The Riddle of Gender - Deborah Rudacille [189]
Recent revisions of the DSM Katherine Wilson, Ph.D., “The Disparate Classification of Gender and Sexual Orientation in American Psychiatry,” presented at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association,” retrieved from http://www.gidreform.org, March 31,2001; Katherine Wilson, Ph.D., “Gender as Illness: Issues of Psychiatric Classification,” in Taking Sides—Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Sex and Gender, E. Paul, ed. (Guilford, Conn.: Dushkin McGraw-Hill, 2000), 31-38. Retrieved from http://www.gidreform.org. See also Justin Cascio, “Bias in Writings on Gender Identity Disorder,” retrieved from TransHealth.com 1, no. 4 (Spring 2002). http://www.trans-health.com/Iss4voL1/research.htm.
boys diagnosed with GID in childhood “The most extensive and detailed of 199 prospective studies was carried out by Richard Green, a psychiatrist at UCLA. In his study, about four-fifths of the markedly effeminate boys became rather conventional homosexual or bisexual men, one boy became a transsexual man, and the remainder became heterosexual men…. Thus the association between childhood gender nonconformity and adult homosexuality is well established, especially in men,” LeVay, Queer Science, 98, discussing Richard Green, The “Sissy Boy Syndrome” and the Development of Homosexuality (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987).
This conclusion has been disputed more recently by some clinicians who treat children and adolescents, for example, Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis, Ph.D., Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands. “Our data show that GID in childhood is associated with more than just one long-term trajectory. Continuation of GID into adolescence by no means seems to be a rare exception. We believe that treatment should be available for all children, regardless of their eventual sexual orientation, and should depend only on the severity of suffering experienced by the child.” In the Netherlands, adolescent children are eligible for hormone treatment if they meet the clinic’s criteria. Cohen-Kettenis notes that of seventy-four children referred to the clinic before the age of twelve, “17 intensely gender dysphoric adolescents applied for sex reassignment…. Of the 17, 3 adolescents have started cross-hormone treatment.” Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis, “Gender Identity Disorder in DSM?” Letter, Journal ofthe Amencan Academy of Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry 40, no. 4 (April 2001): 391.
American psychiatric perceptions ofetiology, distress, and treatment goals for transgenderedpeople Wilson, “Disparate Classification,” 9.
No single group has gone more unnoticed by society Gianna E. Israel and Donald E. Tarver II, M.D., Transgender Care: Recommended Guidelines, Practical Information and Personal Accounts (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997), 132.
If there is any cure for children or youth with gender-identity issues Ibid., 137.
Parents with resources large or small will spend their last penny Ibid., 134.
Because gender-identity conflicts are still perceived as a mental health disorder Ibid.
or… out on the streets A study of homeless LGBT youths published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2002 concludes that “homeless youths who identify themselves as members of sexual minority groups are at increased risk for negative outcomes” such as “greater vulnerability to physical and sexual victimization, higher rates of addictive substance abuse, more psychopathology, and riskier sexual behavior in comparison with homeless heterosexual adolescents.” Bryan N. Cochran, Angela J. Stewart, Joshua A. Ginzler, and Ana Mari Cauce, “Challenges Faced by Homeless Sexual Minorities: Comparison of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Homeless Adolescents with their Heterosexual Counterparts,” American Journal of Public Health 92, no. 5 (May 2002): 773—77.
Children with gender issues frequently are regarded as unruly or disruptive Israel and Tarver, Transgender