Gender Dysphoria

This diagnosis was formerly known as Gender Identity Disorder. Because this diagnosis was a controversial one, not unlike the controversy that arose in the 1970s regarding the DSM’s inclusion of homosexuality as a diagnosable mental disorder, the criteria and name of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) has been changed in the DSM-5 to Gender Dysphoria. In order for someone to be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria today, they must exhibit a strong and persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex). In children, the disturbance is manifested by six (or more) of the following for at least a 6-month duration:

Repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex

• In boys, preference for cross-dressing or simulating female attire; in girls, insistence on wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing
• Strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex roles in make-believe play or persistent fantasies of being the other sex
• A strong rejection of typical toys/games typically played by one’s sex.
• Intense desire to participate in the stereotypical games and pastimes of the other sex
• Strong preference for playmates of the other sex
• A strong dislike of one’s sexual anatomy
• A strong desire for the primary (e.g., penis, vagina) or secondary (e.g., menstruation) sex characteristics of the other gender

In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is manifested by symptoms such as a stated desire to be the other sex, frequent passing as the other sex, desire to live or be treated as the other sex, or the conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and reactions of the other sex.

Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness  in the gender role of that sex.