Q&A: Is the “treatment” for Gender Identity “Disorder” Getting a Sex “Change”?

Question by : Is the “treatment” for Gender Identity “Disorder” getting a Sex “Change”?
Ok so I don’t see it as a treatment, a disorder, or a change but whatever. Is getting a sex realignment considered a “treatment” for GID?

I’m just kind of intrigued by the fact that psychologists are openminded and helpful about me and my situation, yet I still have an identity disorder.

Best answer:

Answer by Sam
Gender identity Disorder is too broad for what you’re talking about and ehh, I don’t really like that phrase. I mean, the transsexual person who is actively trying to ‘treat’ their condition knows exactly who they are and is just trying to get their body to reflect that. Being transexual is what you mean, judging by the rest of your question.

Being transexual is essentially having gender dysphoria. There are a lot of different types of dysphorias and they are all very real and pretty well accepted within the medical profession.

Its like..seeing a problem with your body that is so great and deep that it goes far beyond the ‘I wish I was a couple pounds thinner’ kind of dislike of one’s body that people can almost everyone understands. Being transsexual is basically where you hate your body because its supposed to be the opposite gender. The feeling that it is not at all the way it is supposed to be extends to effect many parts of daily life- how other people percieve you and how it hurts when they point out those feelings you have about how your body isnt the way its supposed to be by calling you ‘ma’am’ when you are really ‘sir’ or vice versa. Experiencing great anxiety over things like using public washrooms, getting called the wrong name or being referred to with the wrong pronoun over and over again, and just feeling like your body matches your brain are things that come along with gender dysphoria.

I mean, imagine how you would feel if you woke up one day and being the opposite gender. If you’re a woman, imagine having all this hair covering your body, being huge, having a penis..Short hair, a deep voice. If you’re a man, imagine having breasts and not having a penis anymore, being expected to go into the woman’s washroom and sway your hips when you walk and like certain things because you look like a woman. You wouldn’t know or like that body and you wouldn’t feel comfortable at all. Thats pretty much how a transperson feels.

For a transsexual person changing their body to match who they are inside is the treatement. Its what stops the dysphoria or eases it so that its manageable. Passing as the gender they truly are means that they look like how they are supposed to to everyone around them, and are treated like that and so that part of transitioning eases the dysphoria, for instance. Passing might be all someone needs to be comfortable enough to be happy and they might not need surgery for that. Maybe hormones alone will help them, for instance. Maybe a haircut and learning how to lower their voice if they’re FTM and bind their chest is good enough. It varies a lot from one person to the next.

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