Transcript What is gender identity disorder?

Psychology 320:
Gender Psychology
Lecture 26
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Gender Identity Development and Gender Dysphoria:
1. When does gender identity develop?
2. What is gender identity disorder?
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When does gender identity develop?
• Gender identity: One’s subjective experience of the self
as female or male; in most cases, is consistent with
one’s biological sex.
• Two lines of research have attempted to determine when
gender identity develops:
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1. Research Related to Kohlberg’s Cognitive
Developmental Theory
 Some researchers maintain that gender identity is
achieved when one is able to correctly label one’s
own gender (i.e., at the end of Kohlberg’s first
stage of cognitive development).
 In contrast, other researchers maintain that gender
identity is achieved only when one has attained
gender consistency (i.e., at the end of Kohlberg’s
third stage of cognitive development).
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 Although girls acquire gender-related knowledge
faster than boys, research suggests that boys
achieve gender identity sooner than girls.
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2. Research on the Impact of Sexual Reassignment
 Case studies of individuals who have been
“reassigned” to the opposite sex suggest that
gender identity is determined before the age of 18
months.
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 Case study of David Reimer (John/Joan): Sex
reassignment of genetic male occurred at
approximately 18 months; female gender identity
failed to develop.
 Case study by Bradley et al. (1998): Sex
reassignment of genetic male occurred at 7
months; female gender identity successfully
developed.
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What is gender identity disorder?
• Gender identity disorder (GID) is a behavioural disorder
identified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (i.e., DSM-IV-TR).
• The condition occurs among those who display gender
dysphoria:
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“I know I’m not a man—about that much I’m very
clear, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m
probably not a woman either, at least not according to
a lot of people’s rules on that sort of thing. The
trouble is, we’re living in a world that insists we be one
or the other—a world that doesn’t bother to tell us
exactly what one or the other is” (Kate Bornstein,
1994, p. 8).
“I have [n]ever understood what it is to be a man or a
woman …. I seem to be neither, or maybe both, yet
ultimately only myself” (Holly Boswell, 1997, p. 54).
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• Diagnostic criteria for GID from the DSM-IV-TR:
A. A strong persistent cross-gender identification (not
merely a desire for any perceived cultural
advantages of being the other sex).
In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is
manifested by symptoms such as a stated desire to
be the other sex, frequent passing as the other sex,
desire to live or be treated as the other sex, or the
conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and
reactions of the other sex.
In children, the disturbance is manifested by four (or
more) of the following:
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(a) repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that
he or she is, the other sex.
(b) in boys, preference for cross-dressing or
simulating female attire; in girls, insistence on
wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing.
(c) strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex
roles in make-believe play or persistent fantasies of
being the other sex.
(d) intense desire to participate in the stereotypical
games and pastimes of the other sex.
(e) strong preference for playmates of the other sex.
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B. Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of
inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex.
In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is
manifested by symptoms such as preoccupation with
getting rid of primary and secondary sex
characteristics (e.g., request for hormones, surgery,
or other procedures to physically alter sexual
characteristics to simulate the other sex) or belief that
he or she was born the wrong sex.
In children, the disturbance is manifested by any of
the following:
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In boys, assertion that his penis or testes are
disgusting or will disappear or assertion that it would
be better not to have a penis, or aversion toward
rough-and-tumble play and rejection of male
stereotypical toys, games, and activities.
In girls, rejection of urinating in a sitting position,
assertion that she has or will grow a penis, or
assertion that she does not want to grow breasts or
menstruate, or marked aversion toward normative
feminine clothing.
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C. The disturbance is not concurrent with physical
intersex condition.
D. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress
or impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning.
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Gender Identity Development and Gender Dysphoria:
1. When does gender identity develop?
2. What is gender identity disorder?
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