atypical gender development Flashcards
what differences is needed to have gender dysphoria
a difference between ones assigned and experienced gender
what specifies the criteria for gender dysphoria
DSM-5
do adults and children have different criteria they need to meet?
yes
what are the 6 criterias for gender dysphoria in adults and how many does one need to have to be classified as having gender dysphoria
- a marked incongruence between ones experienced and assigned gender and characteristics
- a strong desire to be rid of ones characteristics
- a strong desire for the characteristics of another gender
- a strong desire to be of the other gender
- a strong desire to be treated as the other gender
- a strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender
- 2 are needed
what are the 8 criterias for gender dysphoria in children and how many does one need to have to be classified as having gender dysphoria
- a strong desire to be of the other gender
- a strong preference for wearing typical clothes of the other gender
- a strong preference for cross-gender roles in fantasy play
- a strong preference for the toys, games and activities of the other gender
- a strong preference for playmates of the other gender
- a strong rejection of toys and games of ones assigned gender
- a strong dislike of ones sexual anatomy
- a strong desire for the physical sex characteristucs of ones experienced gender
- 6 are needed
what theory is the biological explanation for gender dysphoria
brain sex theory
what is brain sex theory
suggests a persons gender dysphoria is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a persons biological sex
who did research into brain sex theory (Zhou)
Zhou 1995 - studied the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) which is 40% larger in males than females = sexually dimorphic - in post-mortems of six male-to-female transgender people who recieved feminising hormones the BSTc was found to be a similar size to women
research support by Kruijiver et al
Kruijiver et al 2000 focused on the number of neurons in the BSTc rather than the volume, the same six transgenders showed a similar number of neurons in the BSTc to those found in the heterosexual women - this suggests that the basis for dysmorphia is determined before birth
limitations for brain sex theory
- did a post mortem = retrospective and might not be as accurate to when they were alive
- can’t estabish causality, they had feminisation hormones = could result in a decrease of the BSTc and also they lived as females (brain has plasticity and changes with experience) = not sure if small BSTc is a result of gender dysphoria or a symptom of it
research supporting brain sex theory by Rametti
Rametti et al 2011 - studied difference in white matter in male and female transgender before their hormone treatment and found the volume of white matter was representative of their gender identitiy not asigned sex = supports that neuroanatomical differences do play a role in gender dysphoria
Heylens et al research into genetic influences
Heylens et a; compared concordance rates for gender dysphoria in MZ and DZ twins and found 9 of the MZ twins were concordant and none of the SZ twins
Hare et al research into genetic influences
hare et al found that 112 male to female transexuals were more likely to have longer androgen receptor genes which leads to a reduction in testosterone which may reduce the binding action of androgens and therefore masculinisation of the brain may not occur
hormonal influences for males
males release hormones from their testes during the third month of pregnancy with an additional release between 2 and 12 weeks after birth - if these surges occur in insufficient amounts or at the wrong time then masculinisation of an infant may not occur
hormonal influences for females
females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia have maladaptive functioning of the adrenal glands resulting in an overproduction of androgens such as testosterone that could be responsible for masculinisation of the brain - although only a small percentage of those with CAH show gender dysphoria the percentage is higher than in the general pop
research into hormonal differences (limitation) by Gladue
research into hormonal differences between those with atypical and typical behaviour identity doesnt support a hormonal explanation - Gladue found few if any hormonal differences between gender dysphoric men, homosexual men and heterosexual men = the development of gender dysphoria isnt significantly impacted by hormones
limitation of hormal influences on gender dysphoria
research into females with CAH is inconclusive - although the rate of gender dysphoria is higher in those than in the general pop - there is still only a small % however they do have significant hormonal differences = hormones alone cant explain all cases of gender dysphoria, this may be as the explanation is overly reductionist - taking a complex behaviour such as GID and explaining it purely in terms of hormones or brain areas could be criticised as overly simplistic = ignores social and cognitive factors
strength of hormonal influences
does provide a good explanation for the strength and longevity of the gender dysphoric feelings - those with GID show a strong, persistent desire to change sex and are willing to undergo surgery and hormone replacement despite extreme prejudice = biological influences may play a bigger role than social factors
what are the social explanations of gender dysphoria
- social constructivism
- social learning theory
- operant conditioning
- childhood traums
- irregular parental attachment
social construction explanation of gender dysphoria and the research
(building gender) - argues gender identity is invented by society, those who become confused with their gender feel like society forces them to ‘pick a gender’ = gender dysphoria is a social phenomenon rather than a pathological condition - this is evident in sambia, new guinea where some have a condition where biological males are born female but then develop into males at puberty - this was just referred to as female-then-male but with interference from other countries it has been categorised as a pathological form of gender dysphoria
social learning theory explanation of gender dysphoria
an individual may observe and imitate people who show cross-gendered or gender atypical behaviour - this person may be a role model or we may witness vicarious reinforcement if that person is rewarded for their gender stypical behaviour e.g. increased attention
operant condition explanation of gender dysphoria
children may be positively reinforced for exhibiting cross-gender behaviour - may children experiment with these e.g. boys wearing dresses and parents may reinforce this by laughing
childhood trauma explanation of gender dysphoria
- if males experience emotional and physical abuse by a father, brother or male peers this may lead to a negative identification of masculinity - as a result they may feel safer in the female world and over identify with the goodness of femininity while harbouring a cognitive distortion that masculinity is cruel and insensitive which may lead to a desire to be female
- females who experience abuse by a father, brother or male peers may perceive masculine traits as more powerful and wish to identify as a male to reduce being a victim to DV (defence mechanism) (Zucker)
irregular parental attachment explanation of gender dysphoria
males who fail to forma secure attachment due to an affectionless mother, usually as the mothers reject of boisterous play and masculine traits and may supress the relationship of the father and son = son learns feminine behaviour is more acceptable and will lead to maternal acceptance so they display gender atypical behaviour (Zucker)
limitation of social explanations of atypical behaviour (other theories)
biological explanation could be better - e.g. research by Zhou found the BSTc was similar in size with transgender male-to-females to heterosexual females even though the area is sexually dimorphic = could be argued as more credible as it uses empirical methods
one limitation of social explanations of gender (SS)
socially sensitive - presents gender dysphoria as an unwanted side effect of abuse from parents and allocates blame to others who may then feel guilty/may be treated negatively by society, parents also feel guilty, for some experiencing the transition on their child can be a difficult time as they grieve the child they lost and the additional possibility of causing it may have a negative impact upon them
strength of social explanations of gender dysphoria
strength of social constructivism is that not all cultures have 2 genders, some cultures recognise more than 2 genders e.g. fa’afafine of Samoa = challenge to traditional binary classifications of male and female - the increasing number of people describing themselves as non-binary suggests cultural understanding is beginning to catch up with the lived experience of many = gender identity is best seen as a social construction rather than a biological fact
