What is Gender Dysphoria?: A meta-narrative review

In the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), the authors have changed the diagnosis for trans people of all ages from Gender Identity Disorder (GID) to Gender Dysphoria (GD). They have also broadened the diagnosis to include intersex. The... [ view full abstract ]

In the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), the authors have changed the diagnosis for trans people of all ages from Gender Identity Disorder (GID) to Gender Dysphoria (GD). They have also broadened the diagnosis to include intersex. The (contested) GD diagnosis is argued to better describe the distress that some trans and intersex people experience when their gender identity feels incongruent to their assigned sex (Davy, 2015). Critics have suggested however that the previous GID and current GD diagnoses are both stigmatizing and lacking in scientific rigor (Hegarty, 2009; Davy, 2015), and that the distress from experiencing gender identity differently to that assigned at birth does not necessarily emerge from gender incongruence per se, but from numerous psychosocial sources, including transphobia, familial and friendship rejection and bodily discontent. Moreover, the author has studied gender and sexuality for many years, and particularly trans gender and sexualities, and noticed that the term Gender Dysphoria was being used in particular ways in the literature, often differently from the diagnostic criterion. The present study is a meta-narrative review of the characterization of Gender Dysphoria.

In this paper, we determine what GD is (in the literature), and then make some recommendations to journals’ editorial teams about characterizations of GD regarding consistency of use, descriptions of participants in the... [ view full abstract ]

In this paper, we determine what GD is (in the literature), and then make some recommendations to journals’ editorial teams about characterizations of GD regarding consistency of use, descriptions of participants in the methodology sections of articles, and referencing in order to inform the rigor of publications in the area of trans people and intersex people who continue to be stigmatized, pathologized and misrepresented in academic fora.

The present study is a meta-narrative review, which identified 598 papers, and asks simply: What is Gender Dysphoria? We searched multiple journal databases from all disciplines. The terms we used were Gender Dysphoria and... [ view full abstract ]

The present study is a meta-narrative review, which identified 598 papers, and asks simply: What is Gender Dysphoria? We searched multiple journal databases from all disciplines. The terms we used were Gender Dysphoria and Gender Dysphoric inclusive of the dates April 2013 and June 2016.

We coded the literature inductively resulting in a number of substantive narrative themes. We have developed an analysis, which tells the stories of how GD is characterized in sexological, medical, sociological and the... [ view full abstract ]

We coded the literature inductively resulting in a number of substantive narrative themes. We have developed an analysis, which tells the stories of how GD is characterized in sexological, medical, sociological and the humanities literature. The major themes we will be drawing on in this paper are: 1. Gender dysphoria as identity, which includes sub-themes of identity (mis)characterizations, identity management and research samples. 2. Gender dysphoria as distress, which includes sub-themes of body, social and sexual distress, clinical thresholds and etiological stories. 3. Gender Dysphoria and Health Policies will include sub-themes of Gender Dysphoria and Teamwork and Guiding Principles.

We will draw together the narrative characterization of Gender Dysphoria, the implications and limitations of the eclectic array of usage in academic literature. We will make some recommendations about how best to make more... [ view full abstract ]

We will draw together the narrative characterization of Gender Dysphoria, the implications and limitations of the eclectic array of usage in academic literature. We will make some recommendations about how best to make more rigorous the use of the diagnostic concept across the disciplines, attest its misuse and clarify what Gender Dysphoria is.