Atypical Gender Development

• Gender Identity Disorder


  • Characterised by strong, persistent feeling of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one's own assigned gender.
  • Desire to live as members of the opposite sex and often dress and use mannerisms associated with the opposite sex.
  • For many GID is a source of stress and discomfort and thus is recognised as a psychological disorder in the DSM-V
• Brain Sex Theory: Bio

  • Suggests that GID is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a person's biological sex.
  • Particular interest has been paid to dimorphic areas of the brain (take different forms in males and females)
• Zhou et al (1995) - BST

  • Used post-mortem to study the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) which is thought to be fully developed by the age of 5 and is 40% larger in males than females
  • found that in 6 male-to-female transgender individuals the BSTc was a similar size to that of a female brain despite being genetically male.
  • Supported by Kruijver et al (2000), studied same brain tissue but focussed on the number of neurons in the BSTc rather than its volume.
  • Once again, the transgender individuals showed sex-reversed identity patterns with the average BSTc neuron number range falling within the usual female range.
• Zhou et al - Criticisms

  However the use of post-mortem may be criticised because the differences may have been caused by something in the death rather than structural differences in life.
• Cause or Effect


  As the BSTc is fully formed at 5, subsequent hormonal treatments for GID should have no effect on it.

  • however, Pol et al (2006) found that transgender hormone therapy did affect the size of the BSTc, meaning the observed difference may be an effect of the hormone therapy as opposed to the cause of GID.
• Evaluation: Brain Sex Theory

  BST suggests that GID is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a person's biological sex.

  • Research conducted by Zhou et al in 1995 studied the BSTc using post-mortem, the BSTc is thought to have fully developed by 5 and is 40% larger in males than females. Zhou et al (1995) found that in 6 male-to-female transgender individuals the BSTc was a similar size to that of a female brain despite being genetically female.
  • This research was further supported by Kruijver et al (2000). This research demonstrates that brain structures of transgender women were compatible with that of biological females and therefore supports BST.
  • However, the use of post mortem for this research can be criticised as we can't be sure the differences in brain structure isn't due to an event in death.
• Genetic Explanations


  There has been evidence to suggest that GID may have a genetic basis.

  • Coolidge et al (2002) assessed 96 MZ and 61 DZ twin pairs for evidence of GID using the clinical criteria set out by the DSM-IV.
  • Prevalence in the sample was found to be 2.3% with 62% of these cases said to be accounted for by genetic variance suggesting a strong heritable component.
• Heylens et al (2012)


  Heylens et al (2012) compared 23 MZ twin pairs and 21 DZ twin pairs, within which 1 twin had been diagnosed with GID and found a concordance rate of 39% in MZ twins but 0% in DZ twins. This again suggests a genetic component to the development of GID.
• Twin studies


  • Although evidence from twin studies suggests that GID may be partly explained by genetic influences the fact that concordance rates are relatively low suggest that other factors are also at play. - As with all twin studies it is impossible to separate nature from nurture.
  • This is especially true in the case of MZ twins as not only do they share 100% of their genes they are likely to also be treated identically.
  • GID itself is a rare condition so sample sizes in twin studies tend to be very small indeed, meaning such results are usually criticised for lacking in generalisability.
• Biological Evaluation


  • Biological approaches to explaining behaviour are usually criticised for being reductionist as they break down complex behaviour to a genetic or hormonal level and explanations for GID are no different..
  • As by breaking GID down to a genetic explanation it means other contributory factors occurring at 'higher' levels of explanation may be overlooked.
  • It is probably best to look at GID more holistically and take an interactionist approach in both explanation and treatment.
• Psychoanalytic Theory


  • Oversey and Person (1973) argued that male-female GID is caused by a child experiencing extreme separation anxiety from the mother before gender identity is established.
  • The child fantasies of a symbiotic fusion with the mother in order to relieve this anxiety and remove the danger of separation.
  • The consequence of this is that the child becomes the mother and thus adopts a female gender identity.
• Stoller (1973)


  • Reports that, in interviews, with male-to-female transgender individuals, they were seen to display overly close mother-son relationships that would likely lead to greater female identification and confused gender identity in the long term.
• Rekers (1986)


  • however, contradicts this theory and suggests that GID in boys is more associated with the absence of a father than fear of separation from the mother.
• Evaluation: Psychoanalytical Theory


  • Can be criticised as it only seeks to explain male-to-female GID.
  • The assumption that GID is caused by separation anxiety in childhood is difficult to test as the data produced through interview with the adult GID individuals is retrospective and may be of questionable reliability.
  • Similarly, the ideas of fantasies of symbiotic fusion are abstract concepts which cannot be tested empirically as they occur at the unconscious level.
• Cognitive Explanations


  Liben and Bigler (2002) proposed an extension of GST to explain the development of GID, the dual pathway theory.
• Dual Pathway Theory


  • First pathway acknowledges the development of gender schema which then direct gender-appropriate attitudes and behaviours as part of 'normal, gender developments.
  • The second personal pathway describes how the child's gender attitudes are affected by their behaviour.
  • For example a boy who finds himself in a situation where he plays with dolls may come to believe that playing with dolls is for girls as well as boys.
  • Events such as this lead to the development of non-sex-types schemas which may lead to androgyny or in the minority of cases GID.
• Evaluation: Dual Pathway Theory

  • Explanation is descriptive rather than explanatory as there is little explanation as to why a child may become interested in non-sex-types behaviour in the first place.