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What Is Gender Identity?

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What Is Gender Identity? DebunkingDebunking Gender ((Worl?ingWorking TherapeuticallyTherapeutically with GenderGender IdentityIdentity)) Transitions Counselling & Consultancy “"AA Natural ApproachApproach to Life'sLife’s Problems"Problems” Presentation compiled by Madison Amy Webb BACPBACP AccAcc MBACP © Transitions Counselling Consultancy 2015 Version 1.5 pg. 1 “…itl'...1t COWL can bebe saistsaid that actuallyactixatlu wewe areare all Intersexesfritersexes both aiA,atovvacalluanatomically asas well as evvotocrIAA,oLoolzatiu" endocrinologically”. Harry BenjaminBenjamin-- Sexologist && Endocrinologist 19661966 pg. 2 What isis gendergender identity? It’sIt's not justjust about Biology. It isn'tisn’t about sex. It isn'tisn’t about whomwhom youyou love.love. It isn'tisn’t about what youyou choosechoose to wear. It isis about how youyou feelfeel about yourself, and whichwhich gender you sensesense yourself to be. fit What isis the gender continuum? Is it this??? Masculine Androgynous Feminine Or this??? Mts pg. 3 The Revolution Starts Here! 111141111111116 It'sTi a Its So let'slet’s be clearclear from thethe beginningbeginning what we are working with: Sex == PhysicalPhysical BodiesBodies (Male or Female). Gender Identity == what we sensesense or feel ourselvesourselves to be regardlessregardless of sexsex so (Male, Female, or Something Else). Sexuality == what sex/ssex/s we are sexuallysexually attracted tootoo e.g. (Hetero, Homo, Bi,Bi, Polysexual). The GenderGender Continuum isis moremore complexcomplex than at firstfirst glance: Diagram of Sex, Gender, & Sexuality -Normative Man- -Normative Woman" Biological Sex (anatomy, chromosomes, hormones) I I male intersex female Gender Identity (psychological sense of self) man two-spirit/third gender woman Gender Expression (communication of gender) 1 masculine androgynous feminine Sexual Orientation f identity of erotic response) A attracted to women bisexual/asexual attracted to men Sexual Behavior (sexual behavior) sex witil women sex with men & women sex with men Adapted from "Diagram of Sex Se Gender." Center for Gender Sanity. Mtp.//www.gendersanity corn/diagram Mimi pg. 4 Transgender Pioneers Richard FreiherrFreiherr vonvon Krafft-EbingKrafft-Ebing 1840 —1902– 1902 waswas an Austro—GermanAustro–German psychiatristpsychiatrist and author of the foundational work?work "Psychopathia“Psychopathia Sexualis”Sexualis" First publishedpublished inin 18861886 and expanded inin subsequentsubseQuent editions. The last edition fromfrom the hand of the author (the twelfth) containedcontained a total of 238 casecase historieshistories of human sexualsexual behaviour. Psychopathia Sexualis isis a forensicforensic referencereference bothbook for psychiatrists, physicians,physicians, and judges.judges. Written inin an academic style, itsits introductionintroduction notednoted that, to discourage lay readers,readers, the author had deliberatelydeliberately chosenchosen a scientific term forfor thethe titletitle ofof thethe bothbook andand thatthat hehe hadhad wrwrittenitten partsparts of it inin LatinLatin forfor the samesame purpose.purpose. It was one of the first boolzbooks aboutabout sexualsexual practicespractices that studied homosexuality/bisexuality. It proposed consideration of PSYCHOPATHIAhomosexuality/bisexuality. It proposed consideration of SEXUALIS the mental statestate of sexsex criminalscriminals inin legallegal judgementsjudgements of their crimes.crimes. InterestinglyInterestingly although it describesdescribes behaviour we would understandunderstand asas expressionsexpressions of Transgender, it and associatedassociated termsterms are not yet established. This This behaviour was consideredconsidered at the time to be be an expression of homosexuality Henry Havelock Ellis An EnglishEnglish physician,physician, writer & socialsocial reformer of the late 18/18/ early 19th19th century. At thisthis time there was nono understanding of transvestites or transsexuals.transsexuals. Sexual psychopathology/ deviancy waswas usually regarded asas HomosexualHomosexual "Inverts"“Inverts” inin origin. However he achnowledgedacknowledged that it isis possible for a personperson to feel lihelike the oppositeopposite sex,sex, to adopt that behaviour, and eveneven dressdress asas the opposite sex.sex. Yet the direction of the sexual impulse remains remains the samesame i.e.i.e. homosexual. He referred to thisthis behaviour asas "Eonism"“Eonism” after the 18th18th centurycentury crosscross dresserdresser “Chevalier"Chevalier d’d' Eon"Eon” (Fig 1.).1.). ThisThis term isis rarelyrarely used. pg. 5 Reitiwo• mRe, 1••••••., ••/ Magnus Hirschfeld A German physician,physician, sexologist,sexologist, and advocate for sexual minorities, late 19/19/ early 20th20th century. KnownKnown