Understanding Gender Through the Lens of Transgender Experience

There is constant pressure on 20th-century psychoanalytic paradigms concerning gender and sexuality, leading to ambiguity in theoretical constructs of, and therapeutic approaches to, gender. The ongoing destructive notion that transgender people are inherently abnormal, perverse, and psychotic is an epistemological problem that warrants scrutiny and correction in the field of psychoanalysis. This article explores a nuanced set of transgender experiences juxtaposed with the author’s psychoanalytic encounters as therapist, analysand, and analyst-in-training, in an effort to elaborate on transgender subjectivities. Categories are woven, unraveled, and rewoven in the face of personal realities and the author’s relationship to gender over time.     

Suicidality,Self‐Harm,and Body Dissatisfaction in Transgender Adolescents and Emerging Adults with Gender Dysphoria

Prevalence of suicide attempts, self‐injurious behaviors, and associated psychosocial factors were examined in a clinical sample of transgender (TG) adolescents and emerging adults (n = 96). Twenty‐seven (30.3%) TG youth reported a history of at least one suicide attempt and 40 (41.8%) reported a history of self‐injurious behaviors. There was a higher frequency of suicide attempts in TG youth with a desire for weight change, and more female‐to‐male youth reported a history of suicide attempts and self‐harm behaviors than male‐to‐female youth. Findings indicate that this population is at a high risk for psychiatric comorbidities and life‐threatening behaviors.     

Clinical Management of Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents

SUMMARY

This paper aims to provide professionals working with adolescents with gender-dysphoric feelings practical clinical guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. The different phases of the assessment procedure and treatment process are described. Differential diagnostic considerations and possible psychotherapeutic treatment options are given. Physical interventions, including GnRH analogues to inhibit puberty and cross-sex hormones, are described with consideration of eligibility and readiness issues. We end with discussion of post-treatment evaluation.     

Predicting Dysphoria and Relationship Adjustment: Gender Differences in Their Longitudinal Relationship

Gender differences were explored in the longitudinal association between relationship satisfaction and dysphoria in 145 dating college students attending a large public university. Of the participants, 80% were Caucasian, 14% were African American, 3% were Asian, and 3% represented other racial/ethnic groups. Based upon a previous longitudinal investigation (F. D. Fincham, S. R. H. Beach, G. T. Harold, & L. N. Osborne, 1997) and recent theoretical explanations for the gender difference in depression, it was hypothesized that initial relationship satisfaction would predict later dysphoria in women but not in men. Conversely, it was predicted that initial dysphoria would be predictive of later relationship satisfaction for men but not women. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses in which initial levels of the predicted variables were controlled. Whereas results supported the first hypothesis, initial dysphoria was predictive of later relationship adjustment for both men and women.     

Understanding Gender and Culture Within the Context of Spirituality: Implications for Counselors

This article examines roles that gender, culture, and spirituality play in elements of therapeutic process. It presents an initial literature review of gender, culture, and spirituality as these factors relate to shaping identities and defining one's behavior. Discussions on how these 3 dimensions influence the level of understanding and effective responsiveness that competent counseling professionals should consider in a culturally and spiritually diverse society are presented. Three case studies provide a framework to illuminate the complexity that professionals face when counseling issues are viewed through unique gender, cultural, and spiritual worldviews. Implications for counselors and the counseling profession are provided.     

Gender Role Development in Japanese Culture: Diminishing Gender Role Differences in a Contemporary Society

This paper presents the development of the Japanese Gender Role Index (JGRI) and Japanese men's and women's self-ratings on the scale. Two hundred ninety-six Japanese words that describe masculine and feminine characteristics were gathered. Examination of endorsements by 200 Japanese participants indicated 66 items as socially desirable characteristics for either men or women in the society. The validation process, including social desirability ratings, factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis, identified 2 subscales with 10 items for each. Internal consistency and the means and standard deviations of social desirability ratings for the subscales were also examined. Self-ratings on the JGRI by 423 Japanese participants showed that there was no significant difference between men and women on feminine and masculine characteristics. It was also found that both men and women possessed an equivalent amount of masculine and feminine characteristics.     

Age and Gender Stereotypes: New Challenges in a Changing Workplace and Workforce

The current research investigated age and gender stereotypes in relation to adaptive performance. Using methods similar to those used in Schein's studies (1973, 1975) , 496 undergraduate students rated 1 of 7 targets on 6 dimensions of adaptive performance. All of the targets varied in age (25, 40, or 55 years) and gender, except one that was age and gender neutral. The 7^th served as a reference group and was an age- and gender-neutral target. Results showed that older targets were perceived as less adaptable across most of the dimensions of adaptability. Further, men and women were perceived differently, but differences were consistent with many prevalent gender stereotypes. Finally, female participants tended to rate all targets more favorably than male participants. Implications for human resources management and future research on stereotypes at work are discussed.     

