Sexual And Gender Identity Disorders

Question: anyone else pleased with the new DSM-V Committee Members on Gender Identity Disorders? The American Psychiatrist's Association, the influential organisation has just appointed several transphobic people, to supervise the writing of the DSM-V, a diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists worldwide. The chairman of the panel for 'Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders' is a Dr Kenneth Zucker. He is anti transsexual, and is famous for forcing gender-variant children into 'reparative therapy' -so they will to conform to his expectations for male and female behavior in children, instead of allowing them to express themselves and their gender identities as they grow up. Also on the panel is Dr Ray Blanchard, head of the gender program at Toronto's notorious Clarke Institute, and another proponent of aversion therapy. He is a transphobe, and his transphobia is quite shocking. He believes a transwoman is quote; "A man without a penis". \ Neither of these people accept the currently held medical viewpoints re:transsexualism. Despite the fact Zucker's work has been discredited, and despite the fact his clinic in Toronto was eventually defunded by the Canadian government he nevertheless has somehow managed to assume power within the group that writes the internationally recognised psychiatric manual. Despite the fact that many members of the psychiatric community no longer regard transsexualism as a mental illness per se, Zucker and Blanchard will, given their track record, almost certainly redefine gender identity 'disorder' from an independant diagnosis to a form of 'homosexuality' -which they also regard as pathological. Doing so will enable homosexuality and lesbianism to be placed as a mental illness in the DSM, for the first time since 1973. Their appointment thus represents both an attack on not only the transgender community, but the rest of the LGBT community as well. In addition to this attack, for a long time Zucker, and Blanchard have been disseminating the theory of 'autogynophilia' in order to create divisions the transgender community according to their categories of'homosexual' and 'autogynophile'. They want to diminish our solidarity as a community by creating divisions between straight and lesbian or queer transwomen. They don't recognise MTF transwomen, or FTM transmen. They are both neo-Freudians, and both of them believe that the primary motivation for gender transitioning is sexually motivated. Because chidren aren't sexual and therefore repute this hypothesis, they therefore want to preclude trans youth form any treatment other than destructive forms of what they terml 'reperative therapy' -ranging from aversion therapy to the use of psychopharmacology to alter their young minds by force.

Answer: Gwen: If you read between the lines Zucker and Blanchard still believe homosexuality is wrong and a bad outcome. Additionally, the fact that these guys are allowed on the panel is indirect approval of their reparative therapies. As a result the Catholic Church and NARTH can use their work as propaganda and can claim "See this expert says reparative therapy works". It's plain shameful. The APA needs to get off it's posterior and dismiss these guys!

Question: Sexual orientation can't change, but gender can? I don't get it? Like, trying to change your gender takes a long time and is very complicated. The American Psychiatric Association calls it Gender Identity Disorder when you feel that your body doesn't match what you perceive to be your gender. But sexual orientation seems to be a character development thing.

Answer: Gender doesn't change just on its own (with the exception of a rare syndrome where boys with extremely low testosterone levels are born looking like girls until puberty when their testosterone rises to normal and all the boy parts grow in). Hormonal treatments and surgery are required to change gender, and of course the hormonal treatments must be continued throughout life, because the person is still genetically the gender they were born as. Sexual orientation can and does change for some people during their lives. Some studies claim that it changes for a major percentage of the populations at different points in life. In this case, it almost always happens within the individual, with no intensive medical or psychological intervention. Forcing a change in sexual orientation is considered much harder to do because you're dealing with changing the psyche and the physical brain itself. "Character" is really only personality, which comes from the way your brain structured and working. Sexual orientation is not a behavior. It's one of the most defining parts of our identities. Of course the behavior can be changed, but the underlying feelings are still going to be there. That said, many people with a homosexual orientation often take on the appearance and mannerisms of the opposite gender, and not necessarily voluntarily. It's really about gender for them. It's like their gender is blended. Genetically, they got the chromosomes and for one gender, but the brain development for the other gender. In the cases of some gay women, they get more male hormones than usual during fetal development and may become a bit masculinized physically as well. So it's not just "character" as the religious nutcases would have you think. There is a biological basis for sexual orientation. We haven't developed treatments to "fix" it, perhaps because those afflicted by the mismatch haven't demanded it.

