Research Paper On Gender Dysphoria

Many experts say that gender confirmation surgery can often be vital to the health of individuals suffering from gender dysphoria; a fundamental sense of dissatisfaction with the gender one is assigned with at birth. According to a publication by the National Institutes of Health, gender dysphoria can result in psychological and mental issues such as anxiety, depression, and dissociation.

Only 5% of these females experienced gender dysphoria- which shows that other factors are important in gender development and that hormones weren’t a key factor of determining gender in this study. This criticism of the biological approach shows that it is too reductionist, in that it ignores other factors. As well it is deterministic, as it reduces human behaviour down to simply biology and the act of hormones on gender development, ignoring social and cultural influence.

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

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

This is also highlighted in Between the Sexes, when Debbie Hartman makes the hasty choice to change her son, Kyle into a girl. Both parents and intersexed individuals show a great deal of confusion within the standard, two-gender system of the modern world. The seven people from "Gender Identity and Coping...", were asked if they were happy with their gender reassignment surgery. Six replied that they were not (Schweizer, 196). All of these case studies may take from a small sample, but they also all point to similar results. Although, all six described their dissatisfaction with the surgery differently, implying a deeper level of consideration than Gorman and Cole display. One wanted to be left as they were. Another wished their parents chose the other sex. Generally, though, Between the Sexes's assertion that gender reassignment is psychologically harmful is well supported. In order for this to be truly acceptable, researchers would need a sampling of a group of intersexuals who were left unaltered. Unfortunately, no such study exists.

Bradley et al., also mention a similar case in which a 2-month year old male was injured during an electrocautery circumcision and his entire penile shaft was burned and the penis eventually sloughed off. At 7-months the rest of the penis and testes were removed and the parents made the decision to reassign their son to a female and to raise him as a girl. The patient was interviewed at two separate times. The first time was at age 16 and the patient stated that she had been living a female life and had no uncertainty about being a woman. The patient mentioned that during her childhood she viewed herself as a “tomboy” but she still maintained her circle of friends to mainly girls. She wanted to have sexual intercourse with males so she arranged a vaginoplasty. She was interviewed once more at age 26 and reported that she had been attracted to women in fantasy, and enjoyed experiences with both women and men. She now

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,

Biologically, sex is determined by chromosomes, (XX = female and XY = male). That is primarily how one is determined male or female. However, Daniela Crocetti (2013), argues that chromosomes are not the only determining factor, that instead some people can be born with an imbalance in their hormone and testosterone system, this imbalance attributes to qualities that are more commonly seen in the opposite sex. This trait is most commonly seen through transexuals. Hormonal therapy is an option for those who experience these certain types of imbalances, it focuses on the “gendered presentation of the body and behavioral components…”. As a result, the therapy tends to make one feel “like how they're supposed to feel”. However, what if one prefers

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

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.

Treatments for these conditions are tedious and expensive. If surgery is decided upon for reconstructive purposes, then pediatric surgeons are a necessity. Also, the patients are forced to have further appointments with pediatricians, endocrinologists, urologists, and more. Concurrently, these children will have to be seen by a psychiatrist, or a psychologist to deal with the emotional stress that these abnormalities bring. Another form of treatment that goes along with surgery is hormonal treatment, which helps with the transformation to either gender. Doctors enhance feminine traits by prescribing estrogen, and testosterone is given to enhance masculine traits.

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

They know it will not change throughout life. Even though children begin to see the difference of male and females, children born boys may feel and identify as girls and girls may feel and identify as boys. Parents might dismiss their child’s claim as a simple phase because of the expectations they have about their sons and daughters. However it is not a phase. Gender dysphoria, also known as gender identity disorder, is a condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex. Children with gender dysphoria are affected both psychologically and sociologically; however, with the proper diagnosis and treatment parents will have the knowledge to properly bring up a child with gender dysphoria. Psychologically a child may have suicidal tendencies, be depressed, have emotional problems, and have high levels of stress and anxiety. Sociologically a child tends to be alone, tormented by peers and frightened of never being accepted by

Many transgender reform advocates argue that trans sexuality is not a mental disorder, but a physical problem, which can be fixed by means of a combination of physical surgery that is designed to change the body. Whether trans sexuality is viewed as a mental disorder or whether it is viewed as simply another category of gender that should be accepted by society as appropriate, the moral tension on the issue of GRES remains strong since GReS is an invasive surgery that requires tons of medical resources that may be put to better use for something more urgent and serious. Two ideas of trans sexuality are that it is a primarily psychiatric disorder and that it is a primarily physical disorder.

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