Atypical gender development (gender) Flashcards
What is gender dysphoria?
- An abnormal condition where individuals experience their gender identity as not fitting their phenotype
so a male who is biological male (male genitalia) feeling they’re female
The personal experience of this discomfort is known as gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria- general info
- Prejudice and negative feelings of anxiety and distress lead to depression, self harm and suicide
-affects males more than females
-most gender dysphoria occurs in childhood
How does taking hormones help people with gender dysphoria?
- masculinising or feminising hormones can be taken to alter physical features
—> ultimate is gender reassignment surgery
Social/ psychological explanations associated with development of gender dysphoria=
- traumatic events
- parent child interactions
- family dynamics
- there’s also a link of adolescent gender dysphoria to autism spectrum disorders
Social explanations for gender dysphoria perceive it as being learnt through _______ conditioning
- operant
- individuals reinforced for exhibiting cross-gender behaviour
——-> learning theory of gender dysphoria argues that parents may have reinforced the condition by encouraging and complimenting their children for such behaviour
How does social learning play a part with gender dysphoria?
- The disorder is learnt by observation and imitation of individuals modelling cross-gender behaviour
What does the psychodynamic theory say about gender dysphoria?
- in males:
- caused by child experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity has been established
- the child fantasises of a SYMBIOTIC FUSION with his mother to relieve the anxiety, and the danger of separation is removed
——> consequence is that the child becomes the mother and thus adopts a female gender identity
What are the genetic and biochemical explanations of gender dysphoria?
genetic= condition is an inherited abnormality
biochemical= hormonal imbalances during foetal growth
–> may be that the two combine, with hormonal imbalances being caused genetically
- over or under exposure to androgens in the womb leads to subsequent masculinisation or feminisation
How would a hormonal explanation explain gender dysphoria?
- in the 3rd month and 2&12 weeks after birth, the child must have hormone surges from the testes, and these must occur at the right time and in sufficient amounts in order for masculinisation of an infant to occur.
—-> perhaps the process isn’t carried out successfully due to the mother’s endocrine system, maybe maternal stress or an illness that interferes with hormone levels, GENDER DYSPHORIA MAY EVENTUALLY ARISE
- A similar process may occur in females with the involvement of oestrogen
How do researchers assess the importance of genes to the development of a disorder?
- Compare concordance rates of MZ twins and DZ twins
—> if gender dysphoria involves an inherited component, there should be a higher concordance in MZ twins than DZ twins
2 studies that support the biological explanations of gender dysphoria=
HEYLEN
- review of case studies that examined concordance rates between MZ and DZ twins for GD
- in 23 MZ pairs and 21 DZ pairs, in all cases one member of the pair had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria
—> supports the claim that gender dysphoria involves a genetic component
- In the DZ twins, none of the other twins experienced gender dysphoria. In the MZ twins, about 1/2 of the other twins also had gender dysphoria
HARE
- examined gene samples from male gender dysphorics and non-dysphorics
- Correlation found between gender dysphoria and variants of the androgen receptor gene, implying that the gene is involved in a failure to masculinise the brain during development in womb
–>
supports biological explanation
2 studies that support social/psychological explanation of gender dysphoria
- GLADUE
- Reported that there where few hormonal differences between gender-dysphoric men, heterosexual men and homosexual men
—> evidence AGAINST influence of hormones on gender dysphoria - Similar results were found with women, so social explanation may be more fitting
REKERS
- found that in 70 gender dysphoric boys there was more evidence of social than biological factors, also common factor of lack of stereotypical male role model
—> suggests social learning factors play a role in the condition
AO3 - FOR biological
HINES
- argues that the strong, persistent desire to change sex, and the willingness to undergo hormone therapy and surgery despite stigma and prejudice that’s associated points to biological explanation
BENNET
-Points out that while SLT explains development of cross-gender behaviours it can’t explain the STRENGTH of the beliefs that the individuals possess concerning being the wrong sex. suggests biological explanation
-The fact that majority of people with gender dysphoria given hormones to reduce the lack of harmony between feeling of the opposite gender to their biological sex see their treatment as SUCCESSFUL suggests a biological basis
—->
GREEN AND FLEMING
found that hormone therapies in treating gender dysphoria were:
87% successful in women
97% successful in men
Limitations=
- Reductionist
- Doesn’t explain why more children than adults are gender dysphoric
- Ignores social factors eg traumatic events or SLT
- Evidence against, such as Gladue and Rekkers
AO3- social explanation
FOR=
Conditioning experiences may explain why more children than adults are gender dysphoric. Early life experiences dominated by the family, where cross-gender behaviour is tolerated or encouraged.
—->
as child grows, others outside family have an influence, making it more likely an individual will be punished for behaving in gender inappropriate ways
AGAINST=
Psychoanalytic theory doesn’t provide sufficient explanation of gender dysphoria in females.
—->
Also idea that gender dysphoria caused by separation anxiety in childhood is hard to test
Other AO3 points
- Increasingly evidence suggests role of hormones and genetics as the main cause of gender dysphoria however there’s likely to be other psychological factors involved.
- Gender dysphoria is a sensitive area in which to conduct research, care must be taken as not to cause psychological harm to these individual—-> could be justified as research can lead to development of treatments to help improve quality of life.