Question: Can gender identity disorder lead to homosexuality? From what I have read recently I think that gender identity disorder does lead to homosexuality. I mean if you feel you are in the wrong gender and want to be the opposite gender why wouldn't you have homosexual tendencies? What do you think? I am not saying that homosexuality isn't also a sexual orientation, or that if you have the brain of a female but the body of a male that it is wrong. I am just trying to get some information on the idea that gender identity disorder CAN lead to homosexuality. Also I'm not saying that if you are homosexual that you have gender identity disorder, I am just researching the idea that this disorder can lead to homosexuality. I guess what I am trying to find out is that if in your brain you think of yourself as a man but your body is female wouldn't you eventually give in to the temptation of having a same sex relationship? I mean if you are ok with staying in your body and not having a sex change to everyone else you would be a homosexual even if in your mind you weren't, not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm just trying to do some research for a psych paper on this subject and didn't get many answers when I posted it in the psych category. This topic is interesting to me because growing up I always thought I should be a boy but had a girl body. I didn't know anything back then so I just delt with it and eventually got married to a man, which didn't last. Now I am in a great relationship with another women and just feel that back then if someone had given me information maybe I could have skipped over some of the heartach and depression that was brought on by all of the mixed feelings.

Answer: gender orientation and sexual orientation are two separate issues and neither of them is environment related. You cant turn gay which is what you are saying. Its a new twist on an old argument that sexual orientation is chosen.

Question: Gender Identity Disorder? What is the difference between: Trans Sexual Trans Vestite Trans Gender Do these people necessarily have have GID? Also, do some people with GID get 'cured'? [For want of better term, don't mean to be offencive]. In addition what is: Benjamin's syndrome? Pink Fairy: I used to be really against it. But I watched a really moving documentary about it and wanted to support these people. It’s people like you that keep straight people ignorant and prejudiced with your 'no one understands us' and when people actually try to understand you become holier than thou.

Answer: Transsexual:One who was born with a brain-body mismatch. Transition is the long, expensive process in which these people start to live as their identified gender. This process involves therapy, hormone replacement therapy and surgery. Transgender:One who somewhat identifies with the other gender, but doesn't usually get surgery. Transvestite:Someone who dresses as the opposite sex. Usually a man who dresses as a woman. Transvestites do NOT have gender identity issues, they are men and are happy being men. Benjamin's syndrome is just another, new way of saying transsexualism (gender identity disorder). Most of us do NOT consider ourselves disordered, we were born this way. Society is the one that has the disorder for not accepting us. Also I was born transsexual, but I'm not a transsexual (noun). It is more proper to use the word "transsexual" as an adjective. Such as describing someone as a transsexual woman OR for guys... transsexual man. We don't get "cured", we come to self-acceptance and transition to live as our true selves. Lots more information can be found here: http://www.LynnConway.com Edit: Anyone that claims they can "cure" transsexualism is a QUACK. It is a naturally occurring birth condition. Gender identity is inborn an unchangeable. FrustratedMe: Wrong Benjamin's Syndrome. The questioner was asking about Harry Benjamin's Syndrome: http://shb-info.org/hbs.html The term is a relatively new one invented by activists who wish to leave the stigma of transsexualism behind. The problem is this new syndrome has not been coined by any medical authorities at all. The organization behind this new term has even issued it's own Standards of Care, but they are bogus and have no authority. As a result they cross the line from being activists to being frauds sorry to say. Also the rabid backers of this new scheme tend to be very cliquish and don't want to have any involvement with any LGBT folks. I think we must reclaim the word "transsexual" by educating the public. Well that's it in a nutshell. Sorry for length!

