines 21). It is described as having ambiguous genitalia, which makes it hard to decide what sex the child falls into. It was up to me to determine what sex my child would be, and while deciding I would have to think of every aspect because this decision would affect my child not only physically, but psychologically.

Many parents voice a fear about their child learning about gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. They think that hearing, seeing, or learning these things will influence their child. According to research, however, no matter how often children are exposed to these topics they still will make their own decisions later on in life on the matter. Often parents are upset when they hear their children are learning about these terms because they do not know the dictionaries definitions for these words are. According to webster; gender is the state of being male or female, the word typically used to reference social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. Gender identity is a person’s perception of having a particular gender that may not correspond with the sex they were given at birth. Sexual orientation is a person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted. Many times a person’s sexual orientation can be labeled as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Diversity is an important lesson to teach children especially at a young age. To understand how to best teach diversity about gender in a classroom background information, teaching strategies, and student’s understanding of diversity is important.

Recent studies estimate that between one and nine million children in the United States have at least one parent who is either lesbian, gay, or transgender. However, many people feel uncomfortable about being open due to their sexual orientation and gender identity due to fears of discrimination; such fears include, but are not limited to, loss of employment, loss of child custody, anti-gay violence and hate crimes. Although many people may have distinctive opinions on certain outcomes or effects that a child may have living in a same-sex family, most research studies show that children with two moms or two dads are just as well raised as children with heterosexual parents.