Atypical Gender Development

Question 1

what is gender dysphoria?

Answer 1

• mismatch between biological sex and the gender they feel they are

Question 2

what is gender dysphoria a source of?

Answer 2

• stress and discomfort, so it is recognised as a psychological disorder in DSM-5

Question 3

what are the biological explanations of atypical gender development?

Answer 3

• brain sex theory
• genetic factors

Question 4

what is the brain sex theory?

Answer 4

• gender dysphoria has a basis in the brain structure = bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST)

Question 5

what is the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis involved in?

Answer 5

• emotional responses
• males = sexual behaviour in rats
• this area is larger in men than women and has been found to be female-sized in transgender females (Kruijver et al)

Question 6

what does research into the BST suggest?

Answer 6

• people with gender dysphoria have a BST which is the size of the gender that they identify with and not their biological sex
• dismorphism in the BST fits with the report made by people who are transgender that they feel, from early childhood that they were born the wrong sex (Zhou et al)

Question 7

what was Kruijver et al’s follow up study?

Answer 7

• 6 transgender individuals showed an average BST neuron number in the female range

Question 8

who are the researchers involved in genetic factors?

Answer 8

• Coolidge et al
• Heylens et al

Question 9

what did Coolidge et al do?

Answer 9

• assessed 157 twin pairs (96MZ and 61DZ) for evidence of gender dysphoria
• researchers found that 62% of the variance in gender could be accounted for by genetic factors
  = strong heritable component to gender dysphoria

Question 10

what did Heylens et al do?

Answer 10

• compared 23 MZ twins with 21 DZ twins where one of each pair was diagnosed with gender dysphoria
• found that 39% of MZ twins were concordant for gender dysphoria(if one twin had it so did the other) compared to the 0% for DZ twins
  = role of genetic factors in the development of gender dysphoria

Question 11

what are the social explanations of atypical gender development?

Answer 11

• social constructionism
• psychanalytic theory

Question 12

what doe social construction argue?

Answer 12

• gender identity does not reflect underlying biological differences between people, but these concepts are invented by society

Question 13

where does gender dysphoria arise due to social constructionism?

Answer 13

• for people who experience gender dysphoria, the gender confusion arises because society forces people to be either man or woman, they must pick a side and act accordingly

Question 14

what is gender dysphoria in terms of social constructionism?

Answer 14

• gender dysphoria is not a pathological condition but a social phenomenon which arises when people are required to choose one of two particular paths

Question 15

who is the researcher involved in social constructionism?

Answer 15

• McClintock

Question 16

what did McClintock do?

Answer 16

• individuals in Sambia of New Guinea with a genetic condition (5-alpha-reductase deficiency)
• causes some biological males to be categorised as girls at birth as they have a labia and a clitoris
• at puberty their gential change as there is a large increase in testosterone = testes descend and clitoris enlarges into a penis
• this genetic variation is common among the Sambia, it was routinely accepted than some people are men, women or kwolu-aatmwol(females then males)
• females-then-males are judged as having a pathological form of gender dysphoria

Question 17

who are the researchers involved in the psychoanalytic theory?

Answer 17

• Ovesey and Person
• Stoller

Question 18

what did Ovesey and Person do?

Answer 18

• emphasises social relationships within the family as the cause of gender dysphoria
• gender dysphoria in biological males = boy experiences extreme separation anxiety before gender identity is established
• boy fantasises of a symbiotic fusion with his mother to relive the anxiety, the danger of separation is removed
• the boy as a consequence becomes the mother and adopts the woman’s gender identity

Question 19

what did Stoller say?

Answer 19

• reports that in interviews, gender dysphoria in biological males displayed overly close relationships with their mothers suggesting stronger female identification and thus conflicted gender identity in the long term