Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 27

Invitational Office Hour Invitations, by Student Number for November 26th 11:30-12:30, 3:30-4:30 Kenny 2517 16254070 16948077 21883079 46066080 66228081 81664062

Gender-Related Video Clips 1. Vintage and Contemporary Sexist TV Commercials Available at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2439707/Top-10-sexist-screen-ads.html 2. Dove Campaign: Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

From last class …. The Interactive Model of Gender-Related Behaviour:

The Interactive Model of Gender-Related Behaviour (Deaux and Major, 1987)

Gender Identity and Gender Identity Disorder: 1. What is gender identity disorder?

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. define the term “gender identity.” 2. list the diagnostic criteria for gender identity disorder (GID). 3. discuss the rates of GID among males and females. 4. describe current treatment options for GID. 5. identify contemporary controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of GID.

What is gender identity disorder? Gender identity: One’s subjective experience of the self as female or male. Most individuals develop a gender identity that is consistent with their biological sex. However, some individuals report experiences of gender dysphoria: “A persistent aversion toward some or all of those physical characteristics or social roles that connote one’s own biological sex” (DSM-IV-TR, 2000).

“I know I’m not a man—about that much I’m very clear, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m probably not a woman either, at least not according to a lot of people’s rules on that sort of thing. The trouble is, we’re living in a world that insists we be one or the other—a world that doesn’t bother to tell us exactly what one or the other is” (Kate Bornstein, 1994, p. 8). “I have [n]ever understood what it is to be a man or a woman …. I seem to be neither, or maybe both, yet ultimately only myself” (Holly Boswell, 1997, p. 54).

According to the DSM-IV-TR, gender dysphoria According to the DSM-IV-TR, gender dysphoria characterizes individuals with gender identity disorder (GID). The diagnostic criteria for GID in the DSM-IV-TR are as follows:

A. A strong persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex). In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is manifested by symptoms such as a stated desire to be the other sex, frequent passing as the other sex, desire to live or be treated as the other sex, or the conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and reactions of the other sex. In children, the disturbance is manifested by four (or more) of the following:

(a) repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex. (b) in boys, preference for cross-dressing or simulating female attire; in girls, insistence on wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing. (c) strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex roles in make-believe play or persistent fantasies of being the other sex. (d) intense desire to participate in the stereotypical games and pastimes of the other sex. (e) strong preference for playmates of the other sex.

B. Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex. In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is manifested by symptoms such as preoccupation with getting rid of primary and secondary sex characteristics (e.g., request for hormones, surgery, or other procedures to physically alter sexual characteristics to simulate the other sex) or belief that he or she was born the wrong sex. In children, the disturbance is manifested by any of the following:

In boys, assertion that his penis or testes are disgusting or will disappear or assertion that it would be better not to have a penis, or aversion toward rough-and-tumble play and rejection of male stereotypical toys, games, and activities. In girls, rejection of urinating in a sitting position, assertion that she has or will grow a penis, or assertion that she does not want to grow breasts or menstruate, or marked aversion toward normative feminine clothing.

C. The disturbance is not concurrent with physical intersex condition. D. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

There are no recent epidemiological studies on the prevalence of GID. European data indicate that roughly 1/30,000 adult males and 1/100,000 adult females seek sex reassignment surgery. Clinical samples indicate that GID is more common among biological males than females (5:1 in children, 3:1 in adults).

Treatment of GID in childhood may involve some Treatment of GID in childhood may involve some combination of behavioural therapy, psychoanalytic therapy, parental counseling, and group therapy. Most children who are diagnosed with GID do not exhibit symptoms of the disorder later in life.

Treatment of GID in adulthood may involve one, two, Treatment of GID in adulthood may involve one, two, or all three of the following elements: real-life experience, hormone treatment, surgical sex reassignment. Most adults who obtain sex reassignment indicate that they are satisfied with the results at follow-up.

Gender Identity and Gender Identity Disorder: 1. What is gender identity disorder?