Question: AGAIN-Gender Identity Disorder? Thank you to the few of you who answered my question, however, I think many people are confusing this with sexual preferance. IT IS NOT THE SAME THING. Please-more opinions greatly appreciated. What do you think of people who go through a gender identity crisis??? Do believe it is real? Do you think it is a result of nurture or nature? Please-feel free to speak up! To respond the first guy's very rude comments, I am doing research for my masters.

Answer: What exactly is your problem, did your mother dress you up like a little boy and your not, visa versa. Do you like to look like a man and you are a woman, or visa versa, am I way off base? I would like to help but you are leaving out key details that might get you some better answers!

Question: Do YOU Believe in the LGBTQ Community? Do you believe Zucker should be allowed to stand?....recently the APA (american pyschiatric assoc) anounced that (dr) K. Zucker would 'chair' the task force committee on 'sexual and gender identity disorders' for the 'V' version of the DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual of MENTAL DISORDERS)....this same person, whom has contiuned his 'lifeswork' following the ideals of 'reparative' therapy to 'cure' subjects (young children) that he deems as "pre-homosexual boy and girls"....blaming the parents....blaming the 'subject' themselves for exhibiting any gender variance....TO MME this it UNACCEPTABLE!!!! please read: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story… please see the many that have stood in objection....stood for LGBTQ Unity....homosexuality is NOT a 'disorder' and NITHER is gender variance....WE ALL are Human Beings and deserve to be respected and valued as such http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/… Do you believe in Unity???? excerpt from email from Blanchard to PFLAG to belay their expressed concerns toward him, Zucker and Lawrence.... "...The second false notion is that I support reparative therapy (sometimes called conversion therapy), which is a term that denotes the attempt to change homosexual orientations to heterosexual orientations. I do not now, nor have I ever, advocated therapeutic attempts to alter sexual orientation, either in adults or in minors. I have never written any document that could possibly be interpreted to mean that I hold, or previously held, such views." LIES, LIES and more LIES....this coming from a man whom learned from $$$ And Money and supported Bailey by resigning from the HBIGDA....we should believe one word? hahaha

Answer: I believe in the LGBTQIS...but community? Unity? Simply put, there are just seems too many sub-sets and personalities (gender variant) across the spectrum within each for any individual L or G or B or T or Q or I or S (allies) to stand alone against the array of the negative aspects of the S (heterosexual) population dominion by numbers...even if there were Unity with the populations of the LGBTQIS our battles are often in vain (just look at the defaming and defiling of many state constitutions with the recent marriage bans). BUT and this is a BIG BUT, what these political and religious 'professionals' are doing now is separating the TQ (gender variant) out from the homosexual groups...much like they have done recently with re-classifying I (intersex) as a 'disorder' of sex development (DSD) under protest of the ISNA and many intersex individuals, i might add...though we still have many federal 'protections', so why should we care about the TQ or the homosexuals? Personally the only reason i give a shiiit, is I was born intersex and was 'corrected' (incorrectly) and was raised and lived most of my life as a male...i played psuedo S (straight?)societies bullshiiit games and won many times...honestly, sometimes i think what most men fear most about Intersex or TS or gender variant individuals is that we can see through their bullshiiit, we can and have beat them at their own 'boyish' games AND know how much of little scared children they actually are inside playing their power games, egocentric and maniacal obsessive misogynistic views...then again we are women and many women can see this...ya know Zucker and his cronies are much too pious to ever step down...this is their lifes work, much too late for them to admit that even entering the arena without the preconcluded 'disorder' status would be too much in line with invalidating everything they have believed for so long and all of the Titles they have acquired along the way. but this and these opinions are just mine...one person...and does not mean shiiit to anyone else but me...funny how that works, same thing can be said for any one group of the LGBTQIS...just wait till they re-classify homosexuality as a 'disorder' of sexual identity (DSI) in the DSM...the religious and political machine has already squashed the Hate Crime Bill and soon Homosexual Only ENDA will be only history...who will give a shiiit then?