Public Opinion on Church-State Issues in a Changing Environment

The recent waves of Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, and other non-Judeo-Christian immigrants in American cities have increased religious diversity. This article examines changes in public attitudes on church-state issues in the Washington, D.C. metro area—a region that has experienced significant religious diversification. We find that between 1993 and 2000, aggregate support for public displays of Christianity decreased in the Washington area, and support for free exercise of minority religions increased. Yet the changing structure of church-state attitudes suggests that many residents are beginning to think of religious issues in a more polarized way.     

Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale - Gender Spectrum (UGDS-GS): Construct validity among transgender,nonbinary, and LGBQ samples

Abstract

Background: Researchers combined both versions of the original Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale (UGDS) to create a single gender spectrum version (UGDS-GS) which measures dissatisfaction with gender identity and expression over time as well as comfort with affirmed gender identity.

Aim: This study examined the construct validity of the newly revised, UGDS-GS.

Method: Tests of measurement invariance were conducted in stages to assess measurement invariance of the UGDS-GS across three groups: cisgender, binary transgender, and nonbinary/genderqueer.

Results: Findings indicate that the UGDS-GS functions acceptably in all three gender groups (configural and metric invariance). Also, across binary transgender and nonbinary/genderqueer groups, the measure functions very similarly with all four types of invariance. Item level findings highlight the specificity of the measure to distinguish experiences of binary transgender and nonbinary/genderqueer persons differently from cisgender LGBQ individuals.

Conclusions: The UGDS-GS demonstrates a large degree of invariance across binary transgender, nonbinary/genderqueer, and cisgender LGBQ subgroups; and therefore, findings indicate this revision to be a substantial improvement. This 18-item self-report, Likert-type scale measure is a) inclusive of all gender identities and expressions (e.g., transfeminine spectrum, transmasculine spectrum, genderqueer, nonbinary, cisgender); b) appropriate for use longitudinally from adolescence to adulthood; and c) administered at any point in the social or medical transition process, if applicable, or in community-based research focused on gender dysphoria that examines cisgender and transgender persons.     

Public Attitudes about Transgender Participation in Sports: The Roles of Gender,Gender Identity Conformity,and Sports Fandom

Sex Roles - We examine the roles of gender, gender attitudes, and interest in sports on public attitudes about transgender people’s participation in athletics. Using a representative survey...     

Gender,Masculinity Threat,and Support for Transgender Rights: An Experimental Study

Sex Roles - We explore how gender, attitudes about traditional gender roles, and threats to masculinity and femininity affect U.S. participants’ support for transgender rights. First, we...     

Gender Affirmation: A Framework for Conceptualizing Risk Behavior Among Transgender Women of Color

Experiences of stigma, discrimination, and violence as well as extreme health disparities and high rates of sexual risk behavior and substance use have been well-documented among transgender women of color. Using an intersectional approach and integrating prominent theories from stigma, eating disorders, and HIV-related research, this article offers a new framework for conceptualizing risk behavior among transgender women of color, specifically sexual risk behavior and risky body modification practices. This framework is centered on the concept of ‘gender affirmation,’ the process by which individuals are affirmed in their gender identity through social interactions. Qualitative data from 22 interviews with transgender women of color from the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States are analyzed and discussed in the context of the gender affirmation framework.     

Ethical,Legal, and Psychosocial Issues in Care of Transgender Adolescents

SUMMARY

Complete care for transgender adolescents must be considered in the context of a holistic approach that includes comprehensive primary care as well as cultural, economic, psychosocial, sexual, and spiritual influences on health. Not all transgender adolescents have gender dysphoria or wish to undergo sex reassignment. In this article we focus on general care of transgender adolescents by the non-specialist working in primary care, family services, schools, child welfare, mental health, and other community settings.     

Counseling and Culture: Some Issues

Counseling educators are alerted to three issues central to the relationship between counseling and culture: the etic-emit distinction, the sociology of knowledge, and modernity.     

Stress Buffers and Dysphoria in a Non-Western Population

The authors investigated whether generalized self-efficacy (GSE), positive automatic thoughts, optimism, or self-mastery moderated the relationship between stressful life events and dysphoria among students from Guam. The GSE Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire—Positive, the Life Orientation Test, the Self-Mastery Scale, the Life Experiences Survey, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire were administered to 63 Guamanian undergraduates twice over 3 months. GSE, optimism, and the GSE × Negative Life Events interaction predicted unique variance in dysphoria. Persons with greater GSE tended to remain nondysphoric even when experiencing higher life stresses, whereas persons with lower GSE tended to become dysphoric under high stress conditions. This is consistent with the hypothesis that GSE may help to buffer the effects of stress among Guamanians. Persons with higher optimism tended to be less dysphoric regardless of the level of stress, compared with persons with lower optimism.