Running head: MY REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR

My Reflection in the Mirror

Marcus Monteiro
PSY/229 11A
October 19, 2015
Tayeba M Shaikh Psy.D.

MY REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR

Openness may not completely disarm prejudice,

but its a good place to start. -- Jason Collins

My Reflection in the Mirror

Disorder vs. Biological Right of Passage
Its been a long standing question as to the cause and subsequent effect on
children who struggle with gender identity; or what would be the effect on children
growing up with gay or lesbian parent(s). Previously, parents sought treatment for their
children due to what they deemed as abnormal behaviors such as, boys who wanted
to play with girls or dolls; and girls who were labeled as tom boys because they liked
playing with boys and climb trees. Treatment centers, such as the Ann and Robert H.
Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago, would see a larger ratio of boys to girls because
society tolerates tomboyish girls more so than boys who they label as sissies for
wanting to play with dolls or emulated their mother vs. their father. The biological
causes of gender identity disorder are not known. According to one theory, a prenatal
hormonal imbalance may predispose individuals to the disorder. Problems in the
individual's family interactions or family dynamics may play part (Allen Mercedes,
2008). (Busari, 2013) To exemplify this theory, lets take the case of Mary. Mary, born
female, never had an affinity for dolls. Instead, Mary loved hanging around boys, and
playing with toy cars and marbles. Because Mary has never been to therapy for her
behaviors, one cannot discern whether or not she felt that she was a male trapped
inside the wrong body. As Mary entered into the stages of adolescence and young
adulthood, she loved driving cars that she personally transformed from stylish
manufactured vehicles to street hot rods large tires, loud tail pipes and all. Mary did

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however chase a few boys and young men during early adulthood. One also cannot
discern whether or not this was due to growing up in the 1960 era, fear of disapproval
from family members, or peer pressure. Mary subsequently went on to marry and have
children. There were many marital problems she dealt with up until the time her
husband was tragically died in an auto accident. It was shortly after that that Mary
began a relationship with a companion of the same sex and has remains in same-sex
relationships for the past 40 years. We began Mary's story because of the question of
predisposition at the hands of biological factors. From Mary, I believe that biological and
physiological factors played a major role for her and a great number of other individuals
who struggle to identify with the gender they were born into. The facts I identified,
relative to Mary and this theory is: (1) Her tomboyish behaviors early in life, (2) she
developed a typical and complete male balding pattern.
Is Treatment the Right Course to Consider?
The psychological conflict of young children identifying with the opposite sex and
even desiring to become what they love, that is a sex opposite their own biological sex,
is described as Gender Identify Disorder (GID) in the American Psychiatric
Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals (Fitzgerald, 2009-2015) Is it fair for
society to label the conflict of children and adolescence struggling with gender identity
as a psychological disorder and, therefore, treat it as such? Studies indicate,
"Psychotherapy alone used to cure' individuals of GID is highly controversial and
largely ineffective (Gijs & Brawaeys, 2007). (Busari, 2013, p. 5539) In terms of treating
children for GID, the focus was mainly to target treating problems about depressions
and anxiety. Psychotherapy sessions were engaged in techniques for improving self-

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esteem. But was this the answer for turning children and adolescence completely away
from their struggles? Psychotherapy showed that a large number of children with GID
grow up to be homosexual or bisexual. The concept of treatment for GID children and
adolescents has become highly politicized, since some groups fear that treatment of
GID is actually a thinly veiled attempt to curb or even prevent homosexuality. (Busari,
2013, p. 5536)
The Impact on Children of Gay or Lesbian Parent(s)
What are the psychological consequences for children born to straight parent(s)
who later re-identified themselves? I had often asked myself this question because of
my biological relationship with Mary and the three children. I never had the courage just
outright to ask her nor the children because I believed that the children certainly must
have suffered throughout the yearsI didnt want to further traumatize them. To my
surprise and delight, I discovered that "Researchers found that children with LGBT
parents had the same amount of self-esteem and spent as much family time with their
parents compared to children of heterosexual parents. In fact, investigators found that
children of gay and lesbian couples to be healthier and have a stronger family unit."
(Borreli, 2013) Those findings went on to include the children born to parent(s) who later
re-identified as gay or lesbian. This was great to know. For me, it meant that the
outward appearance of Mary and the children showed as being a happy family unit was
most likely the truth.
According to (Martin & Martin, 2004), Gender identity develops as children
realize that they belong to one gender group, and the consequences include increased
motivation to be similar to other members of their group, preferences for members of

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their own group, selective attention to and memory for information relevant to their own
sex, and increased interest in activities relevant to their own sex. I interpret this
statement to mean that this applies to the individuals who feel that they are trapped in
the opposite body of which they most identify with; the gender of which they consider as
members belonging to their group. They, therefore, do indeed select attention to and
memory for information relevant to their cognitive perception of their sexuality.
As it turns out, society is adamant that those who struggle with gender identity
should be simply categorized as a treatable disorder without any other consideration as
to the biological factors. This is evidenced by the following statement, In the upcoming
fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5),
people whose gender at birth is contrary to the one they identify with will be diagnosed
with gender dysphoria. This diagnosis is a revision of DSM-IVs criteria for gender
identity disorder and is intended to better characterize the experiences of affected
children, adolescents, and adults. (Gender Dysphoria, 2013)

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6
References

Borreli, L. (2013, June 25). Do Same Sex Parents Impact The Mental Health Of Their
Children? Retrieved from Medical Daily: http://www.medicaldaily.com/do-samesex-parents-impact-mental-health-their-children-some-us-states-say-yes-andprohibit-lgbt
Busari, A. O. (2013). Bolstering Self-Esteem as Intervention technique in the
Management of Symptoms of Gender Identity disorder Among Adolescents.
Gender & Behaviour, 11, (2), 5535-5545. Retrieved from http://search. proquest.
corn/docview/ 1465230559?
Fitzgerald, R. P. (2009-2015). Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity Disorder and
Informed Consent. Child Healing: Strengthening Families.
Gender Dysphoria. (2013). Retrieved from American Psychiatric Publishing:
http://www.dsm5.org/documents/gender%20dysphoria%20fact%20sheet.pdf
Martin, C. L., & Martin, D. R. (2004). Childrens Search for Gender, Cognitive
Perspectives on Gender Development. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 13(4).