Question: Petition for a gender change--does it look okay? Can someone with a legal background let me know if this looks okay? I can't afford a lawyer and I was a psychology major. Hehe. Thanks in advance for your help. Petition for gender change I, _____ _ ______, hereby petition the court for an order to change the gender marker on legal documentation. I have undergone several irreversible medical procedures to change my sex from female to male. I have followed the recommendations of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health's Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders in my transition process, and have been living full time in the male gender for over 4 years. I am petitioning the court for an order to change the gender marker on legal documentation, such as driver's license and birth certificate. Enclosed is a letter from my physician as evidence of sexual reassignment hormonal therapy and surgery. As this is not a procedure the court frequently encounters, I have enclosed an example order containing the necessary information. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, FIRST M LAST Attachment, example order On the ______ day of ________________, ________, the Petition of FIRST M LAST for Change of Sex coming on to be heard, and after having fully examined the said FIRST M LAST as to reasons for such desired change of sex, it is found that said Change of Sex is proper and that it will not be detrimental to the interest of any other person. It is therefore ordered that the sex of FIRST M LAST, born in CITY, State of ________, resident of the State of __________, to FATHER and MOTHER LAST on MONTH xx, 19xx, birth name FIRST LAST, be changed to that of male, that the Bureau of Vital Statistics alter the birth records accordingly and that publication issue according to law. SO ORDERED, ______________________________________… Judge Edit: Sorry, I am including a detailed letter from my doctor stating procedures and length of time she's been following me and her recommendation for the change to be made.

Answer: you've covered enough bases to satisfy a court. if you get an ahole judge, at worse he can demand clarification on some points which you will have to satisfy. went through it with a friend. good luck.

Question: Question about Body dysmorphic disorder? I don't understand this paragraph from the wikipedia context "A similar disorder, gender-identity disorder, in which the patient is upset with his or her entire sexual biology, often precipitates BDD-like feelings being directed specifically at external sexually dimorphic features, which are in constant conflict with the patient's internal psychiatric gender..." Ok, I searched "Sexual Dimorphism" and it was just basically about you know, how in some mammals, the female animal may be bigger, but, how does this relate to Body Dysmorphic disorder?

Answer: You selected a specific example of a general definition. Your pertains to anthropology, or zoology. Try Googling it: Sexual Dimorphism - What Is Sexual Dimorphism? "Sexual dimorphism is the difference in form between male and female members of the same species". animals.about.com/od/zoology12/f/sexua… People contributing to Wikipedia often have a specific area of interest, and may not be aware of other uses for the same term. A previous answer follows: Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Only use a small hand mirror to check appearance, so just a small part of the body may be seen at a time, yet anything wrong will still be immediately apparent; cover (taping over/painting) full length mirrors. Check out http://www.bddcentral/mainpage2.aspx and http://www.ocdla.com/bodydysmorphicdisor… and http://www.mental-health-abc.com/ and http://www.psychforums.com/viewforum.php and http://p066.ezboard.com/bbodydysmorphicd… and http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/b… Other things worth trying: See self esteem/confidence, in sections 38 & 47, and practise daily, and when needed, one of the relaxation techniques in sections 2, 11, 2c, or 2i, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris Give the EFT, in section 53, a good tryout: "Even though I have a distorted body image, I accept myself deeply and completely". All of these things are designed to bolster the central sense of identity, enable emotional centering, and changing the focus from that of a person's appearance, to helping others. A TECHNIQUE FOR REPROGRAMMING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS: (ALSO SEE PAGE L, IN SECTION 2):When you notice something negative, such as: "I'm never going to get over this!" or: "Why am I always so pathetic/useless/such a loser?" or even: "I can't do this/will never get over this!", or a disturbing image, recognise that this is part of the mindset which will hold you back from progress. Having identified and labelled it, visualise a large red "STOP!" sign, and/or possibly a stern faced person wagging an index finger at you in a negative manner, then say to yourself as forcefully as you can, even aloud in a big voice, if alone: "I know this tactic: GO AWAY FOR A WHILE !!!" You may want to use either: "ruse", "ploy", "game", or "trick", instead of "tactic". In the case of an image, visualise a large "STOP" sign, or your preferred version. Some people go so far as to keep a wide rubber band in their pocket, then put it around their wrist, when they catch themselves backsliding, stretch and release it, as a method of reprogramming their mind sooner, but I don't regard it as being strictly necessary. Remember to remove it, afterwards, if you use this method. It may well be worthwhile going to the Groups, at Myspace, Google, and Yahoo, to find others with the disorder, and see what has worked for them. Use the WebFerret search engine, your own, the Wikipedia, and Google websites, and Yahoo websearch on BDD. View: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/board/about… and take the quiz at http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2… Print the result; take to a doctor, and ask for an appropriate referral.

