Introduction
Gender Identity Disorder (GID) was entered into the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980, then called Transsexualism. The category was renamed Gender Identity Disorder in 1994 (sometimes called Gender Dysphoria). GID classifies transgenderism and all other atypical gender identities as a mental illness. Transvestic Fetishism (TF) is the diagnostic category in the DSM of cross-dressing, usually heterosexual, males. It is considered a sexual fetish and paraphilia. Depending on sources, it may or may not be portrayed as a potentially dangerous sexual deviancy that will escalate to violent behavior. Diagnosing atypical gender identity makes a statement that there is something inherently wrong with queer gender and it needs to be 'fixed.' GID is applied not only to adults but also to children and is often used as a method of anticipating homosexuality in adulthood. "Treatment" of gender-variant people is determined by the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care (commonly called The Standards of Care). These 'standards' limit people's freedom of choice and agency and are applied in heteronormative ways and pathologize normal behavior.
This is a brief overview of GID and the issues surrounding it. For more information, please visit the following links and resources:
Informed Consent for Access to Trans Health
ADVOCATING FOR GENDER IDENTITY
Gender Identity Disorder: What To Do?
A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality
DSM V - Gender Dysphoria Proposed Revisions
Updated (2011) Stanards of Care