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BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER - Coggle Diagram
BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER
Gender dysphoria
When individual experiences a mismatch between their biological sex + the sex they 'feel' they are
They identify more with the opposite sex rather than the one they were identified as at birth
They will often identify themselves as transgender + may opt for gender reassignment surgery
The brain sex theory
Transexual brains don't match the genetic sex assigned at birth e.g. male brain in a female body
The focus on this research is on areas of the brain that are different in males + females (dimorphic)
Zhou
found that the
BSTc is 40% larger in males than females
+ is assumed to be fully developed by age 5
BST states that gender dysphoria is caused by brain strucures that are incompatible with a persons biological sex
Post-mortems of 6 male-to-female- transgender individuals showed that BSTc was similar size to that in females + the number of neurons in the BSTc showed a sex revered identity pattern with an average BSTc number in the female range
This shows that males who identify themselves as female have a similar brain structure to other females rather than males
SUPPORTING STUDY - RAMETTI
Investigated FtM transsexuals
They found that white matter in brain of FtM individuals had a similar pattern to those who share their gender identity (male) than those who share their biological sex (female)
This shows that brain structure contributes heavily to the development of gender dysphoria
Transexual gene
Individuals with gender dysphoria have a genetic variation that causes the disorder
Hare
: investigated 112m-to-f transexuals + found the majority had longer versions of the androgen receptor gene, which means testosterone had a reduced effect during prenatal development
This results in under development of a masculinised brain, causing the development of gender dysphoria later in life
GENDER DYSPHORIA
External possibility for the development of this + it involves environmental pollution
Pesticide DDT contains oestrogen + it has been suggested that males prenatally exposed to high levels of these female hormones may cause a mismatch between genetic sex + hormonal influences
RAMETTI'S STUDY = ONLY CONDUCTED ON FtM TRANSEXUALS WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO GENERALISE
E.g. different psychological and physiological attributes - this questions the validity of the evidence that supports the BST for gender dysphoria
It is not clear whether brain differences can account for GENDER DYSPHORIA in these individuals as individual differences may exist between the sexes
CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE OF THE BST - CHUNG
Found that the volume of the BSTc in males + females did not develop until adulthood, but transsexuals reported they felt they had gender dysphoria from a young age
This suggests biological factors alone could not cause gender dysphoria