Question: Please give me a summary ? Psychiatrists Revising the Book of Human Troubles The book is at least three years away from publication, but it is already stirring bitter debates over a new set of possible psychiatric disorders. Is compulsive shopping a mental problem? Do children who continually recoil from sights and sounds suffer from sensory problems — or just need extra attention? Should a fetish be considered a mental disorder, as many now are? Panels of psychiatrists are hashing out just such questions, and their answers — to be published in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — will have consequences for insurance reimbursement, research and individuals’ psychological identity for years to come. The process has become such a contentious social and scientific exercise that for the first time the book’s publisher, the American Psychiatric Association, has required its contributors to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The debate is particularly intense because the manual is both a medical guidebook and a cultural institution. It helps doctors make a diagnosis and provides insurance companies with diagnostic codes without which the insurers will not reimburse patients’ claims for treatment. The manual — known by its initials and edition number, DSM-V — often organizes symptoms under an evocative name. Labels like obsessive-compulsive disorder have connotations in the wider culture and for an individual’s self-perception. “This is not cardiology or nephrology, where the basic diseases are well known,� said Edward Shorter, a leading historian of psychiatry whose latest book, “Before Prozac,� is critical of the manual. “In psychiatry no one knows the causes of anything, so classification can be driven by all sorts of factors� — political, social and financial. “What you have in the end,� Mr. Shorter said, “is this process of sorting the deck of symptoms into syndromes, and the outcome all depends on how the cards fall.� Psychiatrists involved in preparing the new manual contend that it is too early to say for sure which cards will be added and which dropped. The current edition of the manual, which was published in 2000, describes 283 disorders — about triple the number in the first edition, published in 1952. The scientists updating the manual have been meeting in small groups focusing on categories like mood disorders and substance abuse — poring over the latest scientific studies to clarify what qualifies as a disorder and what might distinguish one disorder from another. They have much more work to do, members say, before providing recommendations to a 28-member panel that will gather in closed meetings to make the final editorial changes. Experts say that some of the most crucial debates are likely to include gender identity, diagnoses of illness involving children, and addictions like shopping and eating. “Many of these are going to involve huge fights, I expect,� said Dr. Michael First, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia who edited the fourth edition of the manual but is not involved in the fifth. One example, Dr. First said, is binge eating, now in the manual’s appendix as a tentative category. “A lot of people want that included in the manual,� Dr. First said, “and there’s some research out there, some evidence that drugs are helpful. But binge eating is also a normal behavior, and you run the risk of labeling up to 30 percent of people with a disorder they don’t really have.� The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual as “strong and persistent cross-gender identification,� is already burning hot among transgender people. Soon after the psychiatric association named the group of researchers working on sexual and gender identity, advocates circulated online petitions objecting to two members whose work they considered demeaning. Transgender people are themselves divided about their place in the manual. Some transgender men and women want nothing to do with psychiatry and demand that the diagnosis be dropped. Others prefer that it remain, in some form, because a doctor’s written diagnosis is needed to obtain insurance coverage for treatment or surgery. “The language needs to be reformed, at a minimum,� said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equity. “Right now, the manual implies that you cannot be a happy transgender person, that you have to be a social wreck.� Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychoanalyst and member of the sexual disorders work group, said that, in some ways, the gender identity debate echoed efforts to remove homosexuality from the manual in the 1970s. After protests by gay activists provoked a scientific review, the “homosexuality� diagnosis was dropped in 1973. It was replaced by “sexual orientation disturbance� and then “ego-dystonic homosexuality� before being dropped in 1987. “You had, in my opinion, what was a social issue, not a medical one; and, in some sense, psychiatry evolved

Answer: try to check on this site http://www.google.com/ it's help..

