XVI Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
17 - 21 August 1999, London

Reflections on "Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment" 1969 -1999

Gender & Sex Identity Disorder vs Sex, Gender and Sexuality Exploration

O, Keefe, Tracie, DCH

The course of medical and psychological intervention of psycho-sociobiological conditions described as Sex and Gender Identity Disorders change constantly in accordance with social perspectives and ever developing models of clinical practice. Both patients and clinicians frequently mesmerise themselves into a numerically recognised diagnosis that can be cross-referenced several times in various forms of academic literature. At times this can be useful as one professional in the field communicates to another through a coded encryption that contains a large amount of detailed information. On other occasions a patient/client can nominalise the accepted identity disorder or rebuke a distasteful diagnosis in accordance with their own sense of comfort and opinion about that clinical interview.

Whilst the gender community attempts to depathologise the condition of sex and gender dysphoria so it does not go back into the DSM or ICD in a way that is thought of as a mental disorder, that very action can disempower sex and gender identity pathology by often rendering it ineligible for funding from social health systems. This dichotomy of the client group choosing the freedom of self-determination over a perceived authoritarian, uncontrollable medical determination is a hot debate that causes friction between the gender movements and clinicians who provide care as we go into the 21^st century.

It is imperative that this acrimonious discursive debate is now settled and an agreed resolution is reached by both parties in order that treatment for sex and gender dysphoric people can go forward expeditiously to fully benefit that client group.