atypical gender development

• Gender Identity Disorder (GID)


  Characterised by strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender & distress with one's own assigned sex. A sense of 'feeling trapped inside the wrong body'. Many people with GID opt for gender reassignment.
• Heylands - support for GID


  Higher concordance rates for GID for MZ twins supports the biological theory. Study looked at 23 MZ & 21 DZ twins - 39% concordance rate for MZ, 0% concordance rate for DZ.
• Zhou - support for GID 


  Lab - post mortem 6 male to female transgendered individuals. Measured the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) - found it to be smaller than the average male, suggests it may be involved in GID. However the study was completed on a small sample, & we are unsure if HRT has changed the BST so we can't prove cause & effect.
• Hare - support for GID


  A faulty androgen receptor gene which stops male foetus from receiving testosterone during 3rd month of development so brain may not wire up in masculine way. However, this only explains male -> female, it doesn't prove cause & effect.
• Genetic conditions & GID

  Androgen insensitivity syndrome Congenital adrenal hyperplasia Both can lead to GID & intersex babies - they may be not assigned to the correct sex at birth.
• Environmental pollution & GID

  DDT (ingredient in synthetic insecticides) contains oestrogen - DDT injections completely transformed 6/7 genetically male fish into females, although male the 6 fish had female body parts & laid eggs that hatched. BPA's in plastic linked to chromosome disruption. Suggests DDT & BPA's have a link to GID
• SLT explanation for GID

  GID is developed by operant conditioning. A young child may be reinforced for cross-dressing. Many young children experiment with gender role behaviour & may cross dress. Some may be more positively reinforced than others when they do so. Some children may not have the same-sex role model to learn gender identity from.
• Psychoanalytic explanation - Freud

  Freud argued that children who do not fully resolve Oedipus/Electra during the phallic psycho-sexual stage fixate & will be at risk of developing GID as a consequence.
• Psychoanalytic explanation - Ovesey & Person 


  GID in males is caused by extreme separation anxiety prior to phallic stage. The child than fantasies about having a fusion with their mother in order to reduce the anxiety. The little boy than becomes the mother & adopts a female gender identity.
• GID & age

  44 boys & 30 girls who were referred to GID clinic as a child & followed until there were 18yrs old. Only 1 male had GID & only 4 girls showed signs of GID. This goes against biological deterministic view of GID, it maybe a normal development stage for child to experiment being the opposite sex. Suggests feelings of GID can lessen with age.
• Interactionist approach

  Bio-social approach = supports nature & nurture explanation diathesis-stress approach. Mix of genes & environment.
• GID & cultural variations

  Informed etic = binary. Atypical gender development can be explained by cultural differences. Some cultures & societies don't construct gender as a binary in which everyone is either a boy or girl or a man or women. Hijra - 'third gender' - India & Muxes - Mexico -> not universal, so should it be a disorder.
• GID & socially sensitive area

  41% of people with GID have attempted suicide, so it is important that psychologists understand this area more so they can help treat/support people with this condition.