What is a trangender person? GGenderender IIdentitydentity “” includes people seeking to Sources: change their appearance to the opposite http://www.mercatornet.com CConfusiononfusion of their birth gender, either with clothing Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons (transvestites) or surgically altering their http://www.narth.com/menus/gender.html bodies (transsexuals). All mainstream medical http://www.pfox.org professionals classify this behavior as a Disorder (GID).1 Why would a guy want What is the difference between sex to be a girl? Why would and gender? Sex is determined by chromosomes; chro- a girl want to be a guy? mosome testing is used to determine sex. Inside Footnotes: Gender is either male or female. 1Paul McHugh, “Surgical Sex,” First Things, http://www.fi rstthings.com/article/2009/02/surgical-sex--35 What about the of a (November 2004). Also in: Paul R. McHugh M.D., The Mind transgendered person? Has Mountains: Refl ections on Society and (The John Sexual orientation refers to one’s sexual Hopkins University Press, 2005) 2“Part Three - The Full Text of the Standards of Care: IX. attraction to men, women, both, or neither, Hormone Therapy for Adults,” The International Journal of whereas gender identity refers to one’s sense Transgenderism, Volume 2, Number 2, April-June 1998, of self as male or female. http://www.symposion.com/ijt/ijtc0405l.htm The great majority of cross-dressers (trans- 3“Q&A with Norman Spack,” The Boston Globe, March 30, vestites) are biological males; most are sex- 2008 ually attracted to women. The American 4Kenneth Zucker Ph.D. and M.D., Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Psychological Association stated, “Usually Adolescents (The Guilford Press, 1995) people who are attracted to women prior to 5See Former Transgender Tells His Story, transition continue to be attracted to women http://pfox.org/Former_Transgender_Tells_His_Story.html after transition, and people who are attracted to men prior to transition continue to be attracted to men after transition.”2 This can make public bathrooms and dressing rooms unsafe for women and children. What about “Intersex”? Intersex is a rare phenomenon associated with physical birth abnormalities and cannot be compared with the psychiatric conditions known as Gender Identity Disorder nor transgenderism. “…True intersexuals only Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays account for .0018% of the population.”3 (PFOX) 1Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fourth Edition, Text Revision (Washington: American Psychiatric A nonprofi t organization supporting families Association, 2000). 2Answers to Your Questions About Transgender Individuals and the ex-gay community and Gender Identity. (Washington: American Psychiatric P.O. Box 510, Reedville, VA 22539 Association, 2006), p. 2. 3Staver, Mathew. Transsexualism and the Binary Divide: (804) 453-4737 Determining Sex Using Objective Criteria, http://law.bepress. www.pfox.org • [email protected] com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8309&context=expresso (Liberty University School of Law, 2006), p. 40. Copyright ® 2010 Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) GGenderender IIdentitydentity DisorderDisorder ((GID)GID)

Are there people genuinely confuseconfusedd underlying biological reality. Men who undergo sexsex AAccordingccording to Drs. Kenneth Zucker and Susan aaboutbout whether ththeyey are male or reassignmentreassignment surgery still remain men – they cannot BBradley,radley, “It has been our experience that a sizable ffemale?l ? conceive childrenh ld or menstruate andd must undergod numberb off childrenh ld andd theirh ffamiliesl achieveh Yes, some people are confused a continuous regiment of hormone pills to overcome a great deal of change. In these cases, the GID about their sexual identity. In their inborn masculinity. resolves fully, and nothing in the children’s behavior its Statistical Manual of Mental or fantasy suggests that gender-identity issues Disorders, the American Is hormone therapy and sexual reassignment remain problematic ... All things considered, we Psychiatric Association states surgery a successful and safe treatment? take the position that in such cases a clinician that people who feel their gender No. When Dr. Paul McHugh became the psychiatrist- should be optimistic, not identity confl icts with in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he studied nihilistic, about the possibility their birth sex or the outcomes of such surgeries. His study found of helping the children to with the gender role that while most clients said they were happy with become more secure in their associated with that the outcome, the psychological problems that gender identity.”4 sex have gender accompanied the feeling that they were the other dysphoria, a mental sex did not change. They still had the same troubles Are there any disorder resulting in abnormal with relationships, work and emotions. Dr. McHugh ex-? depression and discontent concluded, “…to provide a surgical alteration to the Yes. With self- about their gender. A body of these unfortunate people was to collaborate determination, 1 psychological condition with a mental disorder rather than to treat it.” therapy, is considered a mental Hormone therapy has serious side effects including medication, and disorder if it causes increased propensity to blood clotting, infertility, support from distress or disability. depression, and liver tumors and disease.2 their loved ones, a person can Can a person’s “When young people halt their puberty before their overcome this biological sex be bodies have developed, and then take cross-hormones disorder and live 3 totally changed? for a few years, they’ll probably be infertile.” a life of their birth No, it is not possible to How can parents identify gender identity sex. Parents and Darrell as a woman after change a person’s sex. Each disorder (GID)? Friends of Ex-Gays gender-altering surgery. cell of a person’s body The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the and Gays (PFOX) contains chromosomes American Psychiatric Association defi nes Gender raises funds for which identify that individual as either male or female. Identity Disorder (GID) in children as a strong reversal surgeries It is not simply a question of different genitals. Surgery persistent cross-gender identifi cation, a discomfort and breast and hormone treatments can create the appearance with one’s own sex, and a preference for cross-sex explants of former Darrell today, as the man 5 of a male or female body, but it cannot change the roles in play or in fantasies. transgenders. he was born to be.