Atypical gender development

Question 1

What is gender dysphoria?

Answer 1

A psychiatric condition where individuals feel a misalignment between their biological sex and their gender identity

Question 2

What gene is associated with gender dysphoria?

Answer 2

The androgen receptor gene

Question 3

Which gene allele is associated with gender dysphoria?

Answer 3

The long allele of the androgen receptor gene

Question 4

Which psychologist studied the androgen receptor gene?

Answer 4

Hare

Question 5

What did Hare et al find?

Answer 5

That male to female transgender people were more likely to have the long androgen receptor allele than the cisgender control group

Question 6

What is the role of the long androgen receptor gene allele?

Answer 6

Reduces the action of testosterone which ‘under-masculinises’ the brain

Question 7

What is the brain-sex theory?

Answer 7

It suggests that individuals with gender dysphoria have brains that do not align with their biological sex

Question 8

What are the 2 brain regions are associated with atypical gender development?

Answer 8

BSTc and sexually-dimorphic nucleus

Question 9

How do males BSTcs differ from females BSTcs?

Answer 9

They are twice the size and contain twice the number of neurons

Question 10

What did one study find about MtF transgender individuals BSTcs?

Answer 10

That they were in the female size range

Question 11

What did Stoller propose about gender dysphoria?

Answer 11

Biological males who experience gender dysphoria feel this way because of distorted parental attitudes

Question 12

What is the psychodynamic explanation of gender dysphoria?

Answer 12

During young childhood, boys who have an overly close relationship with their mother experience severe separation anxiety - to overcome this, the boy becomes the ‘mother’ in order to reduce anxiety, thus identifying as a female

Question 13

How can SLT explain gender dysphoria?

Answer 13

Children gain positive reinforcement from parents and/or peers for exhibiting behaviour usually associated with the opposite gender

Question 14

What are the 4 AO3 points for atypical gender development?

Answer 14

1) Criticisms of brain-sex theory
2) Support for social explanations
3) Socially sensitive
4) More than one explanation needed

Question 15

What did Chung find about BSTcs?

Answer 15

That the difference in volume doesn’t develop until adulthood

Question 16

What is the issue with the brain sex theory?

Answer 16

It suffers from bidirectional ambiguity

Question 17

Why does the brain sex theory suffer from bidirectional ambiguity?

Answer 17

Because we are unable to establish whether the brain differences or the gender dysphoria is the cause

Question 18

What percentage of biological males diagnosed with gender dysphoria also had maternal separation anxiety?

Answer 18

64%

Question 19

What did one study find about maternal involvement in boys with gender dysphoria?

Answer 19

That there are high levels of maternal over-involvement

Question 20

Why do social explanations of gender dysphoria lack population validity?

Answer 20

As most research focuses on male to female transgender individuals

Question 21

Why is research into atypical gender development potentially good?

Answer 21

It may lead to greater acceptance and understanding of the transgender + gender dysphoric community

Question 22

Why may research into atypical gender development be socially sensitive?

Answer 22

If a definitive biological cause is found it may lead to attempts to ‘treat’ gender dysphoria, which may not be the most physically, emotionally and cognitive ethical thing to do

Question 23

What has research into the types of male-to-female transgender individuals found?

Answer 23

There are 2 types

Question 24

Who proposed two types of male-to-female transgender individuals?

Answer 24

Blanchard

Question 25

What two types of transgender individual did Blanchard propose?

Answer 25

Homosexual transsexuals and non-homosexual transsexuals

Question 26

What are homosexual transsexuals?

Answer 26

Biological males who wish to change sex because they are attracted to men

Question 27

What are non-homosexual transsexuals?

Answer 27

Biological males who are sexually aroused by the idea of themself as a woman

Question 28

What did the Japanese study into men with gender dysphoria find?

Answer 28

That there were 2 types; those who had been longing to be a female since childhood and those whose discomfort did not occur until adolescence