Transgender no longer a mental 'disorder'

Being transgender no longer a mental 'disorder' in diagnostic manual

By Moni Basu, CNN

http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/27/being-transgender-no-longer-a-mental-disorder-in-diagnostic-manual/?iref=allsearch

 

The American Psychiatric Association changed its official guide referring to “gender dysphoria” and it is expected to lower the stigma and harm which a lot of transgender people has been struggled with.  In the old manual, those who feel the gender nonconformity were automatically considered mentally ill. Instead, the new manual refers only “those people who feel distressed by their gender identity” as “gender dysphoria.” It means being transgender is no more unsound but normal variant of human beings.

As we studied in the class, gender is constructed in the society and people learn and practice their gender throughout their lives in the interaction with other people and social systems. Though our gender is biologically assigned to men or women, the concept itself is one of the cultural products. Once we are assigned the ender, we start to learn the normal, appropriate, favorable way of living as our gender and form gender identity. The idea of transgender as illness has been constructed in these social processes. As long as people think there are only two categories of sex, those who cannot be applied to them can be regard as “the Others” and easily fall into the target of oppression.

Removing a prejudice term of transgender by the American Psychiatric Association was significant in that it disclosed the gender discrimination prevailed in the society to the public. However, it is necessary to think about the changing situation of transgender people. As the article mentions, the gender dysphoria diagnosis could provide the access to health care including hormone treatment. So by confining the definition of gender dysphoria, some people might lose their advantage which is already poor.

My new knowledge is that we need to think carefully about the influence of change in social system to the target people. Superficial reformation could drive them more difficult condition. As well as the privilege people, the target people learn how they should or should not do through socialization in which they repeat accepting, rejecting and negotiating their gender.  They have been forced to live in the confined society and made the most of the limited resources they can access. They are always vulnerable to the dogmatic conduct of privileged group.

In order to make the society without inequality or injustice, we should seek the change which not deteriorate the life of the weak but assure the better, comfortable and dignified life for them.