Gender Incongruence (AQA A Level Psychology): Flashcards
Exam code: 7182
1/220Still learning
Know0
Define gender incongruence.
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (22)
Define gender incongruence.
The ICD-11 (2022) defines gender incongruence as the feeling of a mismatch between one's assigned biological sex and one's experienced gender, often leading to a strong desire to transition and to change primary and/or secondary sex characteristics to match the experienced gender.
How does the ICD-11 distinguish types of gender incongruence?
It distinguishes gender incongruence of childhood from that of adolescence and adulthood, with criteria to ensure the experience is consistent, persistent and not temporary; gender-variant behaviour alone is not a basis, as the incongruence must be marked and persistent.
Gender incongruence of childhood requires the experience to have persisted for at least years.
Gender incongruence of childhood requires the experience to have persisted for at least two years.
True or False?
The ICD-11 classifies gender incongruence as a mental or behavioural disorder.
False.
It is classified under 'conditions related to sexual health', a deliberate change intended to reduce stigma while maintaining access to gender-affirming healthcare.
What do biological explanations of gender incongruence focus on?
Biological explanations focus on the influence of genetics, hormones and brain structure differences.
What did Heylens et al. (2012) find?
Among 23 MZ and 21 DZ twin pairs in which one twin had gender incongruence, concordance was 39% in MZ twins but none in DZ twins, suggesting a genetic component.
What did Hare et al. (2009) find?
Comparing DNA from 112 transgender women with 258 cisgender men, the transgender group more often carried a variant of the androgen-receptor gene that reduces sensitivity to testosterone, suggesting reduced androgen signalling may contribute.
How does congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) support a hormonal explanation?
Berenbaum and Bailey (2003) reviewed CAH, where the adrenal glands produce excess androgens in XX foetuses, and found around 5-10% later report significant gender incongruence, far higher than the general female population.
What did Hines (2004) find about CAIS?
XY individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, exposed to virtually no effective testosterone before birth, almost invariably develop a female gender identity, suggesting atypical prenatal hormones contribute to gender incongruence.
Define brain-sex theory.
Brain-sex theory proposes that gender incongruence arises when certain sexually dimorphic brain regions develop with the template of the opposite sex.
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) is typically about % larger in males than in females.
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) is typically about 40% larger in males than in females.
What did Zhou et al. (1995) and Kruijver et al. (2000) find?
Postmortem research on six transgender women found their BSTc was the same size as that of cisgender women (Zhou), and a later study found its neuron count was within the normal female range (Kruijver).
How do social explanations account for gender incongruence?
It is seen as learned behaviour: children gain positive reinforcement from parents or peers for opposite-gender behaviour, e.g. parents who wanted a daughter unconsciously reinforcing feminine behaviour in a son, and the child internalises an opposite-gender identity.
How does social constructionism explain gender incongruence?
It argues that strict binary gender categories are a cultural product, so 'gender incongruence' may only exist as a clinical category in cultures that enforce a rigid male/female binary, rather than being a universal medical condition.
True or False?
Queer theory treats gender incongruence as a clinical disorder.
False.
Queer theory frames gender variance as cultural and identity diversity, arguing the category of 'gender incongruence' reflects Western medicalisation of natural human variation.
What is a limitation of queer theory's view of gender incongruence?
Its rejection of identity categories can ignore the lived reality of people who experience a stable, deeply felt gender identity, including many transgender people, for whom the felt mismatch is not merely a cultural construct.
Why was Littman's (2018) survey of parents revised?
Parents attributed adolescents' gender incongruence to peer and social media influence, but they were recruited via websites where concerns about transition were prominent, and the paper was republished in 2019 acknowledging it reported parental perceptions, not direct evidence.
How does cross-cultural evidence support social/cultural explanations?
Cultures recognising third-gender identities, e.g. the Hijra in India and the Bissu in Indonesia, do not pathologise gender variance, suggesting incongruence is partly a product of Western binary frameworks and highlighting cultural bias in diagnostic systems such as the ICD.
What practical value does research into gender incongruence have?
Studies of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) report improvements in psychological wellbeing, including reduced anxiety, depression and suicidality, supporting the usefulness of research whichever explanation proves most complete.
Why can cause and effect not be established from BSTc research?
The research is correlational and post-mortem, so brain differences may be a consequence of living as the experienced gender, hormone treatment during transition or other lifestyle factors, rather than innate differences present from birth.
Why is it difficult to investigate social explanations experimentally?
There is a lack of empirical evidence for purely social explanations, and ethical constraints make experimental investigation of gender incongruence very difficult.
Why are biological explanations of gender incongruence deterministic?
They imply individuals have little control over their experienced gender due to genetics, hormones or brain structure, yet the decision to transition suggests an element of free will and personal agency, especially in supportive cultural contexts.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or