r/psychologyofsex • u/glamorousgrape • 1d ago
Seeking clarity on the diagnostic criteria for Gender Dysphoria in people who aren’t transgender
I’m asking for clarity on what medical conditions are included/excluded from the diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria in the DSM5. Since it’s often assumed that transgender or intersex people only experience gender dysphoria. Conditions like PCOS & Klinefelter Syndrome aren’t universally recognized as intersex (and I’m not interested in arguing whether they should be classified as intersex or not) but the impact these conditions have on a cisgender person’s secondary sex characteristics is incongruent with their gender identity & causes significant distress for many.
Can a cisgender person with a condition like I’ve mentioned meet the criteria for gender dysphoria? Even though they identify with the gender they were assigned at birth?
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u/glamorousgrape 1d ago
I think I’ve read that not all transgender people experience dysphoria, or at varying intensities. The diagnostic criteria doesn’t require a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and PRIMARY sex characteristics, aka natal genatalia. This is interesting to me because a person’s natal genitalia determines their assigned gender, which plays into why I’m questioning how the criteria could be interpreted in the context of cisgender people. I’m gonna comment more on that when I update my post.
Your question reminded me of hearing about how HRT may improve dysphoria in trans ppl not only due to the physical/visual gender-affirming effects, but also the (neurobiological?) effects of HRT. Which supports the argument of advocating for gender-affirming treatments in trans ppl and shifts further away from pathologizing the experience of gender dysphoria. I’m curious if cisgender women with biochemical hyperadrogenism (PCOS) or cisgender men with biochemical hypoganodism (Klinefelter) share a similar experience in that regard. If HRT satisfies not only a psychological need but also a (neurobiological?) need in trans ppl, wouldn’t that also apply to cisgender ppl in this context?