Gender dysphoria is a complex struggle between a person’s physical gender and who he or she identifies, and this could be an individual physically born as a male that identifies as being female and vice versa. Biological sex is determined at birth based upon the appearance of the infant, but gender identity is how the person feels or how they identify themselves, which is where the dysphoria comes in. It is from highly complex genetic, neurodevelopmental, and psychological factors (Mandal, 2012), and is not the same as homosexuality or gender nonconformity. Symptoms and signs of gender dysphoria may vary depending upon age and gender. Gender dysphoria becomes known as a disorder when it fits certain criteria. Treatment is available when needed. There are speculations on the cause, but no real answer. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-5) made changes to ensure clinical care that is proper and without stigma for individuals with gender dysphoria. The DSM-5 does provide an overarching diagnosis, but with specific criteria for children and for adolescents and adults (DSM, 2013). A marked discrepancy between the individual’s communicated gender and his or her natal gender must be ongoing at least six months (Parekh, 2016). Children and adults must verbalize or show a desire to be the other gender under the guidelines of DSM-5. Children must meet six of the eight listed criteria, which are: strong desire to be the other gender or insisting one is the
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
In class, we have learned and discussed how during the period of adolescence, it is known that this is the period of time where individuals are finding themselves and figuring out where they belong. It is during this time where individuals are the most sensitive and personal problems tend to arise more commonly during this stage. A major issue adolescents struggle during this stage is gender identity and sexuality. Adolescents are trying to figure out who they are attracted to and how they perceive themselves to be. While the norm is to identify oneself as their biological gender, there are those who develop gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is a reoccurring feeling that one’s biological gender is the opposite of one’s sexual identity (Cole,
The patient reported that he had never felt comfortable in his own skin and was exclusively attracted to females (Bradley, S.J., Oliver, G. D., Chernick, A. B,, & Zucker, K. J., 1998). This case study displays that genetic factors have a higher effect on gender identity than modeling or parental rearing. Despite the social and environmental factors rearing her to be a girl he always showed his masculinity. This study is interesting and should also be included in transsexual studies.
“One’s sense of gender resides in the brain” (“Gender Identity Disorder”), and this sense of gender is often there before you are born. Dr. Eric Vilain, a professor at the University of California, “identifies fifty-four genes that play a role in the expression of sex in a fetus before hormones are even released” (Windfeild 71&73). One of the biggest mental health issues that are out there is gender identity disorder which “may be as old as humanity (“Gender identity Disorder”). This disorder cause a person, normally a kid, to have a feeling of being the opposite sex . Another reason people need to be aware of people who have gender identity disorder is because if they feel as if they are not safe they may turn to a thing like suicide. “Suicide attempts and substance abuse are common” (“GID”) in people with Gender Identity Disorder. This is so because they often grow up feeling out of place or rejected by family and friends. To help with the mental health of these people with GID people should learn more about
Most gender dysphoric individuals can find relief from Hormone Replacement Therapy to assist in transitioning to the desired gender, while satisfaction is high at the end, there is unaffected depression left over with seemingly no explanation. He acknowledged that “There is a wide and potentially confounding range of variables in defining childhood abuse (age and gender of a child, nature, severity, and frequency of abuse and neglect, perpetrators, circumstances, cultural, linguistic and economic factors.), GD (type, degree or ‘severity’) and depression (type, onset, duration,
Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism published an article by Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis and Daniel Klink titled Adolescents with gender dysphoria in 2015. The article discusses the increase of youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria and receiving medical treatment and possibly surgery as well. The authors stressed the importance for psychotherapy and/or family therapy. The article also discussed the factors that influence gender development psychological, social, and biological. There are not many studies on determinants of gender dysphoria, and no epidemiological studies in children younger than 15 exist at all. Although, more recently research has focused on histological and brain imagining studies on individuals diagnosed
Gender Dysphoria is a name given to the condition of children who express a gender that is opposite of their biologically given gender. Children and teens who present and verbalize the desire to be of the opposite gender for at least six months are then diagnosed and treated medically. This issue is ethically controversial due to many parents, medical doctors, mental professionals, and myself believing that biological gender identification is not fully understood until puberty has taken place, noticing that children are exposed to transgender terminology and situations on the internet that are persuasive and confusing, and being concerned about the medications used to treat a disorder that can barely be explained and is misunderstood. Medications such as hormone blockers and opposite-sex hormones have become readily available to them without any long term testing. Not only should parents, doctors, professionals, and society be concerned about the safety of these medications, we should be asking ourselves, is gender dysphoria even a medical condition that should be treated with drugs or is it a psychological disorder that should be treated with therapy? Gender Dysphoria is a condition in children and teens that the general population does not understand, however, after doing research I believe the definition of gender dysphoria is
Gender Dysphoria is usually defined by constant strong feelings of identifying with the opposite sex and displeasure with one’s own biological gender. These feelings can ultimately result in emotional distress or impairment. People who have been or are diagnosed with GD often feel that they are not the gender they physically see, but the one they psychologically or emotionally feel. For example, a person who has a penis and all of the physical characteristics of a male may feel that he should have been born a female, and
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
Kristen A. Burgess, Emory University School of Medicine and Charles F Gillespie M.D., PhD, department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, state that “gender identity disorder is a mental disorder in which gender identity is incongruent with anatomical sex”. Individuals experience different degrees of unhappiness with their sex at birth, which in turn causes them to pursue the life and body of the opposite sex (2010).
Many people today aren’t being educated about the topic of sex and gender, and they’ll end up living naïve and ignorant lives, but for some it can even be harmful. For some, their sex and gender don’t match up and they will experience gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria can cause a lot of psychological problems for a person, especially if it isn’t treated. Unfortunately, because of the lack of sex and gender education, some people who experience gender dysphoria don’t even know its existence, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and maybe even
The American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fifth edition (DSM-5) is used by mental health professionals to help diagnose Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to the DSM-5, people with ADHD show a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. Neurologically, research suggests that ADHD is associated with problems in the cascade process underlying the stimulus-response relationship in the brain; including reductions in the allocation of “attentional resources,” delays in the speed in which stimuli are processed, and failures to appropriately implement action monitoring processes as assessed using neuroelectric measures
Gender as defined by society as a division between biological sex and the roles you must take on in society. In reality gender is a true spectrum that does not follow a simple linear pattern. There are three major aspects that make a person who they are inside. These aspects are Sex, Gender and Gender Identity.
Living a life feeling out of place, with the wrong feelings, and in the wrong body, for a person with Gender Identity Disorder, this is how they feel day to day. According to the DSM-IV-TR, Gender Identity Disorder is characterized by a strong, persistent cross-gender identification, persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in their gender role of that sex. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), children, adolescents and adults who exhibit a preoccupation with getting rid of or losing their primary and secondary sex characteristics, associated with different mannerisms and actions of the opposite sex; while holding a belief that he or she was born the wrong sex are believed to be classified