3.8 Atypical Gender Development Flashcards
What is gender dysphoria?
Chronic distress due to perception of sex and gender mismatch - excluding intersex because they are biologically verifiable
What is an example of cultural bias for atypical development?
Samoan culture has 3 genders and they aren’t at increased risk of any psychological disorder
What did Hares study find about a possible transexual gene?
Studied MtF transexuals DNA
Androgen receptor gene was significantly longer in transexuals
What is the effect of a longer androgen receptor gene?
reduces ability of testosterone to cause changes in development
How does a longer androgen receptor gene affect the brain?
brain may be much less masculine if threshold for masculine development is never reached
(because of reduced effect of testosterone on development)
What is a MtF transexuals brain like according to brain-sex theory?
The BSTc is smaller in transexuals (also in cis females)
What is a FtM tansexuals brain like according to brain-sex theory?
The BSTc is usually within typical cis male range
How does phantom limb syndrome affect FtM transexuals (what percentage affected)?
Feel a phantom penis including phantom erections
Experienced by 2/3 of FtM transexuals
How do Ramachandram and McGeoch explain phantom limbs in transexuals?
Sex organs have specific hard wired brain locations
If wiring is disrupted or developed atypically (eg. low fetal testosterone activity)
Genitals can be disrupted in opposite way to persons sex
How does phantom limb syndrome affect MtF transexuals?
Feel they should not have a penis
What is an example of a pesticide which affects gender development?
DDT - an insecticide containing oestrogen
How does DDT affect gender development?
Oestrogen in it can get into the human blood stream of pregnant women
which can cause boys who had increased oestrogen exposure in the womb
to express more feminine characteristics
What are the social explanations of GID?
Mental illness (childhood trauma)
Mother-son relationships
Father-daughter relationships
What the biological explanations of GID?
Transsexual gene
The brain-sex theory
Phantom limb and cross-wiring
Environmental effects of pesticides
What happened in the case study that showed how childhood trauma and mental illness affects gender development?
Coates et al
- Mother had abortion during boys gender stability stage
- the mother became depressed - the boy witnessed it
- boy developed gender dysphoria to understand mother and become more like her as a defence mechanism (freud)
How do mother son relationships affect gender development?
- Boys with dysphoria had very close relationships with mother with blurred boundaries
- Boys could have over identified with mother
- Identification with wrong role model led to confused identity
How do father daughter relationships affect gender development?
- Dysphoric girls were usually rejected by fathers
- Resulting in over-identification with father
- Increased imitation of male behaviours lead to confused identity
What is a criticism of the brain-sex theory?
Chung et al
found that the BSTc volume difference between men and women developed in adulthood
but most transexuals report dysphoria in early childhood
What is support for the brain-sex theory?
Rametti et al
Found that FtM brains before hormone therapy had similar white matter pattern to their gender identity than their biological sex
What is support for cross-wiring?
Cis-gender individuals more likely to experience phantom sensation when penis/breasts are removed than transsexuals
What are the support of social explanations?
High levels of separation anxiety in MtF individuals and of over emotional involvement
What is a criticism of biological explanations of GID?
Socially sensitive research - may make people more accepting of transexuals but may make them wrongly believe that is is inevitable