Question: What do you think of the "Hate Crimes" bill? HR-1913? The Hate Crime law, HR-1913, will make 30 sexual orientations federally-protected. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published 30 such sexual orientations that, because of Congress's refusal to define "sexual orientation," will be protected under this legislation. These 30 orientations are listed in the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), which is used by physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists throughout the U.S. It is considered the dictionary of mental disorders. Those 30 sexual orientations include behaviors that are felonies or misdemeanors in most states. Among those sexual orientations being protected by HR-1913 are these: Apotemnophilia - sexual arousal associated with the stump(s) of an Amputee Asphyxophilia - sexual gratification derived from activities that involve oxygen deprivation through hanging, strangulation, or other means Autogynephilia - the sexual arousal of a man by his own perception of himself as a woman or dressed as a woman Bisexual - the capacity to feel erotic attraction toward, or to engage in sexual interaction with, both males and females Coprophilia - sexual arousal associated with feces Exhibitionism - the act of exposing one’s genitals to an unwilling observer to obtain sexual gratification Fetishism/Sexual Fetishism - obtaining sexual excitement primarily or exclusively from an inanimate object or a particular part of the body Frotteurism - approaching an unknown woman from the rear and pressing or rubbing the penis against her buttocks Heterosexuality - the universal norm of sexuality with those of the opposite sex Homosexual/Gay/Lesbian - people who form sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with members of their own gender Gender Identity Disorder - a strong and persistent cross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is, or the other sex, "along with" persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex or a sense of the inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex Gerontosexuality - distinct preference for sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with an elderly partner Incest - sex with a sibling or parent Kleptophilia - obtaining sexual excitement from stealing Klismaphilia - erotic pleasure derived from enemas Necrophilia - sexual arousal and/or activity with a corpse Partialism - A fetish in which a person is sexually attracted to a specific body part exclusive of the person Pedophilia - Sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger). The individual with pedophilia must be age 16 years or older and at least 5 years older than the child. For individuals in late adolescence with pedophilia, no precise age difference is specified, and clinical judgment must be used; both the sexual maturity of the child and the age difference must be taken into account; the adult may be sexually attracted to opposite sex, same sex, or prefer either Prostitution - the act or practice of offering sexual stimulation or intercourse for money Sexual Masochism - obtaining sexual gratification by being subjected to pain or humiliation Sexual Sadism - the intentional infliction of pain or humiliation on another person in order to achieve sexual excitement Telephone Scatalogia - sexual arousal associated with making or receiving obscene phone calls Toucherism - characterized by a strong desire to touch the breast or genitals of an unknown woman without her consent; often occurs in conjunction with other paraphilia Transgenderism - an umbrella term referring to and/or covering transvestitism, drag queen/king, and transsexualism Transsexual - a person whose gender identity is different from his or her anatomical gender Transvestite - a person who is sexually stimulated or gratified by wearing the clothes of the other gender Transvestic Fetishism - intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving cross-dressing Urophilia - sexual arousal associated with urine Voyeurism - obtaining sexual arousal by observing people without their consent when they are undressed or engaged in sexual activity Zoophilia/Bestiality - engaging in sexual activity with animals To protect a "sexual orientation" under H.R. 1913 - while leaving that term undefined -- is to protect this whole range of bizarre sexual behaviors. It is to normalize by federal law what are still considered to be mental disorders (paraphilias) by the American Psychiatric Association. How about the "pedophilia" provision. You OK with that?

Answer: Satan would be proud of that list God help America