Gender Identity Disorder : Homosexuality And Gender Identity

​Gender identity has changed its definition over time. The psychological definition as stated from the social learning theory is that gender identity is the sense of being male or female. Seems simple but we now know in todays world the definition has broadened. Gender identity is now defined as one 's personal experience of one 's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with assigned sex at birth, or can differ from it completely. All societies have a set of gender categories that can serve as the basis of the formation of a person 's social identity in relation to other members of society. From the past when we had many strong women’s rights activist who fought so what your gender was did not

Gender dysphoria is also commonly referred to as Gender Identity Disorder (GID). The disorder is in reference to the mental state of denying one’s biological sex and maintaining the belief of one’s gender does not align. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) states that to be diagnosed with “gender dysphoria,” it must persist in these individuals for at least six months ("DSM Replaces Gender Identity Disorder With Gender Dysphoria"). The solutions for ‘fixing’ this disorder are taking hormone therapy, doing gender expression therapy, or having reproductive surgery. In the transgender society, most unwillingly will be classified with gender dysphoria in order to receive any treatment to aid in the gender reversal process ("What Is Gender

Perhaps, you are asking yourself this question, what is gender dysphoria? I have the answer. Gender dysphoria is “ the diagnosis typically given to a person whose assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.” However, let’s not confuse this with sexual orientation, this does not mean they are homosexual, this means they do not identify who they are as their given birth

People with gender Identity crises do not feel their genitalia reflects who they are inside. They may feel a powerful drive to have their genitalia match their self-image opting for sex reassignment surgery. Gender expression is far more relaxed than it has been throughout our history in America, but it still poses a problems for some on a daily basis. Gender expression is one area where women have a social advantage over men. It is far more socially acceptable for a woman to dress masculine than for a man to dress feminine; although neither are without predigests.

Sexuality and gender identity issues have had a long history in the fields of mental health and public policy. There has been much debate surrounding the inclusion of issues related to gender and sexual identity in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual since its initial stages of development (Drescher, 2010). Debates in this field of interest have been fragmented between several stakeholders (Ehrbar, 2010). This fragmentation has created complications in the process of developing United States policies that are inclusive of individuals with gender identities that do not match the gender to which they were assigned at birth. Specifically, policies surrounding gender reassignment surgeries have been difficult to develop and

Gender and gender roles are a somewhat complicated idea to understand. Contrary to popular belief, gender and sex are two different things in that “gender is not inherently nor solely connected to one’s physical anatomy” (“Understanding Gender”). When parents automatically assign their child a gender based on their sex organs, it leaves very little room for change later in the child’s life, because children born with female sex organs are not necessarily girls, just as children born with male sex organs are not necessarily boys. Rather, gender is based on mindset, personal identity, outward presentations, and behavior of the individual. Binary genders, or the broadly

If we start discussing the various gender identities at an early age in schools, perhaps it will help to resolve the isolation that these individuals feel. It will not change everyone’s views, but we can start the discussion early on in hopes that we can have a better understanding and become more compassionate. After all, we don’t choose to be who we are, that is decided while we are still in our mother’s womb. We should all be free to live our lives the way that we want

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.

Traditionally speaking, most people view sex and gender as interchangeable, synonymous, and biological. As more studies and research are done, more professionals are realizing the vital difference between the two terms. Sex, according to sociologist Doctor Zuleyka Zevallos, is the “biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through a focus on chromosomes, genitalia, or some other physical ascription”. She goes on to say that the definition of gender is “the cultural meanings attached to men and women’s roles; and how individuals understand their identities including, but not limited to, being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, gender queer, and other gender identities” (Zeyallos, 2014). We see sex as something we are assigned at birth due to the body parts we are born with, and we see gender as the way one identifies with their assigned sex. In the majority of cases, assigned sex and gender identity line up, but less often it does not. In these cases, we see individuals who are transgender, gender queer, gender fluid, and more. More people are coming forward about these different ways they are experiencing gender, so many people assume these ways of experiencing gender are new.

Through examining the ways intersex individuals are treated in a medical setting, one can see how science only allows binary bodies to be created. Crawley et al. (2007) discusses intersex individuals and the standard treatment of intersex children, being to alter their ‘abnormal’ genitalia to resemble one of the two genders. This has become the normal treatment as if this is necessary, but the only threat the child is in danger of is not fitting perfectly into the heteronormative standard of correct genitalia. Because surgical intervention proves we alter and change one’s sex, it becomes difficult to claim that sex and gender are solely biological, when clearly one’s gender and sex becomes largely altered the moment they are born into society. Anne Fausto Sterling, outlines her concept of the five sexes, explaining that intersex is a term used to describe any individual that doesn’t fit into the narrow categories of male and female. She explains that the same process that was in play in the Middle Ages is

Growing up, most children are introduced to two binary genders: male and female. Gender is different than sex. Sex refers to a person’s biological makeup: “configuration of chromosomes, hormones, gonads (ovaries, testicles), reproductive units (sperm, egg), and internal and external anatomy” (Herbenick and Baldwin, par. 5). Gender is your expression of femininity or masculinity. A person may vary between feeling like a female or male, both, or neither. As society is culturally advancing, it should do so legally as well. There is a need for recognition of more than two genders in the United States, which are not binary like female and male. If this choice went into regulation, it would make the moral community

Despite the transgender population’s small size, more people identify as transgender now than in any previously recorded time period. This is largely due to social movements that aim to improve upon and normalize LGBT experiences. As it becomes more common to think outside of traditional gender roles and the Western gender binary, more individuals discover that they do not psychologically conform to the genders they are assigned at birth and instead seek to make social and physical transitions that better align with their chosen gender identity. For many, the decision to transition is partly due to gender dysphoria, a feeling of unease in one’s body because it does not match their gender identity. This discomfort can be severe enough to cause

Chapter eleven focuses on sexual disorders and gender identity disorders. For this discussion I wanted to talk about gender identity disorder. For ordinary individuals they can describe themselves or identify themselves as either males or females since we are a child. But, there are some individuals who do not experienced this type of clarity. For some individuals it is a sense that their identity is different from the gender category which they were born with or that it is something that lies outside of the usual male versus female categories. These individuals are known as transgender experiences. It is something that we are seeing more and more of in society today. Many of these transgender individuals come to terms with themselves and they find

International, national and provincial policy needs revision as the legal rights still vary from different countries and states when it comes to gender identification and poses a significant threat to discriminate against intersex individuals. This lack of support from society strengthens the urgency of medical assignment and surgical interventions to intersex children. However, the psychological ramifications of surgical interventions cannot be ignored. While scholars, ethicists and scientist continue to provide insights and work on the ideal approach, surgical interventions are still being practiced today; heavily influenced by socio-cultural views of gender binarism. In an ethical standpoint, nurture over nature raises the question of who gets to decide what normal genitals should look like? Having the “correct” genitals, chromosomes and hormones shouldn’t be the only way to guarantee a legal spot in a

Society should be more open minded with the topic of gender identity. Our society does not like rapid changes when they are publicly made; there is always a dispute or an opposition against those unexpected changes. The LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) community is the “rapid change” that society finds difficult to deal with. Although, this community has always existed, but it has never been publicly recognized like it is today. Gender Identity is a very complicated topic to talk about because it has so many concepts that only those who find themselves as part of the LGBTQIA+ community can fully understand.