Gender dysphoria. Flashcards
What is gender dysphoria?
=When a person experiences a mismatch between their assigned biological sex and the gender (identity) that they feel they are. This results in the individual feeling trapped, discomfort and stress, so it is recognised in the DSM-5.
–Affects 1 in every 11,000 people
–May be recognised from an early age.
What are the two biological explanations?
brain sex theory and genetic factors.
What is brain sex theory?
The BST structure in the brain is responsible for emotional responses and also involved in rats’ male sexual behaviour.
The area is larger in males than females and has also been found to be female sized in transgender females.
Therefore it has been suggested that people with gender dysphoria have a BST that is the size of the gender they identify with.
Support for brain sex theory?
Back up by Zhou et al who found that most people feel they are in the wrong sex from early childhood (suggesting a biological cause).
Brain scans by Krujver et al in 2000 showed that transgender females had the average BST neuron numbers in the female range.
Support for genetic factors: Coolidge?
Coolidge et al 2002 assessed 157 twin pairs for evidence of gender dysphoria.
He found that 62% of variants could be accounted for by genetic factors, suggesting a strong heritability component to gender dysphoria.
Support for genetic factors: Heylens?
Heylens et al 2012 compared MZ and DZ twins where one was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. 39% MZ concordance rate compared with a 0% DZ rate so suggested genetic influence.
What are the two social explanations?
social constructionism and psychoanalytic theory.
What is social constructionism?
Argues that gender identity does not reflect underlying biological differences but are simply concepts made up by society.
Confusion arises in those with gender dysphoria when society forces people to be either a man or woman, so it is a social phenomenon, not a pathological condition.
Support for social contructionism?
McClintock studied a genetic condition in Sambia, New Guinea where biological males were born with female genitalia so were classed as girls until puberty. This was common and routinely accepted until the culture was infiltrated by others, and now it is considered a pathological form of gender dysphoria.
What is psychoanalytic theory?
Social relationships within the family are the cause of gender dysphoria.
Caused by boys experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity has been established. The boy fanatics a symbiotic fusion with his mother to relieve the anxiety and danger of separation.
The boy in a very real sense becomes his mother and adopts a woman’s gender identity.
Support for psychoanalytic theory?
Stoller 1973 reported that gender dysphoric biological males displayed overly close relationships with their mothers. Suggesting a female identification and gender conflict.
Strengths of the biological explanations?
Other brain differences- Rametti et al 2011 studied the white matter of the brain and found differences in the white matter of male and female brains. Rametti analysed the white matter in transgender individuals BEFORE they began hormonal treatment and in most cases the volume of white matter corresponded with gender identity rather than biological sex.
Weaknesses of the biological explanation?
Contradictory evidence- Hulshoff Pol used MRI scans and found changes in the brain during hormonal treatment. The size of the BST changed significantly.The BST was examined post moreton in the supportive studies, so we cannot be sure if the size of the BST was not just a result of hormonal therapy, not the cause of gender dysphoria.
Strengths of the social explanation?
Support of social constructionism- not all cultures have two genders. This supports McClintock’s study. An increasing number of people no class themselves as non-binary, suggesting cultural understanding is now catching up to the experience of many. So gender dysphoria is best seen as a social construct rather than biological fact.
Weaknesses of social explanations?
Issues with psychoanalytic theory- does not provide an adequate explanation because only applies to transgender females. It was also discovered by Rekers that gender dysphoria in males was more linked with absence of the father rather than separation anxiety from the mother, which contradicts the theory.
