Gender identity problems

Gender identity problems

Gender identity disorder is a conflict between a person’s physical gender and the gender he or she identifies as. For example, a person identified as a boy may actually feel and act like a girl. The person is very uncomfortable with the gender they were born.

Causes

People with gender identity disorder may act and present themselves as members of the opposite sex. The disorder may affect:

• Choice of sexual partners
• Mannerisms, behavior, and dress
• Self-concept

Gender identity disorder is not the same as homosexuality.

Identity conflicts need to continue over time to be a gender identity disorder. How the gender conflict occurs is different in each person. For example, some people may cross-dress while others want sex-change surgery. Some people of one gender privately identify more with the other gender. People who are born with ambiguous genitalia, which can raise questions about their gender, may develop a gender identity disorder. The cause is unknown, but hormones in the womb, genes, social and environmental factors (such as parenting) may be involved. This rare disorder may occur in children or adults.

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary by age, and are affected by the person’s social environment. They may include the following:
Children:

• Are disgusted by their own genitals
• Are rejected by their peers, feel alone
• Believe that they will grow up to become the opposite sex
• Have depression or anxiety
• Say that they want to be the opposite sex

Adults:

• Dress like the opposite sex
• Feel alone
• Have depression or anxiety
• Want to live as a person of the opposite sex
• Wish to be rid of their own genitals

Either adults or children

• Cross-dress, show habits typical of the opposite sex
• Withdraw from social interaction

Exams and Tests

The feeling of being in the body of the “wrong” gender must last for at least 2 years for this diagnosis to be made. A history and psychiatric evaluation can confirm the person’s constant desire to be the opposite sex. The person’s partner choices may be same sex or opposite sex.