Transsexuality: is it really a psychological disorder?

Formerly, society considered that most of the sexual behaviors, orientations and identities removed from heteronormativity they were due to the existence of psychological problems. Over the years, minority groups have been achieving greater social acceptance, while the different studies carried out reflected that said groups did not suffer any type of pathology.

This is what has been happening little by little with aspects with sexual orientations such as homosexuality and bisexuality. However, in the case of sexual identity the debate in this regard has been a little longer in the past. time, appearing transsexuality reflected until recently in the main classifications diagnostic.

Let's talk about transsexuality: A gender identity issue or a psychological disorder?

The concept of transsexuality

It is understood by transsexual that person who feels the existence of a continuous incongruity in time between his biological sex and her gender identity. This incongruity usually provokes in the person the desire to start a transformation process in order to live according to the gender felt as one's own, using elements such as hormonal and surgery.

Gender identity, as a sexual self-concept that each one has of himself and the valuation that we give to that identity, is something that is to a large extent socially mediated. Being a man or a woman implies different things depending on the society or culture in which we live, implications that may seem more or less close to our own identity.

The aforementioned definition of transsexuality indicates the existence of a mismatch between the physical and the psychological. The underlying question is whether this feeling of inadequacy occurs as a normal reaction to a difference between the mental and the physical or, on the contrary, constitutes a disorder.

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Why do some still consider it a psychological disorder?

Apart from issues related to the tradition and beliefs of a part of the population at In this regard, the main reason why transsexuality has been considered up to now as a disorder is based on the concept of gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is understood as the deep frustration and discomfort that many people have in relation to their own body when considering that it is not what they should have, considering that it does not correspond to the identity of gender.

This psychological phenomenon can cause great stress and anxiety, in addition to self-esteem problems, depressive disorders and anxious and to the display of isolation and self-concealment behaviors.

It is for this reason that in diagnostic manuals such as the DSM gender dysphoria is still in force as a triggering factor of discomfort related to transsexuality.

• Related article: "Gender dysphoria: being born in the wrong body"

Transsexuality does not necessarily imply dysphoria

However, gender dysphoria should not be identified with transsexuality. You don't have to want to transform or live like the opposite sex to feel uneasy about the gender role assigned, in the same way that you do not need to feel bad about yourself to want to transition.

And it is that, although it can happen, not all transsexuals have a deep dislike for their body, or this does not suppose them greater problem than the desire to change. For example, there are transsexuals who do not see it necessary to make a total physical change, opting to get hormones and change their wardrobe and way of acting in pursuit of what they feel most like.

In this way, not every transsexual person will have a particularly marked gender dysphoria that causes suffering. In fact, it is possible even that more than suffering, the fact of realizing the true gender identity can be experienced as a liberation for those who have seen their repressed identity.

Other arguments against its consideration as a disorder

The conclusions drawn from various investigations reflect that transsexuality is not a disorder, using different arguments for it.

First of all, keep in mind that the existence of an identity is not in itself pathologicalTherefore, when treating transsexuality, the existence of a divergent identity with the biological one could not be considered as a disorder.

Second, it is important to take into account the fact that generally people who want to change their sex and do so with the proper psychological, hormonal and in some cases surgical treatment present an improvement in their quality of life compared to when they had not expressed their sexual identity. In addition, the very consideration that it is a disorder causes manifest harm and high stigmatization the transsexual population, favoring transphobia and inequality.

Finally, it must be taken into account that the desire to perform body modifications such as cosmetic surgery is not considered pathological as long as it does not threaten the stereotypes of gender. Modify our weight with liposuction, change the shape of the nose through rhinoplasty or inject toxin Botulinum implies that we do not like what was previously present and want to change it, without necessarily being cases from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The same goes for sexual characteristics and identity.

The situation today

Although up to now transsexuality has been included as a mental disorder in the predominant diagnostic classifications worldwide, such as the DSM-IV, which includes it as a disorder under the name of Sexual Identity Disorder or the ICD-10 (the term transsexualism appears here as a mental disorder), this fact is about to change.

The World Health Organization, which publishes the International Classification of Diseases or ICD, which include mental disorders (being in this sense another of the world reference manuals together with the DSM), will publish throughout the year 2018 the next edition of the CIE, the ICD-11.

As happened in its previous version (published in 1990) with homosexuality, the WHO will no longer consider transsexuality a mental disorder. Instead, transsexuality will come to be considered a condition related to sexual health, under the name of gender incongruity.