Essay - Gender and Sexuality: Gender Dysphoria in Children Gender Dysphoria in...

Gender and Sexuality: Gender Dysphoria in Children

***** Dysphoria ***** Children

Gender is not an absolute or guaranteed condition in the human experience, and even young children can experience some confusion concern*****g their perceptions of what gender they should be based on powerful family, cultural ***** social influences. This c*****fused sense of whether "I am a boy" or "I *****m a girl" ***** result in subjective distress that is known as gender dysphoria regarding their gender identity. While most adolescents tend to "grow out *****" their gender dysphoric state, ***** continue to experience this dicho*****my between ***** anatomical and mental sense of their gender. This study provides a review ***** the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and reliable online literature to provide an overview of trans*****ed children in general and gender dysphoric children through puberty in particular. An analysis of three each studies from the vary*****g perspectives ***** essentialism, environmentalism ***** constructivism together with an explanation concerning the rationale used by the respective researchers for selecting ***** ********** basis is followed by a summary of the research and salient findings in the conclusion. ***** annotated reference page is also **********.

Review and Analysis

Transgendered Children.

Most social researchers would likely agree that ***** experience their worlds in unique ways, but almost everyone is influenced ***** both nature ***** nurture as ***** develop over the life course. When some young people experience a gender identity ***** is *****t odds ***** their anatomical sex, it is little wonder that these same researchers would seek to explain such reactions in terms of ***** ***** whether in *****olation of each other or in combination with ***** other. In this regard, Segal (2006) reports that, "Both biological and social *****s of trans*****ualism are available. Some studies have linked specific physical and psychological characteristics to transsexualism ***** to other atypical gender identity behaviors" (p. 347). B*****ed on her critical review of the extant body of evidence, Segal concludes that, "Transsexualism is un***** ***** be associated with a major gene, but is likely to ***** associated ***** multiple genetic, epi*****, developmental, and experiential influences" (p. 348).

***** those studies that ***** relied on the strictly ***** basis to *****derstand transgendered children, a study by Roughgarden (2004) found that, "Transgender experience begins with the earliest moments of c*****sciousness. Transgender expression emerges early in childhood, along with o*****r indicators of personality, temperament, and inclination. These narratives show that transsexualism begins ***** gender *****, not sex drive" (p. 265). Societal and family reactions to these young ***** who a*****pear to be born with this condition, though, ***** typically less than compassionate. For instance, based on her empirical observations and study of homosexual and transgendered *****, the director of ***** Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University, Caitlin Ryan, reports that some of the common reactions of families to children who are identified lesbian, gay or transgendered suggest that ***** latter condition can evoke the most severe responses on the parts of ot***** family members and peers as well. ***** a recent