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Gender: Gender Identity
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Gender -- being male or female -- is a basic element that helps make up an individual's personality and sense of self. Gender identity disorder is a condition in which a male or female feels a strong identification with the opposite sex.
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Adults who have severe gender identity disorder which has persisted for many years sometimes request reassignment of their sex, or sex-change surgery. Prior to this kind of surgery they usually go through a long period of hormone therapy which attempts to suppress same sex characteristics and accentuate other sex characteristics. For instance, males that have gender identity disorder will be given the female hormone, estrogen. The estrogen causes the male breasts to enlarge, testes to become smaller, and body hair to diminish. Females with gender identity disorder will be given the male hormone, testosterone, to help them develop a lower voice and possibly a full beard. Following the hormone treatment, the adult will be asked to live in a cross-gender role before surgery to alter their genitalia or breasts is performed.
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The disturbance can be so pervasive that the mental lives of some individuals revolve only around activities that lessen gender distress. They are often preoccupied with appearance, especially early in the transition to living in the opposite sex role. Relationships with parents ... may be seriously impaired. Some males with gender identity disorder resort to self-treatment with hormones and may (very rarely) perform their own castration or penectomy. Especially in urban centers, some males with the disorder may engage in prostitution, placing them at a high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Suicide attempts and substance-related disorders are common.
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According to the diagnostic standards of American psychiatry, as set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people who experience intense, persistent gender dysphoria can be given the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. This diagnosis is highly controversial among some mental health professionals and transgender people. Some contend that the diagnosis inappropriately pathologizes gender variance and should be eliminated. Others argue that, because the health care system in the United States requires a diagnosis to justify medical or psychological treatment, it is essential to retain the diagnosis to ensure access to care.
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Boys with gender identity disorder tend to prefer to dress in girls’ clothes. They often avoid competitive sports and have little interest in rough and tumble games. They frequently prefer to play games with girls, and they enjoy girls as playmates. They usually enjoy acting as a female figure, such as a mother or a princess, in the games they play. Boys with gender identity problems pretend not to have a penis; they want it removed, and they wish they had a vagina.
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A person with this disorder often experiences great discomfort regarding his or her actual anatomic gender. People with gender identity disorder may act and present themselves as members of the opposite sex and may express a desire to alter their bodies. The disorder affects an individual's self-image, and can impact the person's mannerisms, behavior and dress. Individuals who are committed to altering their physical appearance through cosmetics, hormones and, in some cases, surgery are known as transsexuals.
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Gender Identity