GENDER DYSPHORIA

PSYCH3155 – Abnormal Psychology

Gender Dysphoria
- expression of uneasiness that a person may have
because of a mismatch between their biological
sex and their gender identity.
- can lead to depression, anxiety, and have a harmful
impact on daily life.
Biological sex:
the assigned sex at birth (genitals, hormones, and
chromosome patterns)
- Male (XY chromosome)
- Female(XX chromosome)
- Intersex- do not fit the typically binary
idea of male or female.
Gender:
the range of characteristics pertaining to, and
differentiating between femininity and
masculinity. This includes gender roles and other
societal expectations.
Gender Identity:
our sense of who we are and how we see and
describe ourselves
- Transman: biological sex is female but the
experienced gender (gender identity) is strongly male
- Transwoman: biological sex is female but the
experienced gender (gender identity) is strongly male
The primary goal is to live life openly in a manner
consistent with that of the other gender.
Gender dysphoria can also occur among
individuals with disorders of sex development
(DSD); intersexuality or hermaphroditism
(ambiguous genitalia)
Autogynephilia
- "a male's propensity to be sexually aroused
by the thought of himself as a female“
- May progress to gender dysphoria
Risk and Prognostic Factors:
Temperamental: Gender dysphoria without a
disorder of sex development
-Atypical gender behavior among individuals with
early-onset gender dysphoria (develops from
preschool; may persist into adolescence and
adulthood )
Genetic and physiological:
- Gender dysphoria without DSD: genetic contribution
(weak) familiality of transsexualism among non-twin
siblings
- Increased concordance for transsexualism in
monozygotic compared with dizygotic same-sex twins;
Degree of heritability of gender dysphoria
- Gender dysphoria associated with DSD: the likelihood
of later gender dysphoria is increased if prenatal
production and utilization of androgens are grossly
atypical relative to what is usually seen in individuals
with the same assigned gender.
Causes:
The causes of Gender Dysphoria is still
a mystery. Research has yet to uncover
any specific biological contributions
to gender dysphoria. Although it seems
likely that a biological predisposition will
be discovered