Gender Identity Disorder
Gender Identity Disorder
Research Paper
2/10/2011
Monroe College
Rebecca Tosa
Rebecca Tosa
Professor Rubino
Introduction to Psychology
10 February 2011
Gender Identity Disorder There are skeptics and debates on whether there is a such thing as Gender Identity Disorder. The main debate about Gender Identity Disorder is that Psychologist can cure a child of Gender Identity Disorder but some believe that it is not curable and that you should not force a child to be something that they do not want to be. This is a very rare disorder and causes disruptions in the child and also in the parent. It is unclear what causes Gender Identity disorder but “both animal research and the fact that these disorders are often apparent from early childhood suggest that biological factors, such as parental hormonal imbalances, are major contributors.” (Morris and Maisto 293- 294) “Gender- Identity Disorder involve the desire to become- or the insistence that one really is – a member of the other sex.” (Morris and Maisto 293). There are some people who are not opened minded to the fact that Gender Identity Disorder is real. They feel that the child is Homosexual and that you need to get them out of this habit. Especially homophobic people and religious people are against this disorder being real. But “Gender Identity Disorder is not the same as homosexuality.” (National Institute of Health). A sign that your child might have Gender Identity Disorder is them “presenting themselves as a member of the opposite sex”. (National Institute of Health). This behavior must go on for at least 6 months preferably two years for the child to be diagnosed. There are different cases and intensities to this disorder. First just because for example a female child acts like a male child or a male child acts like a female child this child is not necessarily homosexual. But in most cases the child will seek companionship by the same sex. Some children “are born with ambiguous genitalia,
Research Paper
2/10/2011
Monroe College
Rebecca Tosa
Rebecca Tosa
Professor Rubino
Introduction to Psychology
10 February 2011
Gender Identity Disorder There are skeptics and debates on whether there is a such thing as Gender Identity Disorder. The main debate about Gender Identity Disorder is that Psychologist can cure a child of Gender Identity Disorder but some believe that it is not curable and that you should not force a child to be something that they do not want to be. This is a very rare disorder and causes disruptions in the child and also in the parent. It is unclear what causes Gender Identity disorder but “both animal research and the fact that these disorders are often apparent from early childhood suggest that biological factors, such as parental hormonal imbalances, are major contributors.” (Morris and Maisto 293- 294) “Gender- Identity Disorder involve the desire to become- or the insistence that one really is – a member of the other sex.” (Morris and Maisto 293). There are some people who are not opened minded to the fact that Gender Identity Disorder is real. They feel that the child is Homosexual and that you need to get them out of this habit. Especially homophobic people and religious people are against this disorder being real. But “Gender Identity Disorder is not the same as homosexuality.” (National Institute of Health). A sign that your child might have Gender Identity Disorder is them “presenting themselves as a member of the opposite sex”. (National Institute of Health). This behavior must go on for at least 6 months preferably two years for the child to be diagnosed. There are different cases and intensities to this disorder. First just because for example a female child acts like a male child or a male child acts like a female child this child is not necessarily homosexual. But in most cases the child will seek companionship by the same sex. Some children “are born with ambiguous genitalia,
Cited: National Institute of Health. “Gender Identity Disorder.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 18 February 2010. Web. 10 February 2011. Morris, Charles G., Albert A. Maisto. Psychology. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. “Dr. Phil Show- Little Boy Lost.” Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil Show. 13 January 2009. YouTube. 10 February 2011.