Should Gender Identity Disorder Be Classified as a Mental Illness?

According to the Diagnosticand Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), Gender Identity Disorder involves the following four characteristics:

a. Identification with the other sex (as indicated by four of the following five):

• Desire to be the other sex
• Preference to dress as the other sex 3. Preference to behave as the other sex
• Desire to play games and activities associated with the other sex
• Preference for other-sex playmates

b. Discomfort with own sex
c. Disturbance causes significant distress and impairs functioning
d. Does not have an intersex condition

Gender Identity Disorder is one of the most controversial disorders in the DSM-IV-TR (Manners, 2009). Some people have called for the removal of Gender Identity Disorder from the DSM-V that is due to be published in 2013(Ault&Brzuzy,2009).

Some liken the debate over whether it should be included in thefuture edition of the DSM-IV to the debate that occurred several decades ago over homosexuality, which ultimately led to its removal in 1980. Gender Identity Disorder is especially controversial as a diagnosis in childhood for several reasons.

First,characteristic a(listed above) requiresonly four of the five features,w hich means that the most critical feature(desire to be the other sex) need not be present.

Second, the other four features revolve around gender stereotypical behavior, and what is deemed gender stereotypical today may change with time and does change with culture. This diagnosis suggests that gender nonconformity is evidence of a disorder and justifies the treatment of children who do not conform to stereotypical gender roles.

Somehave questioned whether the diagnosis in children comes from a discomfort with the behavior among parents rather than the children themselves (Hilletal.,2007).

Interestingly, boys are more likely to be referred for Gender Identity Disorder than girls, which may reflect society’s greater intolerance of other-sexbehavior in boys than girls(Zucker & Cohen-Kettenis,2008).

Furthermore, follow-up studies of children with Gender Identity Disorder show that only aminority persist into adolescence and adulthood (Zucker, 2010).

By contrast, there is a higher rate of persistence among adolescents. Evenamongadults, however, there is debate as to whether the desire to be the other sex should be labeled as a disorder. This diagnosis pathologizes transgendered people and trans-sexuals,despite the fact  that many of these individuals are well functioning.

The inclusion of Gender Identity Disorder as a mental illness increases the stigma and subsequent discrimination associated with gender  noncomformity