Looking back, pushing forward

Via In The Life comes this useful overview of “the controversy raging over the inclusion of Gender Identity Disorder in the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual“, examining whether GID should be removed from the forthcoming DSM-V, or reclassified.

At the risk of oversimplifying and making sweeping generalisations, TS/TG adults are as reliant on a diagnosis of GID as we are pathologised by it, because healthcare systems around the world require the diagnosis before we can access hormones, surgery, etc. The challenge seems to be how to balance those needs with the destigmatisation of TS/TG people by both the medical profession and mainstream cis society.

That same pathologisation results in gender variant children being subjected to so-called reparative therapies by parents and mental health professionals that regard adult transsexuality or homosexuality as a “bad outcome”.

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(Cross-posted at Questioning Transphobia)

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Previous related posts on this blog:

• APA Task Force reviews possible Gender Identity Disorder treatment guidelines (April 29, 2009)
• Close the CAMH Gender Identity Clinic – Facebook group (April 28, 2009)
• OII receives a letter from Dr Zucker’s legal representatives (March 21, 2009)
• Lynn Conway targeted by Kenneth Zucker for speaking out against his appointment to the APA Task Force (March 5, 2009)
• TGEU Policy Statement on DSM Reform (November 3, 2008)
• Developing DSM-V in Secret (October 17, 2008)
• Reminder: Demo against Zucker at RSM tomorrow (1st October 2008) (September 30, 2008)
• Demonstration against Kenneth Zucker at RSM, 1st October 2008 (September 22, 2008)
• Zucker *still* to speak at RSM conference (September 9, 2009)
• Zucker to Speak At Royal Society of Medicine Conference (August 15, 2008)
• WPATH Clarification (July 19, 2008)
• With God on Our Side (July 7, 2008)
• Crazy love (June 1, 2008)
• Still mad: more on DSM-V/Zucker/Blanchard (May 18, 2008)
• Mad as hell (May 6, 2008)