for hishis work?work in trying to understand and supportsupport homosexuals,homosexuals, hehe also turned hishis attention to crosscross dressingdressing and he created the term "Transvestit"“Transvestit” and wrote the seminalseminal book?book onon the MAGNUS HIRs FELO AND TMC Quesr subject "The“The Transvestites:Transvestites: TheThe EroticErotic Drive to CrossCross Dress"Dress” /OR SEXUAL FREEDOM 1910. Robert Stoller An AmericanAmerican ProfessorProfessor of Psychiatry, sexual researcher, and Psychoanalyst,Psychoanalyst, 20th20th Century. He undertookundertook? extensiveextensive researchresearch and development around gendergender identity and alsoalso sexual excitement. AndAnd challengedchallenged Freud'sFreud's biological belief in bisexuality. He advancesadvances belief in "Primary“Primary Femininity"Femininity” he posits that the initial orientationorientation of both the physical and psychologicalpsychological identificationidentification inin thethe 8e-t child leansleans towards feminine development. ThisThis gender he seessees asas leading to a feminine core gender Row., stow. M.D. identity in both boys and girls, unless a masculine identity in both boys and girls, unless a masculine L force isis presentpresent whichwhich interruptsinterrupts the relationship with the mother. Harry Benjamin GermanGerman-born-born AmericanAmerican endocrinologistendocrinologist and sexologist. Late 19/19/ early 20th Century.Century. InIn 1948 he was ashedasked by the sexologistsexologist AlfredAlfred Kinsey to seesee a childchild whowho "Wanted“Wanted to be a girl"girl” Neither had seenseen anything lamlike thisthis previously. This childchild ledled BenjaminBenjamin to come to understand that there waswas somethingsomething other than the condition of Transvestism. Benjamin eventually treated the childchild with oestrogen, and eventually the childchild underwentunderwent GRS. Benjamin went on to treat several hundred Benjamin went on to treat several hundred patients with similarsimilar needs.needs. One suchsuch patient Christine JorgensenJorgensen (Fig 2.) finallyfinally brought the subjectsubiect matter into the mainstream. The Harry Benjamin International Gender pg.Pg. 6 Dysphoria Association was formed with the permission, now known as WPATH. Fig 1.1. Fig 2. Fig 3. Virginia Prince Virginia Prince Possibly only thosethose with somesome Knowledgeknowledge of the transgender community before about 1980 willwill bebe aware of the central rolerole that Virginia PrincePrince (Fig 3.) playedplayed inin its development. Primarily a staunchstaunch promoter of heterosexual transvestism,transvestism, her activities have had a significantsignificant impact onon thethe wholewhole transgendertransgender community. Prince was born a male on November 23rd 1912 in Los Angeles Prince was born a male on November 23rd 1912 in Los Angeles 19561956-7,-7, Prince had begunbegun to work?work out her philosophy of transvestism and had begun her mission mission to educate the medical profession,profession, transvestitestransvestites and the restrest of the world, this involvedinvolved the development of the idea of "femmiphilia", or, love of the feminine. Prince preferred to call herselfherself a femmiphile (FP) ratherrather than a transvestite. Prince claims to have been the first person to abbreviate the term transvestite to 'TV' in Prince claims to have been the first person to abbreviate the term transvestite to 'TV' in about 1955.1955. SheShe alsoalso claims to have 'coined the wordswords "transgenderism""transgenderism" and "transgenderist" asas nounsnouns describingdescribing peoplepeople lihelike myself who have breastsbreasts and live full time asas a woman, but who have no intention of having genital surgery'.surgery‘. Gender IdentityIdentity diagnosisdiagnosis TableTable ofof HarryHarry BenjaminBenjamin ©Harry Benjamin 1966 Type I TransvestiteTransvestite (Pseudo) - Gender "feeling":“feeling”: Masculine. - ConversionConversion OperationOperation (SAS):(SAS): Not considered inin reality. - Hormone Therapy: Not considered/considered/ not indicated. - Psychotherapy:Psychotherapy: Not wanted, unnecessary. - Remarhs:Remarks: OnlyOnly a sporadicsporadic interestinterest inin "dressing".“dressing”. RarelyRarely hashas a femalefemale namename when dressed. Type II —– Transvestite (Fetishistic) - Gender "feeling":“feeling”: Masculine. - ConversionConversion OperationOperation (SAS):(SAS): May considerconsider in fantasy. Rejected. - Hormone Therapy: Rarely interested. /May help reducereduce libido. - Psychotherapy:Psychotherapy: May be successfulsuccessful inin favourable environment. pg. 7 - Remarhs:Remarks: MayMay imitateimitate malemale && femalefemale doubledouble personalitypersonality withwith malemale andand female names. Type III —– Transvestite —– True - Gender "feeling":“feeling”:
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