atypical gender development Flashcards
what is gender dysphoria
men and women experience mismatch between biological sex and gender they feel that they are
do not identigy as their sex at given birth
source of stress and discomfort and recognised as psychological disorder in dsm5
what is brain sex theory
gender dysphoria has basis in brain structure- bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
structure involved in emotional responses and also in male sexual behaviour in rats
area larger in men than women and has been found to be female sized in transgender females
suggestion that people with gender dysphoria have bst which is size of gender they identify with not size of biological sex
dimophism in bst fits with the report made by people who transgender that they feel from early childhood that they were born with wrong sex
follow up study six transgender individuals showed average bst neuron number in female range
what are genetic factors
coolidge- assessed 157 twin pairs foe evidence of gender dysphoria, found 62% of varianmce could be accounted for by genetic factors, strong heritable component to gender dysphoria
hyelens- compared 23 mz twins with 21 dz twins where each pair diagnosed with gender dysphoria, found nine mz twins concordant for gender dysphoria compared to none of dzs which would indicate a role for genetic factors int he development of gender dysphoria
what is social constructionism
gender identity does not reflect underlying biological differences between people and concepts invented by societies
gender confusion arises because society forces people to be either man or woman- pick a side and act accordingly
not pathological condition but social phenonenon arises when people required to choose one or the other
mcclintock- case of individuals with genetic condition in sambia new guinea, causes biological males to be categorised as girls at birth because they have labia and clitoris, puberty their genitals change because of large increase in testosterone- testes descend and clitoris enlarges into penis
genetic variation common among the sambia routinely accepted that some men some women are others are females then males
culture has had contact with other cultures, they are now judges as having pathological form of gender dysphoria
what is psychoanalytic theory
ovesy and person social relationships within the family as the cause of gender dysphoria
gender dysphoria in biological males caused by boy experiencing extreme sepaeation anxiety before gender identity been established
boy fantasises of symbiotic fusion with mother to relieve anxiety and danger of separation removed
consequence is boy becomes the mother and adopts womans gender identity
stoller- reports that in interviews gd biological males displayed overly close relationships with their mothers suggesting stronger female identification and thus conflicted gender identity in the long term
what is contradictory evidence (brain sex theory evaluation)
central claims challenged
hulshoff pol- studied changes in trans individuals brains using mri scans taken during hormone treatment, scans showed size of bst changed over that period
researchers- bst examined post morten and after trans had received hormone treatment during gender reassignment treatment
suggests differences in bst may have been an effect of hormone therapy rather than cause of gender dysphoria
what is other brain differences (brain sex theory evaluation)
evidence suggests there may be other brain differences associated with gender dysphoria
rametti-studied another sexually dimorphic aspect of brain- white matter, regional differences in proportion of white matter in male and female brain, analysed the brains of both male and female transgender individuals before they began hormone treatment as part of gender reassignment, amount and distribution of white matter corresponded more closely to the gender individuals identified themselves as being rather than biological sex
suggests early differences in brains of trasngender individuals
what is social constructionism (social constructionism evaluation)
not all cultures have two genders
some cultures recognise more than one gender
challenge to traditional binary classifications of male and female
increasing numbers people describe themselves as non binary suggests cultural understanding is beginning to catch up with lived experience of many
suggests gender identity is seen as social construction rather than biological fact
what is psychoanalytic theory (psychoanalytic theory evaluation)
issues with theory
ovesey and persons explanation doesnt provide adequate account of gender dysphoria in biological females as theory only applies to trasn women
rekers-gender dysphoria in assigned male at birth more likely to be associated with absence of father than fear of separation from mother
suggests does not provide comprehensive account of gender dysphoria
