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Gender Identity Disorder Now Gender Incongruence |
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 Gender identity Disorder has been renamed Gender Incongruence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) and seems to be more flexible while taking away the stigma of a mental disease. The proposed revision defines Gender Incongruence as “A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender of at least six months duration...”
A lively discussion in the forum of the Gender DynamiX website followed the release of the draft criteria. Andrea felt that “We do need a critical criteria to sort the true ‘T’s’ from those who are ‘mixed up’. She added that “One cannot play with Gender Dysphoria as once changes take place there [is] no turning back.”
Mina, however, disagreed with this saying that a psychiatrist couldn’t make the call about who is “messed up” and who is real. While she agreed that therapy and therapists were necessary, she felt they should focus on helping the transgender person “empower and build [themselves] up as people” rather than trying to ‘fix’ and ‘make sure’ about their gender. Through therapy the transgender should thus be given the ability to “make sure for ourselves, maturely and confidently”.
Jade is much happier with the revision. For long this has been a contentious issue between psychologists and psychiatrists, with psychiatrists calling it a mental disorder. “Gender Incongruence sounds so much better – not a mental affliction, but more a state of mind. She also wondered what the situation in terms of legal and medical funding and recognition would be should transgenderism no longer be seen as a mental condition.
Mina emphasised that transgenderism is still seen as a disorder. “The name change really has no effect beyond changing perceptions.”
However, should Gender Identity be taken out of the DSM completely, what would happen then? “Unless there was an alternative recognition of GI as some sort of birth condition, it would give insurance companies and the government a great excuse to take us off the books,” Mina said.
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