Atypical gender development Flashcards
What is gender dysphoria?
A mismatch between an individual’s biological sex and their gender identity causing distress
What is the biological explanation for gender dysphoria based on brain sex theory?
Gender dysphoria is caused by brain structures that are incompatible with a person’s biological sex specifically differences in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis BSTc
What evidence supports the brain sex theory of gender dysphoria?
Post-mortem studies found the BSTc is smaller in trans women similar to cisgender women suggesting a biological basis
What is a key limitation of the brain sex theory for gender dysphoria?
Findings are correlational differences in BSTc size may be due to hormone therapy rather than a cause of gender dysphoria
How does genetic research explain gender dysphoria?
Twin studies suggest a genetic component higher concordance rates for gender dysphoria in MZ twins compared to DZ twins
What is a limitation of genetic explanations for gender dysphoria?
Concordance rates are not 100% suggesting environmental factors must also play a role
What is the social explanation for gender dysphoria based on the psychoanalytic theory?
Gender dysphoria is caused by childhood experiences such as separation anxiety leading to identification with the opposite sex
What is a key criticism of the psychoanalytic explanation for gender dysphoria?
Lack of empirical support theory is difficult to test scientifically and based on retrospective accounts
What is the cognitive explanation for gender dysphoria?
Gender dysphoria results from an individual developing an extreme gender schema leading to a rigid belief that they are the opposite sex
What is a general limitation of social explanations for gender dysphoria?
They lack strong empirical support and struggle to explain biological evidence such as BSTc differences
