Atypical gender development

Question 1

What is gender dysphoria?

Answer 1

A psychiatric condition listed in the DSM-V. Individuals experience confusion/ psychological distress because they have strong persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender

Question 2

What is the Transsexual gene?

Answer 2

• Hare et al looked at DNA of 112 MtF transexuals and found they have longer version of androgen receptor
• result is reduced action of testosterone
• may have effect on gender-development in the womb

Question 3

What is the brain sex theory?

Answer 3

• male and females brains are different, transexuals brain don’t match their genetic sex
• BSTc (bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) in thalamus
• size of BSTc correlates with the preferred sex than biological
• Zhou et al found the number of neurones in the BSTc in MtF were similar to females

Question 4

What is the environmental effects on gender?

Answer 4

• external cause pollution
• pesticide DDT contains oestrogen which may mean males are prenatally exposed to female hormones

Question 4

What is phantom limb theory?

Answer 4

• Ramachandran suggest gender dysphoria because of innate form of phantom limb syndrome

Question 5

What is mental illness in regards to gender?

Answer 5

• gender dysphoria = mental illness
• related to childhood trauma or maladaptive upbringing
• Coats et al- studied boy who have gender dysphoria because of mother’s depression after abortion
• occurred at 3 when child sensitive to gender
• said trauma lead to cross-gender fantasy to resolve anxiety

Question 6

What is the mother-son relationship?

Answer 6

• Stoller saiss gender dysphoria arises from distorted parental attitudes
• over close relationship between mother son
• enmeshed
• greater female identification confused gender identity

Question 7

What is the father daughter relationship?

Answer 7

• Zucker say that FtM because of paternal rejection
• if they turn into males they may be accepted by their father

Question 8

A03 Support comes from other evidence of brain differences associated with GD

Answer 8

• Rametti et al studies sexually dimorphic aspects of brain ( white and grey matter)
• regional differences in proportion of white matter in males and females
• analysed brains of m/f transgenders before they began hormone therapy
• white matter closely look like to preferred gender
• supports that gender dysphoria has biological origin

Question 9

A03 Research to support cross wiring

Answer 9

• Ramachandran and McGeoch compared gender dysphoria patients and non gender dysphoria patients who had sex organs removed
• 60% of non gender patients experience phantom penis
• 30% of GD has such experiences
• suggests that there is no penis wiring
• 10% of FtM experience phantom breast
• GD people have differently wired brains compared to those without

Question 10

A03 Support for social explanation comes from disordered attachment

Answer 10

• Owen-Anderson found high levels of over emotional over-involvement in mothers of boys with GD, supporting psychodynamic approach

Question 11

A03 Not all research supports social explanation

Answer 11

• Cole studied 435 individuals experiencing GD and reported a range of psychiatric conditions displayed was no greater than normal population
• suggests that GD unrelated to trauma of pathological families

Question 12

A03 Knowing there is a biological explanation is a relief

Answer 12

• Classifying as medical category requiring treatment removes the responsibility from the person
• less likely to feel as if it’s their fault

Question 13

A03 Label of mental disorder

Answer 13

• Labels stigmatising those who are subject to it characterising them as ill or sick rather than different