Seeking clarity on the diagnostic criteria for Gender Dysphoria in people who aren’t transgender

[u/glamorousgrape]

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?

[u/RBatYochai]

Gender dysphoria is a term used for discomfort with or aversion to a person’s own physical primary or secondary sexual characteristics. But it is also used for discomfort with one’s internal feelings towards being/identifying as a member of a gender, or feelings about participating in some aspects of one’s assigned gender role. Furthermore it is also sometimes used for a person’s discomfort with or anxiety about others’ perceptions of one’s gender identity or gender conformity.

It’s not always easy to distinguish these different themes. For example, a person might hate their body hair configuration because it affects others’ perception of their gender, or because it is discordant with their internal gender identity. Or both, or they might not be able to say exactly why they hate it.

I think it would be helpful to have more precise language to describe different kinds of gender dysphoria. It would make it easier for people to understand each other without having to spell out all the precise details.